Perry: F1 2013 will be 'crammed full of action...'

New BBC F1 presenter Suzi Perry reckons the coming season will be 'crammed full of action, incidents and overtaking'.

Perry takes over from the football-bound Jake Humphrey as the new anchor having fronted the BBC's motorcycle racing coverage for 13 years, starting with WSBK before the corporation switched its emphasis to MotoGP from 2003. She stepped down at the end of 2009, but is now relishing the prospect of once again doing live motorsport and freely admits it is going to be special to be a part of F1 and working alongside David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan.

Although she refused to make any specific predictions for the season ahead, she added the fact it is so hard to do that, is what is part of the charm of F1 today.

"I haven't got any predictions for Australia or the whole season and I think that is what is so good about it," she confirmed to Crash.net during this week's London press launch for the BBC's 2013 F1 coverage. "There was a time when you could predict what was going to happen. It was a little bit processional and a little bit dull really to a degree.

"I think last year in Australia there were surprises and incidents with Pastor Maldonado, for example, going out towards the end. I think we will see races crammed full of action, incidents and overtaking, which is so important.

"I remember somebody once saying to me - I use to go on about overtaking all the time with bikes, quite famously - and they said or wrote, 'It is not about the overtaking Miss Perry - it is about the anticipation of the overtake' and I just remember thinking, 'Bulls**t! - it is about the overtakes'. Whether it is a bike or a car, it is the same emotion, the same passion. I love racing and watching a good race. I don't really care who wins.

"It is why I am in favour of DRS [the Drag Reduction System]. I think anything that helps the racing and the overtakes is a good thing. You have to accept the technology evolves. There have been so many changes over the years with F1 and I think they have got the formula right at the moment in terms of making the racing exciting. If you are just looking at good races you can't say it got any better than last year can you?"

"I think it will be interesting this year for the British drivers," she continued. "I am glad Lewis [Hamilton] is with a different team. Jenson [Button] is with McLaren and we wait to see how he 'feels' in that car. Whether it gives him 'the feel' and if it gives him 'the feel' he can be there like anybody and right up there. That would be great.

"Lewis is an interesting one really. I think all winter they have played it down and sandbagged and he wasn't sure if they would win a race and I think they will win a race. They will win races. Are they going to be up for the championship? I don't know. But it is a tantalising prospect isn't it? The thought of another manufacturer being right up there is great and if they can make headway, after slightly underperforming over the last few years, then that is a good thing. It brings them up to the front and into the mix and the more teams that are at the front end the better racing for all of us.

"Everyone got excited about testing and how Mercedes did but I still think you don't know. You don't go and watch a football team warm-up and pick which team is going to win and this is the same thing. You don't know.

"Red Bull Racing hasn't showed any reasons for me to think they won't or can't make it four [titles] in a row. But you have still got so many other drivers around that could spoil the Red Bull chase down - again a mouth watering prospect..."

Meanwhile, Perry joked her biggest challenge will be trying to keep EJ in line, although she won't have to worry about that until China.

"The question that has been asked the most since I got the job is: 'How are you going to control EJ?' And the answer is I am not am I? He is uncontrollable. But that is what people want to see. The dynamic between the three of us - myself, EJ and DC - will obviously evolve as time goes on and I don't know what it is going to be like. I would imagine there is going to be a lot of banter. I am going to give as good, as I get - as you would expect. It should be a lot of fun and I will obviously try and pull as much information out of the both of them as I can along the way. I think it should be a really good show.

"Jake [my predecessor] did an amazing job. I think he was part of the furniture and he was a really good person to bring F1 back onto the BBC. Obviously he had a great relationship with DC and EJ, which evolved into this crazy three amigos' thing. It is big shoes to fill. But obviously I have my history in motorsport and technology and will probably bring something different to the coverage. I wish he would have been a bit rubbish really as it would have made my life easier! But we will see. He was him and I will be me.

"I am just really thrilled to be back on the BBC and broadcasting live. It is my passion and to be asked to come back into the sport realm and work in F1 is really exciting.

"I really just want to get to Australia and get going. I think the racing last year in F1 was spectacular. I just want to see some racing again," she concluded.

STOP PRESS: To read more about what Suzi Perry thinks about the coming F1 2013 season, CLICK HERE.