Big Interview: Ben Edwards on the F1 legends set for one hell of a tussle

The lights go out at Melbourne Park on the start of the 2018 campaign tomorrow with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel going head-to-head in a pursuit of a fifth World Drivers’ Championship.

And calling the action all the way to the Abu Dhabi finale on November 25 – in what looks set to be the sport’s final season on terrestrial TV – is Channel Four lead commentator Ben Edwards, who cannot wait to see how the drama will unfold.

“I really enjoyed last year and it was really close until the Asian rounds when the Ferrari challenge all fell apart for one reason or another,” said Edwards, who will be joined once again by David Coulthard in the commentary box. “Hamilton and Vettel have four titles each, chasing that magical Fangio fifth – only (Juan Manuel) Fangio and (Michael) Schumacher have ever achieved that.

“They are with two of the greatest teams in the history of the sport – Mercedes and Ferrari – and they have already delivered some drama, like when Vettel lost his temper in Baku.

“I would love to say this is a defining season and it would be a big deal because it will be the last year with (live races on) Channel Four.

“The first year I did – this was when it was on the BBC – in 2012, it was resolved in the last race. I would love this year to be similar.

“It’s a long season, 21 races, and it means things can change, so although this first race will give us a picture, it’s not always typical (of the rest of the season).”

What the Australian Grand Prix will give fans is more answers than testing, which left many pundits predicting Mercedes will continue to lead from the front – although no-one completely sure, with the German giants playing their cards close to their chest by staying off the fastest tyres and not setting any headline lap times.

Edwards was at the final test in Barcelona and agrees Mercedes look in the best shape.

“Basically what came out of that is that Mercedes look very strong in race trim,” he said. “They did very impressive lap times under those conditions, but they never went for ultimate lap time on the softer tyres.

“Hopefully Ferrari and Red Bull will be in the mix, as Ferrari were last season and Red Bull were towards the end of last year.

“Hopefully all those three teams are right in the mix.”

If the opposition teams cannot match up to Mercedes, the biggest threat to Hamilton’s pursuit of a fifth world title may come from within his own team.

Valtteri Bottas announced his intention to challenge his British team-mate this week, hinting that relations may become a little less cordial, although not quite on the level of full-blown warfare that Mercedes experienced with Hamilton and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.

And Edwards pointed out, with Bottas out of contract this winter, 2018 is a very big year for the Finn.

“He had pole in the last two races of last year so he has pace and ability, but by then Lewis had already won the championship,” he said. “Now everybody is back to square one.

“This could be his biggest ever chance (to win the championship) if Mercedes are strong again.

“If he doesn’t perform, then he could be out of the team at the end of the season.”

Most likely to challenge the Mercedes-Ferrari battle are Red Bull – and Edwards expects them to be mixing it at the front once again.

“I think they are going to have a good car and they have two superstar drivers,” he said. “Max (Verstappen) and Daniel (Ricciardo) can put in outstanding performances. There is real potential for Red Bull to deliver some huge results.

“I really believe they can compete consistently up there.”

However, the outlook isn’t so bright for McLaren, who endured more technical problems in testing despite finally kicking Honda to the curb in favour of Renault engines.

And though Edwards doesn’t believe things are as bad as they appear, he warned it could take them a while to get up to speed.

“I do believe a lot of their problems were individual gremlins that can be easily ironed out – it’s their first time with a new engine partner,” he said. “It is just a question of how good is the car? It’s the same engine as Red Bull and the Renault works team.

“In Fernando Alonso they have one of the greatest drivers in the sport, so there’s a lot of hopeful expectation they can really improve themselves and get up towards the front.

“They have a new livery as well, so it’s going to look different and feel different, but it might take them a few races.”

F1 – whose natural home has always been on these shores – steps into a brave new world in 2019 when all live races, except the Ofcom-protected British Grand Prix, will go behind a pay wall.

The potential for a terrestrial highlights show remains up in the air and Edwards is determined not to focus on what the future holds – instead keeping his head down and working hard, describing the action in his usual enthusiastic and energetic style.

For Edwards, who has previously commentated on touring cars and been the voiceover for the official F1 season review DVDs, he is bound to find work whatever the future may hold –and he realises just how fortunate he is to fly around the world, experiencing all the action first hand.

“It still gives you a buzz when you get to the event,” said Edwards, who raced before he started commentating in 1991. “The travelling is tiring during the year, but I’m incredibly lucky to do what I do.

“There’s always something unpredictable – whether it’s at the front or in the middle of the pack, there’s always some story going on.”

For a sport that has so many events on the other side of the world, Edwards often finds himself away from home in East Anglia.

His trip Down Under began on Monday, before he heads back post-race tomorrow night.

And though he has made time to see family in Australia this week, evenings are mainly spent on research, with no room to hide in front of millions of viewers.

There is no let-up in the schedule either, for when Edwards returns, he has eight days off before flying out to Bahrain and then China for a double-header as the season really kicks into gear.

By then, Edwards hopes fans will have got used to the major technical change that will take place this season – the addition of the Halo safety device to increase head protection.

Its look has proved unpopular with drivers and fans – Hamilton describing it as the ‘worst-looking modification in F1 history’ before changing his stance when its extra protection was demonstrated.

“It looks cumbersome – it doesn’t look fantastic, but we will get used to it very quickly,” said Edwards. “Spotting which driver is in which car will be more difficult from a commentator’s point of view, but you have to prioritise safety and the Halo will improve that.”

Other minor technical rule changes include two new tyre compounds – a ‘hyper soft’ and a ‘super hard’ – as well as limiting the number of engines a driver can use to three in a season.

But Edwards is concerned that, despite vastly improved reliability, will lead to even more grid penalties for drivers that ‘spoils the spectacle’.

He added: “Some fans will save up all year to go to a race to watch their favourite driver and then they have ended up at the back because of a technical penalty.”

Even if a fifth world title were to head the way of Hamilton or Vettel, the feel-good story of the year may already have been written with Robert Kubica returning to the sport – albeit in a reserve driver role with Williams.

Edwards said: “I think he will get a practice session, whether he’ll end up doing a race though, that’s unlikely.

“I can’t see Williams chucking out one of their drivers, unless something majorly goes wrong.

“But it would great to see him in the car and racing again.

“What he’s done already is amazing ­– the fact he’s out there testing is fantastic.”

The engine noise is building, the red lights are coming on and – as Edwards’ legendary predecessor Murray Walker used to shout – ‘It’s Go, Go, Go!’

n You can watch highlights of tomorrow’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Channel Four at 2.30pm. Qualifying highlights today at 1pm.