German star F1 reporter annoyed by English colleagues
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Kai Ebel, the reporter from RTL Germany, is an icon of the F1 paddock. Since 1992, he has been among the drivers at Grands Prix and is one of the most experienced pit reporters. He has seen his profession change considerably over the years.
He says so in an interview with Formule 1 Magazine. He is a bit annoyed about the way many of his colleagues are mainly occupied with themselves. Especially his English colleagues try to impress the drivers by showing how much they know about the sport.
According to him, this is of no use to the average viewer. He also found out quickly that if you ask a driver serious questions about the strategy or the set-up of the car, they usually don't want to give anything away. And if you keep harping on about a crash or a bad race, they don't want to talk to you at all.
Ebel probably won't be in F1 in 2021
According to Ebel, you have to know when to ask those questions. It is different for every driver and over the years you learn to read them better. "I have done more than a thousand interviews with Michael Schumacher. When I saw him, I knew whether it was a good or bad moment. It's the same with Max Verstappen: short answers today. You notice that, you see that."
Furthermore, Ebel also tries to keep his interviews a bit light-hearted. With his floral shirt he was the ideal man to ask about Vettel's new haircut in Bahrain for example.