I should have known what to expect from this season when we went on air for the first time in Australia back in March.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel went on to win the race in Melbourne without really breaking a sweat, while expert pundit David Coulthard ended up with cake on his face during the post-race F1 Forum thanks to a very over-excited world champion.

Dominance and madness in one go.

Since then, Vettel has won almost every race, while we've had masses of fun and games on camera as we traversed the globe. I have plenty of highlights from a season that has been, without question, the most rewarding of my three years. At the same time, it has been one of the most difficult and surreal. But more of that later...

First the fun! One of the things I've loved about the coverage we've provided since 2009 has been the genuine human emotion that only live sport can deliver. The F1 Forum, in particular, has given us a chance to see a side to the sport that was previously hidden, usually because all the TV crews had long since stopped work.

A stand-out moment for me occurred in the F1 Forum after the Monaco GP. We headed up to the Red Bull Barge - or the 'float-a-home' as it's nicknamed - where the team were celebrating their second successive win in the race.

First, Vettel went into the pool, followed by various Red Bull team members, making it inevitable that Eddie Jordan would join them. I must confess that, as I challenged Eddie to go and grab the race winner, I knew he was likely to end up in the drink... and that's precisely what happened. EJ losing his glasses and proceeding to do duck-dive after duck-dive to retrieve them will live with me forever. All on live TV, let me remind you.

We then got a glimpse of just how brave the strong, fearless, race-winning F1 star DC really is. As soon as it looked like he would be the next one to get a soaking, he suddenly grabbed both his mic and the nearest railing for dear life. Cries of "No, I'm wearing white jeans!" and "No, I'm holding a microphone!" fell on deaf ears.

We often see drivers wearing race suits, helmets on their heads, wrapped inside a shell of carbon fibre. We never really get to know the human being behind the mask. I hope that, as the year progressed, you have felt you've got to know the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber as never before.

After the careers they've had and the success and the riches that have come their way, it would be very easy for Eddie and DC to not bother going the extra-mile for the good of the coverage, too. Yet they have. Early starts, late finishes, being asked to do ludicrous things and always buying into it... they've done it all. In fact, EJ refusing to go on the Abu Dhabi rollercoaster was just about the only time he has said 'no' in three years!

I remember heading to a shopping centre in India to film a Bollywood opening to a show. When the nearby Metallica gig was cancelled, 40,000 very unhappy heavy metal fans suddenly surrounded the car. It was a little scary until EJ decided to engage them in conversation to find out what was going on. Moment defused!

That first trip to India was fascinating. I found it particularly difficult and struggled on a daily basis with the contrast between the glitz and glamour of F1 and a country with such obvious socio-economic issues. It was hard to see the poverty as we headed to the track every day, then watch million-pound cars going round in circles. I sincerely hope that F1 makes a concerted effort to give something back to India in the coming years.

It was good to chat that weekend to Rowan Atkinson. But after creating such genius TV as Blackadder, it's sad to think he's globally famous as Mr Bean! Great he could join us on the show, though. To have 'George McCartney' (copyright E Jordan) with us in Abu Dhabi was also special. The only reason McCartney and Atkinson came to chat to us was because of Eddie. It's amazing the power he actually wields!

At this point, let me congratulate Eddie on raising more than £100,000 for Children In Need with his signed Indian GP shirt. He forced all the drivers to sign it, as well as Bernie Ecclestone and Macca.

DC has also really come into his own this year. Whether he's taking on Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button in a pit-stop challenge or on a jet-ski, he's become a credible, eloquent and respected pundit. Added to that, he knows how it feels to win races, fight for titles and drive contemporary F1 machinery.

Jake Humphrey and Eddie Jordan meet Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney. Photo: Getty

He's also rather naughty, using his weekly track guides to educate Sergio Perez about the perks of being an F1 driver, to tell Vettel about the German-speaking films he watched as a kid, or to make Karun Chandhok, who was busy minding his own business by cycling the track, re-enact Hamilton's crash with Webber in Singapore.

I'd just like to say how much I've loved working with both EJ and DC over the past three years. It's rare to find three people who just seem to click, but we have and it's been an incredibly rewarding time.

Despite Vettel being so dominant, I've really enjoyed the racing in 2011.

The new DRS overtaking aid on the cars has been toyed with by the FIA during the year but I think they've generally got the balance right now after the slightly embarrassing overtaking-laden Turkish Grand Prix.

What has really got me excited this year, though, have been the Pirelli tyres. Yes, the teams have worked really hard to nullify the effects of marginal tyres, but they have still added to the spectacle. Next year, Pirelli will be even smarter and more aggressive with tyre choice, so I think the tyres will really ask questions of the strategies that teams employ. If they get it right, Pirelli could again be the difference between a good season and a great season in 2012.

And what about my classic moments of 2011? Well, Canada stands out. We had international pop star Rihanna trying out Hamilton's car, DC demonstrating his knowledge of ornithology and Star Wars creator George Lucas chatting to us in the garage... all while a race should have been taking place!

When the racing eventually started, it didn't disappoint, did it? Button was incredible that day and I'd like to extend my thanks to him and all the other drivers who have made themselves so accessible this season.

The F1 Forum has been a magnet for race winners, from Vettel in tears as he watched our 'back-to-back champions' tape, to EJ, DC, Martin Brundle and me leaning over flight cases and around photographers in an attempt to get to Hamilton after his race win in Abu Dhabi. All great times.

It's worth pointing out that the drivers are not obliged to join us live pre-race, before or after qualifying, or on the F1 Forum. They choose to do it, which I think speaks volumes for both our coverage and about the drivers themselves. Thanks, guys.

After all that fun over the last eight months, we get to take a breath, grab a winter holiday, then do it all over again come March 2012. So what can you expect from the BBC next year and how will we make a very different season just as interesting to watch?

Well, the first thing to say is that EVERY race will be on the BBC.

I know you guys want live F1 but you will still get plenty of racing to watch - and often at much better times. Australia, Japan and Malaysia, for example, are races that take place in the early hours in the United Kingdom but we will show almost the whole race at 2pm. As well as that, the programme will be two hours long, so there will be plenty of action and reaction. For non-live races that are run at lunchtime in the UK, you can now enjoy a Sunday out, get home for 5.30pm and have 90 minutes of F1 in a peak-time slot.

The highlights will not just be a few token laps edited together either. We're talking extended, comprehensive highlights to really tell the story of the grand prix.

I can also reveal that the BBC presentation team will be at all the races, so the guys and I will be interviewing drivers, bringing you the usual banter and hosting the show in the way you've come to expect since 2009. So expect F1 Forums and the usual 60-minute build-up for live races. Plus we will have in-depth analysis from DC and others, as well as stacks of driver interviews for the highlights races.

Yes, it's a shame we haven't got 100% live F1. As a fan, I would dearly love to host every race live and you can only imagine how hard and uncertain it has been for all of us since Hungary, when the new rights deal was announced.

The team works so hard to make F1 a success on the BBC and it hurts that, after all that effort we've put in, things have changed. But the BBC has backed us with great on-air times and, as I have said, will be sending us to every race, while the usual back-room talent will be making every show special.

Thanks so much for your support, loyalty and viewership over the last three years. I promise you that, if you stick with the BBC, we won't disappoint in 2012. I am personally driven to make next year's coverage even better than ever before.

Have a great winter and I look forward to you getting a lie-in before I welcome you to the Australian Grand Prix in less than four months.

All the best,

Jake

Greetings from Seoul. It's 0800 on Monday and I'm sitting in bed with a coffee, contemplating when to prize myself out of a comfy bed and into the shower.

We are now playing the waiting game and twiddling our thumbs until we can clamber aboard the plane home. A further 12 hours and an epic fortnight in Japan and South Korea is over.

There are many wonderful pleasures attached to this job, and arriving home in the UK is certainly one of them.

After two weeks of emotional, fraught, pressurised and dramatic television - the kind I think only live sport can deliver - walking in through the front door always feels strange, and it takes a couple of days to adjust emotionally as the adrenalin melts away.

I normally help the process along by heading out to my local pub for dinner with my wife, just to really feel like I'm home. By the time you're reading this I may well already be there - pint of bitter in hand.

Sebastian Vettel has been crowned the Formula 1 world champion, Red Bull have defended their constructors' title, and I have turned 33.

Many thanks, incidentally, to the person on Twitter who tweeted simply, "4 months and you'll be a third of the way to 100-Happy Birthday"...

Well, perhaps using my advancing years - but, I'm glad to say, not receding hairline - as an example, let's consider how impressive the achievements of the past two weeks actually are.

Let's start with the team of the moment - Red Bull.

I think what team principal Christian Horner, chief technical officer Adrian Newey, adviser Helmut Marko and all at their Milton Keynes base have achieved is incredible.

Consider the dedication at McLaren, the blueprint for success at Ferrari, the wealth of Mercedes and the casualty rate of new teams. For Red Bull to achieve what they have in just six years is stunning.

I know they weren't a start-up like Virgin Racing or Team Lotus, they were a reincarnation of an existing team, but as an example it has been a similar amount of time since the Jordan name left F1. In that time Midland, Spyker and now Force India have operated from the same base and their achievements are incomparable to Red Bull's.

Yes, the company's commercial success in selling fizzy drinks means they are able to fund big salaries and huge budgets, but only a fool would think money alone could buy the titles.

I have been impressed by the passion in the squad. They are racers and there is a huge desire to win, true disappointment when they don't, and an ability to have a good party when things go their way. Which I also like ;-).

There is a strange ethos in F1 that you don't stop to smell the roses.

I often wonder whether Robert Kubica revelled sufficiently in his 2008 Canadian Grand Prix win, or whether Lewis Hamilton really absorbed what an incredible start he had to his career in 2007.

The thing I say most to my wife is "savour it" and I'll be the same with my children. I think that's the most important lesson a person can learn.

It was John Lennon who said "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" and you, me, Vettel, everyone should avoid that at all costs. Life is too short - so savour it.

And on that front I'm happy to report that, having been just feet from him as he won title number two, Vettel is well aware of his achievements and just how lucky he is.

Whether you like him as a driver or not, he is very impressive as a person. Without naming names, there are a number of drivers who not only are reluctant to speak to the media, but, even worse, are quite dismissive or condescending.

I guess that the F1 paddock is just a snapshot of everyday life and so therefore it is to be expected, even if some might consider it unforgivable.

However, you can trust me when I tell you that Vettel is as impressive as anyone who currently drives an F1 car, for all the right reasons. He is approachable, accessible and, most importantly, genuine.

Those who have known him for a while say he's always been the same and so credit to his parents for bringing up a person who realises that being the fastest driver in the world is just a phase. World champion isn't who Vettel is; it's a title he wears.

On Sunday he talked about when he retires in many, many years, and he is already aware that even he doesn't possess the talent of immortality among his many skills.

When the fawning has died down, the trophies have become tarnished and the attention has turned to someone younger and faster, the man left behind is what matters. On that score, Vettel is also a champion.

My highlight of this whole trip was the F1 Forum after the Japanese Grand Prix. I remember a few grumbles at the start of the year about the new-look forum, where we move around the pit lane rather that sit in a motorhome by a big TV. Well, Japan - or Monaco - this year, are exactly why we don't do that anymore. To be in the heart of that drama, the celebrations, the rare display of emotions in the scientific world of F1 is great to see.

I loved Japan, particularly the racing history it has seen. The past couple of weeks I've been out running the tracks with a couple of members of the BBC production team, producer Tom Gent and video editor Robin Nurse.

It was great fun, particulary Japan, where we pointed out where Nigel Mansell had a couple of big accidents, and stopped at the exact places where Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had their famous incidents.

Those are just a few examples where, in those moments, the people involved thought of nothing but what had just happened on track.

It would have been all-consuming, no time to stop and appreciate the moment. Yet suddenly, here we are 20 years later. The bodywork has long been swept up, the tears of joy and happiness have dried, and all we, and they, have left are our memories and Murray Walker's wonderful voice.

With that in mind - and particularly having seen the sad events in Las Vegas on Sunday that led to the death of British driver Dan Wheldon - whatever you are up to this week, wherever in the world you are, my only advice to you is very simple - savour it.

Remarkably I managed to get through the past week in Singapore while tricking my body that I was still in Europe.

It may seem strange that I was eating muesli at two in the afternoon, feeling ready for lunch at eight in the evening and finishing the day by sharing some grub with Martin Brundle at three in the morning but it felt oddly routine.

For a variety of reasons this has quickly become my favourite race of the season. I think it is largely because the drivers, press officers, production team and everyone else are a little wired - slightly giddy because of the time difference. That creates an atmosphere totally unique to the Singapore GP.

The Singapore Grand Prix portrays a beautiful picture under the beaming floodlights. Photo: Getty

This is my working day, Singapore-style...

11am
Sunlight is coming through the curtains, while Beach Road in downtown Singapore is alive with commuters and passers-by. I try to ignore it and carry on dozing.

2pm
Time to start the day. Mine usually begins with a call to my wife Harriet, or my parents. If there is time, my favourite pastime is Skyping my niece and nephew. On a Saturday we would be gearing up for our qualifying show.

I much prefer writing scripts in the morning, possibly because my brain feels a little more alive at that time. That could be because of 10 years delivering the Eastern Daily Press to the locals of Upper Stoke Holy Cross.

Anyway, I'll start scripting the show and, at this point, I start clock-watching, working out how many hours until I'll be delivering these lines to a few million people. Once I've written a few links and given myself keywords to prompt me during interviews, it's time to get myself sorted.

I go through the running order and think about the guests we should try to get. I have to think what the stories are and the people you guys would like to hear from - plus the locations where we will be for each link. Everything has to be planned because we need permission from the teams to be live in their garages and to tell them the precise time we will be there.

That doesn't mean my ideas are final - the Editor, Mark Wilkin will have his own opinions and might not like my ideas.

Once I've scripted, showered and shaved, it's time to iron my 'show shirt'. I like to do this myself as I hate creases in them. This weekend I even ended up doing fellow presenter Lee McKenzie's ironing - don't ask!

3.30pm
Departure time. In Singapore it was £2 to get a cab to the circuit, which is far more appealing than walking, otherwise you end up looking like you've had a shower with your clothes on due to the humidity.

On Saturday I jumped in a cab with Rebekah, our Production Manager. While we were busy gossiping our poor driver took a wrong turn and we ended up on the other side of Marina Bay, seemingly unable to get back across the water.

On Sunday, I was the fool as I left my shoes in the hotel lobby. To make it worse I was wearing bright white trainers, which isn't very BBC Sport. Production coordinator Louise Elliott went back in a cab for me. I'll say it again - thanks Louise, I am an idiot.

4pm
Myself, senior producer Richard Carr, assistant editor Steve Aldous and film editor Mark Wilkin share our thoughts on the script. Once we've decided which drivers, team bosses and garages we want to get involved with, it's up to Steve to sort things out. With gentle persuasion, the odd reminder of a favour we are owed and some occasional begging, he makes it look easy.

Some people ask why we never speak to certain drivers and if we are biased against them. Often our first-choice driver turns us down, so we have to make a sudden change of plan. Sometimes we ask three or four teams before we get a 'Yes' to one of our requests.

6pm
David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle rock up. DC makes tea the most, Martin is the most punctual and Eddie probably misses one in every three meetings for some reason - but we let him off.

We then watch the various video pieces. Sometimes we collectively decide to make a change to one of them but very rarely is a glaring error spotted.

Once I say, "Ted Kravitz reports...", we usually have to sprint three garages down the pit-lane, find our next interviewee and check they are ready to go live. Mark will update the three of us as to whether we are over or under time - or if there is any breaking news while Richard Carr directs the cameras and Louise lets us know how long is left on the video.

The fact we have already seen it means we can reference back to it, or simply keep the chat along the right lines.

7pm
Out to the paddock to do a tech check with the crew. On Saturday, we walked live into McLaren. One of the crew realised he was the wrong side of the camera and had to make a dash to safety. You can watch the moment on iPlayer and see the flash of white as he athletically sprints out of, or rather into, shot.

These guys arrive days before us, set up the office, the communication links with the paddock, plug in the kettle and make sure that, when us creative types come up with a ludicrous idea to push the boundaries, that it can be achieved.
It hasn't gone unnoticed and no other F1 coverage has ever got so close to the action. You won't find better, harder-working pros.

8pm
Live to the nation! The final few seconds before we are on air never fail to be exhilarating, petrifying and surreal in equal measure.

10.30pm
The show is over and, after pre-recording a chat for BBC News and the trail you may often see on the BBC later that night, it's back to the office to think about the following day's race programme. We always discuss what worked, what didn't and what we could have done differently or better.

Midnight
We go through the video packages for the following day. I love the creativity and madness of the people who create these. The music is an important part of the show and can come from anywhere. I was running the track on Thursday and the Black Eyed Peas song Get Ready For The Showdown was on my playlist. We have now done over 50 Grand Prix on the BBC and these guys certainly haven't run out of ideas - or music.

3am
We have decided on the running order for Sunday, drunk enough tea to refresh an army and, despite how strange it feels, it is actually time to leave the track and head out for dinner.

At this point I usually ring my parents as I still like to get their feedback on the show and find out what's happening in Norwich. Missing loved ones and home is the only real negative of this job.

An average Singapore Grand Prix day ends with the team heading somewhere to grab some noodles and a beer. I wouldn't usually admit to drinking at four in the morning before a Grand Prix, but that's the beauty of this race - in reality it's only nine in the evening.

There are many similarities with every Grand Prix but this one is slightly different. It is more exciting and electric than normal.

As we draw near to the end of another season, let me place on record my thanks to all the guys who have worked on the BBC F1 output this year. I can honestly say that, despite all the well-publicised distractions of the past few months, our team have been as hard-working, professional and perhaps even a little more driven and keen for success than ever.

Welcome to this week's blog, the final blog from a European race for 2011, which feels very strange indeed.

I can scarcely believe I'm writing that; where is my life disappearing to?

Firstly, let me apologise for the lack of a blog after the Belgian Grand Prix.

The only holiday I've managed to grab this season was the week after Spa and I would have been in serious trouble with Harriet, my wife, if I'd spent the first of our five days away writing a blog.

Anyway, back to last weekend, and the end of my love affair with a truck for another season. OK, you're probably thinking a love affair with a lorry is rather strange, but it's more than that, it's our European home.

You see, for the grands prix that are referred to as 'fly-away' - the long-haul races outside Europe, that is - the circuits provide the hospitality suites for the teams and the production offices for the television stations.

It is essentially to cut down on costs so the huge team 'paddock palaces' aren't transported the other side of the world.

But at the European races, we take a truck, which we occupy from the first European race in Spain to the last one in Monza.

It's a dressing room, edit suite, production offices and kitchen all rolled into one. It has even been known to accommodate the odd overnight stay if someone's working particularly hard and late in Monaco and can't face the drive back to our hotel on the way to Nice.

But now our European adventure is at an end for another year and so it was with a heavy heart on Sunday evening that we waved off Pete D'Lemos and the trusty silver truck he looks after; we'll see him next in Spain in eight months.

It feels like two minutes since I walked into that truck for the very first time in 2009. It was the same one ITV had been using, but their presenter Steve Rider's office had been turned into an edit suite so I couldn't quite say I was walking in his shoes.

Talking of getting his job, remarkably it is three years ago this week that the then BBC head of F1 Niall Sloane offered me the chance to be the presenter, and what a learning curve it has been.

I can still remember the fear and apprehension as I walked into the F1 paddock in Australia for the first time, and the nerves as I started listening to 'The Chain' down my earpiece, hoping the words would come out in the right order.

The good news is that doing this job never becomes 'normal' or mundane and I still cherish every moment.

For that reason, I asked someone to follow me with a camera this weekend as in years to come I'll fondly look back on what it was like to share the pit lane with Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard as a 30-something guy, lucky enough to see the world and follow the sport I love.

I managed to capture Paul di Resta's Force India while taking this shot of the Monza track from a gate near the pits

I've posted a selection of pictures with this blog. Have a look through and see what you think. The one I'm most proud of is the one directly above - and it doesn't actually feature much apart from a big silver gate!

You see, one of the oddities of this job is that I very rarely see a car actually on the track.

We must be out of the pit lane with 15 minutes to go before qualifying and the race and so by the time the cars are track I'm in the paddock and there is nothing to see.

An hour before we go on air and Eddie Jordan, Ted Kravitz and I have to cram ourselves between Ferrari and McLaren's motorhomes to get our gear on for the show

One of the most common requests I get is from people who have tickets to the race asking to get into the paddock. I tell them they would soon be bored of sitting around drinking coffee and would see more in the grandstand.

Anyway, in Monza on Sunday, I walked out of the paddock and along the back of the garages and the photo is testament to how tricky it is even for me to get to the track during the action - I always say that in front of the TV you get the best seat in the house and this is proof!

And why am I so proud of the photo? Well, Paul di Resta's Force India is passing by me at full speed and somehow I managed to press the button at just the right time - trust me, it was far more luck than judgement.

Talking of luck, some people may well think that Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has had his fair share of it over the course of the year, but perhaps in Monza he finally put the doubters to bed by doing something a few were questioning - pulling off a cracking overtake!

I think that perhaps it was the race that finally broke his challengers and since then we've seen a few of Seb's rivals declare that he has now won the title.

Spa and Monza were the races where McLaren and Ferrari were expecting to challenge Red Bull, but Vettel won both. As for Seb's team-mate, Mark Webber, well, he only managed to collect 18 points to Vettel's 50.

So, with that in mind we had a meeting back at BBC HQ on Wednesday to discuss how we tackle the Singapore race weekend.

Our mantra is 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail'. With that in mind, we need to fly into Singapore fully ready to do justice to Vettel if he manages to win the title there.

I always enjoy Singapore. And if you want to read about how strange it is for us as a production team, as we stay on European time, which is eight hours behind where we are, my blog from 2009 will tell you about the perils of trying to get dinner when the city is asleep.

Before I sign off, I'm sure that there will be plenty of people reading this who are keen to know about our plans for the 2012 F1 coverage.

As soon as there is something concrete to announce, I know that the BBC will do that. However, I can tell you I am committed to helping the BBC make its F1 coverage next year as compelling as it has been for the last three years.

And thanks for your continued loyalty - all 5.8m of you who watched the race with us on Sunday.

Jake.

Lee McKenzie looks on as EJ and I check comms. It involves talking to each other while the team in the gallery talk at the same time to make sure the sound levels are workable

Roger Bines, our rigger, is our unsung hero. We wouldn't be on air without him and I've spent the past three years with him in the pit lane. He retired after 15 years in F1 on Sunday. We'll miss you, Rog!

Two minutes to on-air and Rob Smedley, Felipe Massa's race engineer, pops over to say hello and have a chat.

Post-race and I am busy noting down the race finishing order, the championship standings and any other notes I need close at hand for 45 minutes of unscripted, unplanned post-race analysis

I love this snap.. Eddie Jordan doing what he does best... having an opinion!

Whil you at home are watching the top three drivers' interviews, we decamp to the paddock, where Toro Rosso's Jaime Algersuari pops over to see what we thought of his charge into the points

This photo sums up the job for me, and I love it. The team, all four of us, owning the paddock as we go looking for stories. On screen it just seems to flow

The last photo I took on my way out of the circuit. The Monza banking is a reminder of how much has gone before us, and that F1 will continue to evolve long after we've left

In Budapest

There are some questions that you hardly ever hear when working in and around the Formula 1 circus and "are you having a holiday?" is certainly one of them.

Such is the constant nature of a season: the relentless march of race followed by race means the concept of a holiday tends to be alien to all F1 personnel from March to November.

However, that doesn't apply today. As I write this blog, I'm sitting waiting for the plane to fly us home, and the various F1 team members, still wearing their kit, are discussing what they will do to fill the gap between now and the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa at the end of August.

Well, I have my break already mapped out as I've a very important job to do. My awesome little brother Tom is getting married this month so I have Best Man duties to perform.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the F1 bubble and lose perspective of what is really important in life. Particularly this weekend, when at times it has seemed like the whole world revolves around the BBC and Formula 1.

It was certainly all we talked about among ourselves. Well, now that the race is over I can press the reset button and remind myself that family and occasions like 'Nipper's' wedding is actually the 'real world' and it helps put things into perspective.

Next weekend is the stag do but I can't write anything about it here in case he reads it. I'll need my speech written the weekend after, and then it's a family barbeque seven days after that.

When I got married, the speech went on for 40 minutes and I'm sure I'll be under strict instructions not to go on too much this time!

I'll also find space for a break, and apart from that it's time to recharge the batteries - and boy do I need it, especially after this weekend.

So, let's talk about the news about the UK TV rights which emerged over the weekend.

Having a broad understanding of television, the state the wider industry is in, and the challenges facing my own employer is essential for me. It helps me do my job better, understand how various decisions are taken, and plan for the future.

Against that backdrop I had a sense that there was a very real threat that F1 was going to be lost from the BBC for good after this year and I knew that various conversations were taking place at a much higher level than I am privy to.

I, like many of you, had seen the headlines over the past month and I suspected that we would get some news sooner rather than later. However, contrary to popular belief I didn't have the inside track on what was happening and on Thursday evening I went for dinner and then bed thinking it was set to be just like any other race weekend.

I then woke up at 7am as my phone was ringing - Ben Gallop the BBC F1 boss had flown to Budapest, was in the lobby of the hotel and had news on the TV deal.

The next few hours went by in something of a haze. There was some understandable sadness and confusion as the news sunk in that things were changing. I think my breakfast consisted of one mouthful of coffee.

I honestly believe there is only one way to do this job and it is to give 100% at all times. Since 2009 we have constantly looked to change, evolve and improve our coverage every week and I'm really proud of the job we've done.

Despite the jet lag, hours spent in airports and cramped journeys across the globe (the flip-side to the 'glamour' of F1!), every member of the production team on camera and behind the scenes feel so blessed and lucky to do this job - and our only aim has been to produce the best output for the audience. That has always been the mantra: keeping you guys and your entertainment at the centre of our decisions.

My highlights so far include: interviewing Max Mosley in 2009 as a breakaway threat loomed, when he ended up calling Flavio Briatore a "loony"; bringing you as close as possible to the sport when we were in the garage as Jenson Button won the world title; and our Bafta-winning show from Abu Dhabi last year, when we saw Sebastian Vettel crowned the youngest ever champion.

I can honestly say I have never worked with a more talented or dedicated team. From free practice early on a Friday to the F1 Forum that often finishes two hours after the race, we try to get you to the heart of the drama.

I love standing next to Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard in the paddock - and thank you for inviting us into your living rooms every weekend. I know how special it is to be in this position, and you have made it such a pleasure with your feedback and loyalty.

Now, please don't take the above as me saying those days are over! It's just inevitable that after the news of the weekend, and the messages of support we've received, I can't help but reflect on what we've done since March 2009 and how we've gone about doing it.

Trust me that we will be working even harder to make the end of this year a resounding success on the BBC and looking to be stronger, better and more professional than ever.

There's no disguising that from next year it will be different. I know it is frustrating for you to not yet know the finer detail - and as soon as we have it worked out, you will be the first to know.

From the presenting team to the races we cover live, to the transmission times of the highlights shows and how we make those a success too. You will again be central to how the BBC make those decisions.

And after 2011 please be assured of this: the BBC will endeavour to make the overall F1 offering as enthralling and compelling as possible. We never take our work for granted and we will be always be driven by that desire to produce the best shows for you, our audience.

I think the drama on the track, coupled with the kind of treatment the media as a whole has given it recently, has taken Formula 1 to new people and new heights. From 2012 onwards it won't be quite the same on the BBC - but the effort and passion invested in covering the sport certainly won't diminish.

I'm proud of what we continue to bring you - this weekend being yet another reminder of what this incredible sport can deliver, and I look forward to sharing more moments like Jenson's win after the summer break.

Have a great summer. I'm off to get working on that speech...

Jake

If you would like to comment on the new UK television rights deal, please go to the BBC's head of F1 Ben Gallop's blog on that subject

This blog is dedicated to a lady who will be celebrating her birthday on the 20th July this year. I don't know her name or where she lives. But as far as I'm concerned, she epitomizes the passion and dedication of British motor racing fans.

Every year, our aim with the BBC coverage of the British Grand Prix is to convey the love, the atmosphere, the humour and the uniqueness of the event to the millions across the UK who would like to be there but aren't. It's our job to get you as close to Silverstone as possible. I'd love to 'borrow' one of Bernie's planes, pick you all up and drop you off in Northamptonshire, but sadly that's not going to happen!

Last year Eddie Jordan and I set out to do a BBQ for some of the 30,000 campers who help generate Silverstone's unique atmosphere as part of a feature for the BBC 1 coverage. This year we decided to do something a little different - a touch more challenging.

On Thursday, as it pelted down with rain, EJ boldly announced: "I started out selling smoked salmon on the streets of Dublin. I can sell anything!" So off we went to try and sell ice-creams, in the pouring rain, on a chilly and overcast Friday afternoon.

I had images of two slightly crest-fallen guys, a very empty field, and a grumpy ice-cream van owner. In reality I was blown away by the hundreds of fans who were literally soaking up the atmosphere.

One sight that really made me chuckle was the family of five huddled outside on a picnic table, eating fish and chips with only one umbrella between them. They bravely struggled on in a very British way.

Once EJ and I started selling a few ice-creams, we got to chatting to the crowd and the first person I spoke to about the race told me the most awesome story: She was born whilst her parents travelled home from the 1963 Grand Prix!

That race was won by Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax the year he won his first World Championship. Jim shared the podium with John Surtees and Graham Hill and her story summed up what is special about the British Grand Prix: History.

It's part of the fabric of our nation, part of our culture, our past and our present, something that we can all relate to. Even the most non-F1 loving friend of yours could no doubt recall Nigel Mansell's heroics in 1987 or Lewis Hamilton in the rain 21 years later.

I love some of the new circuits and they have a place in modern Formula One, but all the money in the Middle East won't buy you history. It sends a shiver down your spine as you enter the circuit year after year.

Take a look at the video here and remember that this was filmed last Friday, 24 hours before there was any competitive action on the track!

Without the fans the British Grand Prix wouldn't be what it is and the same applies to the BBC's F1 coverage. It's you, the viewer, that make it. So it was great to jump on a three-seater bicycle with David Coulthard, a two-time Silverstone winner and Eddie to get around the campsites and local villages.

David made a great point, that as an F1 driver you never really appreciate this level of fanaticism as you arrive by helicopter, leave by helicopter, and the rest of the time you're just focused on delivering on the track.

By Thursday morning at 9am the fields were each like mini-metropolises. People not only had their tents up, but there were fully-stocked kitchen areas, communal living spaces where all the fans could get together and talk F1. Not to mention Coulthard flags, Jordan flags and many of the tents were daubed with a certain driver or team name...serious planning had gone into the whole thing. And they still had time to push us out of the mud!

Many of those campers have been doing it for years and have spent plenty of money cheering on DC or the Jordan team over the years, so it was great that we were able to get their heroes on the back of my bike to meet the people who make F1 so special.

The only slightly confusing moment was when the family in their pyjamas referred to EJ as 'Sexy Eddie', neither DC nor myself quite understood it!

So while it's fans, old and new, and the sense that you are connecting with history by being at Silverstone. It's still essential that the old girl can compete with the Abu Dhabis and Singapores of this world. And that leads me onto the Silverstone Wing.

It did feel odd shifting the whole focus of the circuit away from the old pits/paddock complex but it's a bold move that the BRDC has been applauded for.

I remember watching one of the Red Bull's pit during the race and as the camera panned along the pitlane, following the car, I couldn't believe it was Silverstone that we were looking at.

There will most definitely be changes and it may be that the focus of the in-field section moves towards the new building. There is a view that Silverstone must avoid a 'them and us' situation where the privileged minority in the paddock with the drivers and cars whilst the fans are in a totally different place. I'd also expect the pit-lane order to change so the grandstand can see the fast teams doing their stops.

However, I think this year's race goes down as a huge success. Building a new pit complex and putting in the infrastructure to match, however, wouldn't have made it a weekend to remember. It was the fact that despite the inevitable, slow march of time meaning Silverstone has to change - one thing remained. The fans, and it is they who truly make Silverstone a race weekend to remember.

It's almost 8pm here in Valencia and I've clearly bored Ted Kravitz because he has just made his excuses and sloped off to find some food!

I'm sitting by gate B6 about to board our flight home to London Gatwick and thought it was the perfect opportunity to get my blog done.

The airline we're flying with aren't famous for their generous cabin space, and with my daddy long-leg like arms, I think it's best to get this written now.

There are drivers, team bosses, designers, mechanics and engineers sitting in the very brightly coloured 'Medos' cafe in front of me trying to get some energy back into their systems with a beer and a sandwich.

Mind you, despite working away in the searing heat all day there are a variety of laptops already open as the teams continue to analyse the data from the race. Ah yes, that brings me onto the race.

There are many things to love about Valencia. I received plenty of Twitter abuse for mentioning the Tinglados once or twice.

I was just fascinated that many years ago, people built those warehouses to do a job as unglamorous as sell fish and here we are turning them into the hub of a race that is all about the most up-to-date technology.

I also love that Formula 1 visits a beach city, which means you can grab a short holiday, have a dip in the sea, eat some great food and then watch a bit of F1.

Oh, hang on, 'Mikey Muscles', Jenson's full-time personal trainer who we bumped into during my grid walk with Eddie, has just joined me at the gate with his tail between his legs.

He will dictate the next paragraph. In his words here's why he blanked me as I was bigging him up on the grid pre-race.

'In one short sentence, it's not about me *giggles*, so I'm told. Jake was very kindly about to introduce me to the world at which point my driver had already disappeared, so I had to follow him like a sheep. It was 13 minutes before the race start and he needs to be in the cockpit 10 minutes before - so time for small-talk was at a premium. I thank Jake for his consideration and maybe we can have a moment sometime soon'.

I assume by 'moment' he is referring to me grabbing him on the grid at a future race. He will be lucky! Only joking, he's a great guy and is obviously there to do a job despite me wanting to make him famous.

By the way, if I seem distracted while writing this, it's because a guy to my right is making a bad attempt at taking my photo without me noticing.

Anyway, back to the race. After I'd been blanked on the grid, it was down to business and a chance for Valencia to live up to the incredible drama that Canada provided. To be honest, that was a tall order for any circuit.

Sunday's race was a quiet affair compared to other grands prix this season

Perhaps it could be a new BBC show with Andrew Lloyd Webber - 'How to solve a problem like Valencia' - but I think even 'The Lord' would struggle with this one.

You could argue that every race this year has been a spectacle, perhaps even that the season opener in Australia, which is usually a cracker, had been the least exciting race. That is until now.

I think we've now readily accepted the DRS overtaking aid, Kers power-boost system and marginal tyres as integral to the excitement in modern F1. But here in Valencia, even though they gave us more overtakes than the single pass we saw in 2009, it still lacked spark on track and something to get genuinely excited about.

I enjoyed the Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber battle behind Sebastian Vettel, I enjoyed Sergio Perez's valiant attempt to pick up points by just doing a single stop and it was also interesting to watch Paul Di Resta drop in and out of the points all afternoon - but I still wasn't on the edge of my seat.

There is no doubt that we as F1 fans have been well and truly spoiled this season with the action that has been thrown up, particularly after Canada, and during any other season this would have seemed like a relatively exciting afternoon.

I wonder if Valencia has a future. It's certainly a packed calendar next year and two Spanish races may be overkill.

In any case I still had a blast on air. I have never driven an F1 car so therefore I think going live is one of the most exciting things a man can do - but it does have its challenges.

For example, I was in Jenson's garage just seconds before we went live on Saturday and suddenly Lewis' engine roared into life.

As I was actually in the garage, you wouldn't have been able to hear a thing, so with about five seconds to go until BBC One viewers were welcomed to Spain, we had to get myself, two pundits, two cameras and three other people to the far side of the pitlane in an instant - and still look calm and collected when Richard the director shouted 'cue'. And boy does he shout!

'RUN VT' is the kind of thing Richard barks at the top of his voice, which is ironic when you think he joined us late on Friday due to directing in the serene environment of Wimbledon. He returns to SW19 on Monday morning, and I hope he is a little quieter there or he might scupper Andy Murray's chances with an untimely, overexcited outburst!

So, as I sit here with my jeans stuck to my legs, a slightly red neck, and with the good and bad bits of the show running through my head, I can also look ahead to a really exciting few weeks for British motorsport.

It's Goodwood this coming weekend and I'll be there, followed by the British Grand Prix, which is always my favourite race weekend of the year.

However, it's also National Motorsport Week which means you can get through the doors of your local F1 team or just find ways to get involved in motor racing - and you don't need to be a millionaire! Just check out www.gomotorsport.net.

Anyway, the last word on this week's blog goes to Robert Burnett. He and his Dad just introduced themselves to me in the airport. Robert had just been brought to his first ever Grand Prix and he was wearing a Ferrari top but claimed to love Lewis Hamilton!?

Whatever the case, he's only five-years-old so it's good to see a new generation of fans watching the sport and that's what National Motorsport week is all about - inspiring the next generation.

Here's hoping for an inspiring race in two weeks' time as well, perhaps we could release a charity single- 'F1's coming home!'

I'm writing this blog in the BBC's scorching production office in Monaco. It has huge windows and has been warming up all day long. Thankfully, EJ has just given me a very soggy cuddle and that is starting to cool me down.

The other positive is that after no lunch, the food Pete has bought for the production office is very welcome, and the cheese is awesomely tasty in the warm sun.

Anyway, I'll carry on munching and typing. My jeans are stuck to my legs with sweat, my feet ache and my forearms feel a little sunburned after being out in the heat since midday. It's now 6.50pm.

Incredible, isn't it, that for a race that lasts around two hours, we have been outside for the past seven. That's due to heading to the pit lane half hour before going on air to ensure our technical equipment is working. We then do our pre-race show, the Grand Prix itself, followed by the BBC1 post-show and the F1 Forum.

The whole idea of the F1 Forum is to give you guys the kind of insight that we simply don't have the time to give you on BBC One. Also, it's nice that it retains a little cult status by remaining behind the Red Button and online, only being accessed by those that really want to see it.

And this week I think regardless of your love for F1 it's worth a little watch: DC pleading, EJ diving (hence the soggy cuddle), the three of us walking, and Lewis complaining. Hopefully, as well as generating some headlines, it also made you laugh along the way. Take a look and do share your thoughts on here.

One of the most controversial moments of this week's Forum was Lee McKenzie's interview with a clearly frustrated and angry Lewis Hamilton.

I'm not condoning what Lewis said specifically, in the heat of the moment, but I will say I'm always pleased to see drivers speaking their mind and being honest. We moan and groan when they are as bland as possible to avoid any potential controversy, so we mustn't be outraged when they share their honesty.

I'm sure you've had bad days at the office. Imagine leaving your desk and having a microphone being shoved under your nose. Not easy to deal with.

Anyway, back to the track. Only last week I was commenting how clean and respectful the racing has been this season: no safety cars, very few incidents and accidents. And then we see two ambulances on the track in two days.

I was very relieved to hear that Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov were OK. The timing screens we have at our disposal give us the drivers' timings for each sector of the lap, and for a very long time on Saturday, Sergio's simply stated "STOP" where there should have been a sector time.

It was quite a powerful image to see on the screens and a little eerie if I'm honest.

Cars are so safe these days that young drivers in the sport are sometimes accused of not being as aware about the potential dangers as they should be, and sometimes taking a more blasé attitude to the danger element compared to the era of Moss, Stewart, or even Coulthard.

However, it is quite clear that the sport itself, along with the FIA, have made huge strides in making sure the cars are strong, and the infrastructure and marshaling around the circuits is of the very highest calibre.

I must admit to being concerned that, whenever a corner generates a few incidents, some immediately question its place in a modern Grand Prix circuit. My opinion is that the sport should do all it can to make it as safe as possible without sanitizing the racing or taking away a huge part of the sport - risk. Take away the risk element and what would we have left?

---

The previous few paragraphs were written in the office, I've now walked to our bus, trundled to the airport, eaten some fast food (whoops!), and now I'm 493 miles and 90 minutes from home.

The plane is packed with British F1 fans whom have all had a good weekend, judging by the smiles and sun-blushed red faces all around us. We are such TV geeks on our team that I'm sitting with Robin - one of the editors - and we're listening to potential songs on our iPods to use at the end of our coverage over the next few races.

Talking of music, it was already pumping, and the dancing was in full swing as we left the Principality. One of the coolest things in Monaco is that the track by day, becomes a two-mile-long nightclub once the sun sets. Chicanes become soft-seating areas, Tabac corner turns into a cocktail bar, and Le Rascasse becomes VERY loud as party animals keep the action going 24/7.

In fact, just before we took off, EJ told me he was heading there to play on the track with his band tonight. I think I'm better off heading home for an early night tucked up in bed rather than partying with EJ.

Eddie and David were great sports on the Red Bull barge, I thought, once it was clear they were going to get wet. I particularly enjoyed David squeals as his former colleagues lobbed him in the pool, and EJ's attempted duck-dive for his glasses will live with me and the F1 Forum viewers for a long time.

I saw a few comments questioning why we were at Red Bull after the race. My answer to that is that we're there to report the stories, and that was where the story was. I promise you, standing outside a different motorhome with nothing to see but the crews packing up after a frustrating day wouldn't make such great TV. Remember when Lewis won in China? We were right with him on that day too.

Anyway, with Adele's new album (brilliant!) helping to remove the considerable adrenaline from my bloodsteam, and an airline G&T starting to take effect, I'm beginning to feel a little weary. It's time for a power nap.

I'll first sign off by saying, on behalf of the whole team, how proud and delighted we were to win a Bafta last Sunday.

I know the job looks glamorous, and it certainly can be at times. However, there are plenty of airport queues, late nights in the edit and hairy moments behind the scenes as we try to push the envelope of live TV to the limit.

Plenty of the BBC crew travel to each race and never even see a car on track. For that reason, the Bafta is very much dedicated to them, their professionalism, companionship and talent.

Have a great week, thanks for the Tweets and see you all in Canada.

BBC F1 presenter Jake Humphrey takes you behind the scenes at the shoot for the opening sequence for 2011 Monaco Grand Prix.

Filmed & edited by Michael Cunliffe, Music - Bright Lights Bigger City by Cee Lo Green & Poker Face by Lady Gaga.

As I write this blog, we have just jetted off from the runway into the dark Turkish sky, I've set my watch back two hours to UK time and I'm thinking of rejecting the sausage and mash for a G&T and a few hours' much-needed kip.

As I look out of the window and the lights of our latest destination disappear in the haze far below us, and the music on my phone keeping me awake, I always get a little philosophical about what has gone on over the past few hours.

It sounds silly to say it, but at the time, despite being at the centre of it, there is so much going on that it's only now, a few hours later, that I can actually draw breath and appreciate what we've seen.

While Schumacher struggles to turn back time, Vettel continues to show he is the sport's shining light. Photo: Getty

One of the things that usually hits me after a race is how transient this sport is, perhaps all sport. It is no exaggeration to say that just seconds after, or perhaps even during Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso's podium celebrations, the mindset of the sport had already moved on.

We on the BBC have the luxury of re-living replay after HD replay and picking up on the minutiae of the race, from a dodgy pit stop to a collision at 200mph, slowed down so David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan can analyse it in detail.

For the teams and drivers though, it is suddenly about the next race.

Right now, if you went to that track, the security checkpoints, advertising hoardings, glamour and glitz will already be gone. Vettel will have his memories, and the record books will forever show he took the flag, but that's it. It's over that quickly, time waits for no one, and I just hope that while he's at the top he takes the time to savour it.

Michael Schumacher is perhaps the prime example that taking on time itself, gambling with your legacy, is a high stakes game.

I was really sad to hear Schumacher say he's no longer enjoying Formula 1 after this race. People often say we're biased against Michael, but that's simply incorrect. He has given the sport so much, rewritten the record books, made us reassess what success actually is, and I am certainly not qualified to judge his personal decision to come back. But when the fun and the results are lacking, I feel for him, as what else is there?

I also felt for his former team-mate, Felipe Massa. I've just been chatting to his race engineer Rob Smedley. He's a really good lad and I like him even more after his 'Boro team helped Norwich to Premier League promotion (did you spot my reference to it in the show?).

Smedley was telling me that of Massa's four stops, something went wrong on three of them, slowing him down and releasing him into traffic. That meant battling cars to regain position - and it happened three times!

Sadly for all the teams and drivers, the new-style F1 leaves very little margin for error. It's so close on track, and with up to four stops per race, the smallest margin will have the biggest effect on the race.

Smedely was also saying how exhausted he was. Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhock agreed. He was commentating for 5 live while Anthony Davidson won another sportscar trophy - well done, Ant - and Chandhok said he, too, was shattered.

I loved the race. It gives us masses to discuss post-race; Lewis Hamilton couldn't even recall how many time he'd pitted, and he only had his race to think about!

For my money it gives us better on-track action, longer, less-predictable racing and gets people excited about the sport. We're lucky, in the same way Twenty20 cricket has revolutionised that sport, I expect F1 will benefit to a similar degree.

As for the moveable rear wing - or DRS - system, remember, governing body the FIA can tweak it until it's perfect.

The FIA is coming from a position that overtaking had become too hard and it is aiming for DRS to make overtaking possible - but not too easy.

The feeling seems to be that in Australia its wasn't powerful enough, in Malaysia and China it was just about right, but that in Turkey it was too powerful. It's a learning process, as the top people in F1 have always said it would be.

Personally, I had great fun this weekend.

At the end if last year, we sadly waved goodbye to producer Sunil Patel, who was the master of our VTs - or pre-cut films - last season. That role has been taken on by Tim Boyd - or Boydy, as he is known. In BBC Sport there seems to be a rule that we take a surname and add a Y on the end. It doesn't work with mine, though!

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to Boydy and his team, particularly for the effort that went into the Williams front wing piece that we transmitted on Saturday.

That is the kind off access that brings you guys closer to the sport, breeds greater understanding. But it is also the kind off access that is incredibly hard to get so it's great to see the teams opening up to us. In the long run it benefits everyone.

Also, please do keep your ideas coming in to this blog, my Twitter and on e-mail, as we do read and act upon your thoughts.

It's great to get your response to our programmes, too. Sometimes with all the travel and prep you can get into a bubble where you don't get a true appreciation of people watching our output, as you're never at home to watch it!

However, the weekend before Turkey, I went to watch Lewis Hamilton's brother Nic, who was racing a Clio at Thruxton, and I was blown away. Not only was it great to see grassroots motorsport in this country and what a strong, loyal, knowledgeable following it has, but it also gave me a chance to meet stacks of people not lucky enough to make it to a grand prix, and who follow the racing totally via our output.

We on the BBC team have been delighted with viewing figures being higher than ever this year but, trust me, we're always looking for ways to make it better.

Anyway, have a great couple of weeks. Next up it's Barcelona. Four races in, no big incident at the start, no rain, no safety cars, yet racing so hectic and dramatic that it's hard to keep up.

It's F1 guys... but not as we know it!