Sports commentator Aleksey Popov did not come up with his signature phrase-performance "Russian voice of Formula 1" at all in order to make it clear that it was he and no one else. An example was an already forgotten American channel, the host of which began the program in a similar way, trying to stand out from the stream of advertising information that preceded the start of the broadcast. The Russian liked it. And for more than a quarter of a century, Alexei has not been called otherwise: when you say “Formula 1”, you mean “Popov”, and vice versa.

Childhood and youth

Alexey Popov was born in Moscow in July 1974. Parents are university teachers: father is a chemist, and mother is a philosopher. As a teenager, they listened with friends and even managed to create their own group, but after the first concert it was all over, because the school principal figured out what her students were singing about - "everything revolved around death and the Vikings."

In 1991, the young man went for higher education to the Faculty of Sociology of the Moscow Pedagogical Institute. When there was a month left before the start of classes, Alexei accidentally bought the Sport-Express newspaper with an article about Formula 1 races. He liked the publication as a whole, but the article did not reflect the essence of events. And Popov by that time knew quite a lot about F-1: he had time to visit abroad with his grandfather, who worked in the trade mission.

The guy, who, by his own admission, had gained impudence, told the author Vladimir Geskin, who turned out to be the first deputy editor-in-chief, about the shortcomings of the note. He instructed Alexei to write an article about the Belgian Grand Prix and the next day took the young journalist on staff. Popov studied at the institute for six months.

Career

In 1992, Alexey switched to RTR, to the Arena sports editorial office. At the Olympics in Albertville, the channel's management met the head of the Monegasque company Samipa, which was entrusted by the owner of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, to conquer the media space of the former USSR. When Russia received the rights to broadcast the races, the question of who would commentate was no longer an issue. Subsequently, Popov moved to Monaco in order to travel freely around the world and report directly from the competition venues.

In 2001, Alexei was awarded the title of the best sports commentator. In 2005, the journalist began to release the author's program "Grand Prix with Alexei Popov", first on "Russia-2" (formerly "Sport"), then on REN-TV. After 2 years, he returned to the Russia-2 channel, where, at the request of CEO Vasily Kiknadze helped host the Sports Week program. When the channel ceased to exist in 2015, Popov signed a contract with the newly formed Match TV.

"Formula 1" in the view of Alexei is a single organism, it has roots, a past and a future. During the 10 years spent in Monaco, Popov did nothing but motorsport. Alexey published the weekly review "Chrono" for Russian viewers, worked as the editor-in-chief of French and Italian programs.

However, since childhood he loved biathlon and was a fan of hockey. As you know, in France and Monaco there is “no” hockey, so rugby played its role. In addition, this is "a sport of real men, like racing, only the Formula is associated with death." That is why Popov undertook to comment on the competitions of shooting skiers and the game with an oval ball.

By the way, it was on the initiative of Alexei that Russian TV broadcast the matches of the Rugby World Cup. The final tournament, which was attended by the commentator, caused much more emotions than the biathlon races at the Vancouver Olympics. Popov compared it to the first exciting days on the Formula tracks, when the young journalist was entrusted with interviewing Alain Prost, Jean Alesi and.

Alexei went on the air with comments on what was happening on F-1, as well as on the DTM, GP2, GP3 and World Series by Renault tracks in the company of Natalia Fabrichnova. The girl left her colleague for a short time, but it did not work out to part with the world of motors for good.

Personal life

Little is known about the personal life of a popular commentator. In 2011, Alexey divorced his second wife Tatyana. In the first marriage with a French woman, two children were born, in the second - another child, all sons.

“I could really say more than you can generally allow in the modern world. Under the guise of such a fool, he said really harsh and politically incorrect things - and it rolled. This is great".

Alexey Popov now

In the spring of 2018, the sports commentator presented his second literary work - the book “Formula 1. Russian voice. The first one is called “Formula 1. Firsthand. Season 1999 ”Popov wrote in tandem with his colleague Sergei Cheskidov.

From the first lines, Aleksey explained that he did not pretend to be a serious writer, since this was not even a book, but an transcription of voice recordings of conversations with a journalist friend. According to the content, a mixture of biography facts came out with memories of pilots, races, travels, meetings with people who, to one degree or another, were involved in a dangerous and fascinating sport.

The reaction to Popov's book was mixed. Readers who are not familiar with the behind-the-scenes life of the “autostables” were interested in getting to know Gilles Villeneuve or Riccardo Patrese from a previously unknown side, to see how Damon Hill’s accident made it possible to win another world title, to plunge into the technical details of preparing fireballs.

However, professionals and just people who are passionate about Formula 1 have found a lot of blunders and inconsistencies. And this is not only about the mistakes of publishing editors, but also about the distortion of facts. For example, a detailed "debriefing" indicating the places where Alexey made a mistake is provided by the Sports.ru portal.

Personal life of Natalia Fabrichnova, a Formula 1 commentator, is associated with sports, and, according to many, with the life of another sports commentator - Alexei Popov. It was he who at one time invited Natalya to become his assistant. Together with him, she once raced in amateur karting, and they had a team of four. In addition, they also took part in personal races, in which, most often, Alexey won. Natalya tried to drag Popov into professional karting, but she failed.

The fact that Alexei is part of the personal life of Natalia Fabrichnova is also evidenced by the fact that they spend their holidays together after the end of the races, they rest together with friends in Greece. Natalya admits that it is very easy for her with Popov, and they do not even quarrel.

In the photo - Natalia Fabrichnova and Alexei Popov

But when they ask her if they are connected by something other than work, she answers vaguely. Despite the fact that Formula 2 appeared in Natalya's biography, even if it was a competition that she only comments on, she also continues to go in for karting, although not as tightly as before. Due to the heavy employment, Fabrichnova missed the last winter season, but Natalya tries to get out to open summer playgrounds, if possible.

In the previous season, she took third place and was the only girl there. There are very few girls in this sport, and successful results get units. Natalya is also attracted to motorcycles, and she quickly learned to ride them, but she rides very rarely, because it is very dangerous to ride in the city.

Behind Natalya Fabrichnova's studies at VGIK, after which she worked on television, having managed to try several professions - cameraman, director of photography, administrator, producer and even editor. After Natalia started commenting, she realized that she liked this work the most.

Favorite hobbies in the personal life of Natalia Fabrichnova include cinema and theater. Now there is very little time left to watch an interesting film or a new production, but before Natalya tried to go to the cinema once a week. On television, Natalya also met Alexei Popov, and during the twentieth season of Formula 1 broadcasts, he invited her to try to talk on the air about how she sees the race. Not everything turned out well at first, but over time, having gained experience, Natalia began to feel more confident in the commentary booth.

Commentator "Match TV" Alexei Popov sums up the test races and looks forward to new season"Formula 1". Start - March 26 in Australia.

Unlike last year, this Formula 1 season has 20 races. In 2016, it seemed that their number would only increase, but the Germans did not solve the financial problems. They had two tracks, and they initially signed a contract, according to which one track takes races in odd years, and another in even years. When one track withdrew, there was a lot of pressure on Hockenheim to have Formula 1 there every year. They said it was expensive to race like this, so they would stick to the schedule. We will see this track again in 2018. There will be no Germany in 2017. This is surprising given that the champion is German, the champion team is also German, many of the leaders of the race are German. That is, there is a German presence, but there is no German stage.

Kimi Raikkonen retained his first spot on the day of the first pre-season test in Barcelona, ​​with Max Verstappen second and Jolyon Palmer third. But this podium cannot be called a landmark for the season. All these days have gone well for Ferrari. I observe in social networks that their fans miss victories - the team took the last title ten years ago. Let me remind you that last year Ferrari was also in the lead in the tests, but at the same time did not win a single race in the season. The same Mercedes has its own program. To whom will they demonstrate speed? There are already sponsors, but new ones are unlikely to come, there are fans. I would call them a "cold team". For some reason, those who win often and in series are not loved. When Schumacher was winning for five years, people gradually turned their backs on him. The same story was with Vettel and Red Bull. Last year, the situation was helped by the conflict between Hamilton and Rosberg. Let's see if there will be a confrontation between Hamilton and Bottas.

In past years, some teams skimped on the first tests. Or they brought old cars to give testers a ride or show them to sponsors. Why are there so many breakdowns now? All ten teams brought new cars that were assembled the day before. And at the first starts all ten cars left. This has never happened. Yes, some broke down: Toro Rosso, Mercedes electrics, Red Bull exhaust problems.

The machines themselves have changed a lot - this is a revolution. Look how huge the rear tires have become: 40.5! There were a lot of questions about this both from the fans and from the pilots themselves. Racers said that their cars were not the fastest in the world, and that they had become too easy to fly, too slow. Instead of five kilograms per race, they lost 500 grams. Someone claimed that after the finish line he was ready to drive again. They were told, “Okay. You will get such machines that it will be hard for you.” The players shook their necks in advance. The minimum weight of the car with the pilot will be 728 kg. The engineers told the players: “We need to make sure that in the last laps you don’t swim before your eyes, but you fight. Swing." There are racers who gained five kilograms of muscle during the winter and ate four times a day.

The FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation - Match TV) has begun an inspection and has already found inconsistencies with some teams. Even before the start of the tests, Ferrari tried to draw attention to the fact that someone was violating the rules. Here we learn that the Red Bull cars did not pass the commission, and Mercedes has some kind of novelty. Ferrari started writing letters after the end of the championship. But these are not anonymous complaints, on the contrary, this is normal. People write to the technical director with a request to clarify how certain decisions comply with the rules. If it matches, the team can copy it.

The question was hydraulics. In principle, interactivity between the front and rear of the machine is prohibited. As for the front, it doesn't seem to be. The commands partially imitate the active suspension system: it is not fully controlled by the computer when the car is preparing for the turn in advance. But it partially mimics some of those moments. Teams have invested serious money in the development of hydraulics. Red Bull has its own system, Mercedes has its own. The fact that someone said something about this today does not mean anything. Many said they would protest in Melbourne against Force India. But everyone will definitely not ban - the teams will not back down. Formula 1 has always been a technical sport.

The maximum speed on the circle this year may be lower due to the wide tires: due to the greater friction force, the car is harder to drive, there is air resistance - more motor is needed to go fast on the straights. But due to the downforce and tire contact patch, the cars go faster in corners and the overall lap time drops. Now the cars are three to four seconds faster than last year's tests. That is, it will be even faster. I was pleasantly surprised by Ferrari - these few tenths, other things being equal, tires can even allow them to virtually be ahead of the Mercedes. The whole question is how seriously the Mercedes was driving now.

Lance Stroll killed two cars on tests. His dad is a billionaire. The fact is that he went on buying teams, championships along the way. Lance is 18 years old. All last year he had private test sessions around the world at 10 circuits - no one has ever had this. It was served by ten people with motors. Massa flew to Bahrain to set his base time and teach him how to fly. Someone says that Jacques Joseph Villeneuve or Hamilton had a similar start. But no. Villeneuve was the Indycar champion and Hamilton was the Grand Prix 2. Before the start, they were racers of another level.

Natalia Fabrichnova is one of the invited guests at the meeting "Women in Motorsport" within the framework of the General Assembly of the International Automobile Federation. She speaks to the racers and talks about how she single-handedly represents the fair sex in the commentary business. Then the young athletes rush to take a photo with Natalia, and she seems to be a little embarrassed, realizing that their racing achievements are no less than her television ones.

In the past, Natalia herself was a racer, professionally engaged in karting. It was the professional look of the pilot that she once brought to the broadcasts of Formula 1, making up a couple of commentators with the guru of this business, Alexei Popov. In addition, she graduated from VGIK, worked on television for a long time, so in terms of working on the air, she is also a professional, and not a casual passer-by.

"Western colleagues still make round eyes"

How do you like today's event? Do you think such meetings are important for the promotion of women's motorsport?

For me personally, it is a great honor, because such women have gathered here who have achieved success in different types motorsport, a traditionally male environment. They work two to three times as hard to get anywhere. I was even a little worried, because I needed to say something, to inspire. But when I saw little karting girls, I was already inspired by myself. As a rule, everyone says that it is necessary to develop women's motorsport, but this is not particularly moving. And there are some girls here who are doing it right now and overtaking guys on the tracks. For the next generation of riders, these encounters are important because they will see women supporting each other and the community growing.

- How do you feel in the world of motorsport? After all, you are the only female commentator in the world.

I feel great, but my colleagues are still not used to it, they still make round eyes. In the West, there is a lot of talk about equality, but it all remains only in words.

Natalia Fabrichnova with Russia's first F1 driver Vitaly Petrov at the 2015 Russian Grand Prix. Photo: © RIA Novosti / Mikhail Korytov

- And in fact?

But in fact, I regularly hear: "Are you the only female commentator? What? From Russia?" Specifically, this causes such surprise for them, because, in principle, they allow women to take interviews, they allow them on the radio, but they try to take only male commentators on television.

- That is, we are ahead of them in this regard?

Yes! Can you imagine?!

- You had a difficult entry into this role. Have you finally mastered it?

Oh, it's been almost seven years now. Yes, at first it was very difficult, because the profession is public, and you get everything doubly. If a man made a mistake, they can point it out to him, that's all. And here it is added that this error arose due to the fact that she ... she! It makes you work harder. I have already got used to this rhythm and I am very glad that I am working with Alexei Popov, because he is such a person who never stops developing, and this only makes it more difficult: you need to comply with him all the time.

"Sirotkin is a strong guy, I'm waiting for his return"

How did it happen with Sergei Sirotkin that he did not find a place in the team? Is it fair? Because the story of the return of Robert Kubica, who comes to replace him, looks like pure marketing. Will he even pull the level of Formula 1 now after his injury?

You know, there's an irony in that. After all, when Seryozha came, everyone said: a paid pilot, a paid pilot. But this year, Williams took the driver who paid more money. But they don’t call him that, because he created a reputation for himself, albeit eight years ago, which, especially by the standards of F-1, is an incredibly long time ago. But in sports we need beautiful stories, such comebacks. This is already real Hollywood, especially since the Americans are now at the helm, for them it is ideal.

- And in terms of results?

We need to wait at least for the tests. Everyone is worried about the city stages: will he be able to drive a car there. Because it seems like a movable arm, but ...

- He does 70% of the work anyway.

Yes. That is, you understand, in the "Formula" ...

- So, while you have no forecasts?

We must wait at least until Barcelona, ​​where there will be full tests on the new car. I was in Abu Dhabi, I saw, it seems, the backlog is not too big. But there the teams do not disclose what tires they are on, what fuel they use. When this information is open, it will be possible to compare, now everything is a pitchfork in the water.

Are we expecting a comeback from Sergey? Because he has proven himself within the team as a hard worker and in the peloton as a good guy.

Yes. In "Formula 1" justice is not worth waiting, unfortunately. As for Seryozha, it's just ... I can imagine his feelings, you've just gained experience - and you are immediately asked to leave. I hope this will give him strength, fuel his motivation and set him up clearly to come back.

- You talked to him. How does he not give up?

No no no! He is a very strong guy, even despite his age. So we told him that we would definitely wait for his return.

"Kvyat's fate will be decided by the team's attitude towards him"

We'll all be waiting! And Danya Kvyat, what are his chances in the second coming to Formula?

Danya and I have not talked one-on-one yet. The Ferrari team had a slightly strange attitude in terms of press access: they didn't give it to us. I hope that I will be able to talk in Barcelona or Australia, and then it will already be clear how much he will be determined to fight in this team. Because, you can imagine, it's like returning to your ex-wife!

Many people compare Kvyat's story with what Felipe Massa once had. After all, he also started in Formula 1 not very well, then he was a test driver for Ferrari and returned as a very strong driver. Do you think his experience in the Scuderia will help Dana?

Formula 1 commentator on Russian TV Natalya Fabrichnova in an interview with the newspaper "Sport Day by Day" spoke about the nuances of working and communicating with the racers.

Question: Most of the inhabitants believe that the commentators are on a short footing with all the Formula 1 drivers. Is it really true?
Natalia Fabrichnova: It all depends on how many years you have been a commentator. If you are a beginner then you must follow general rules, use exclusively press windows that have their own schedule. But there are people in the paddock who have been working in Formula 1 for 10-20 years. Naturally, they have already been with many press officers of the pilots for almost half a lifetime, everyone knows them, so they can feel a little freer. But the commentator, of course, is a slightly privileged profession. Unlike newspapers, you need to give out the information you receive not the next day, but right there, on the air. Therefore, we need as much fresh news as possible, some insiders.

Question: Personally, can you already approach any pilot or only the Russians?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Alexey Popov, who has been in Formula 1 for 23 years, helps me a lot. He knows everyone, so he shows me the rules of good manners. Everyone has access zones in the pass, so Alexey acts as a guide, showing how the world organized by Bernie Ecclestone functions. It is clear that I am on friendly terms with Spanish-speaking pilots, because I speak their language, and it is more difficult for me with the same Lewis Hamilton, a native speaker in English. Alexey, for example, is fluent in French, so he communicates fluently with native speakers. And of course, we were lucky that both Vitaly Petrov, when he was in Formula 1, and Daniil Kvyat are very open guys. You can always approach them to talk outside the general press window, and they will tell you something that interests you at that particular moment.

Question: Judging by what I managed to see in the paddock, the most open of the riders is Daniel Ricciardo. Or are there more talkative guys?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Due to the fact that this is the leader of the team, and therefore in front of everyone, he really smiles all the time. Ricciardo is always in good mood may be joking. All in all, a great guy. But there are guys like Pastor Maldonado who are on the other side of the pit lane, if you know what I mean. He plays for a team that is not currently top. Bumps are constantly pouring on him, because almost every weekend he crashes a car, gets into some situations, after which he is punished. For this season, he took number 13, and it seems to me that everything that happens to him is no coincidence. This is a man of bad luck. But he's a really open guy, he can wave at you and say hello even when he's walking down the track with the engineers. Well, you can also note Adrian Sutil. Where is Sauber now - zero points. There is no crowd of journalists in front of him, but he is also a very interesting person. With him you can talk about something other than Formula 1, which is a big plus.

Question: And who, a kind of "Snow Queen"?
Natalia Fabrichnova: The answer to this question can be guessed by looking at just five minutes of communication between the riders and the press (laughs). "Snow Queen" from the snow country.

Question: Kimi Raikkonen?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Yes. And it seems to me that the last year or two he began to work a little on this image. I myself have seen him smile when asked a long, three-story question, to which he says "Yes", "No" or simply nods his head. And everyone laughs.

Question: Is there anyone who has caught a star?
Natalia Fabrichnova: They all have the right to feel like stars, there are only 22 of them in the "Queen of Motorsport". Most often, star disease comes to those who succeed early. Then they all calm down and become normal guys.

Question: Which of the foreign riders managed to master the Russian language best of all?
Natalia Fabrichnova: The biggest lexicon with Fernando Alonso.

Question: Everything is clear, thanks to his friend Dasha Kapustina.
Natalia Fabrichnova: Yes, Dasha has made and continues to make her contribution to this. We talked a little, and she said that Fernando knows not only Good Morning. Although this, you see, is not bad, because this expression is more complicated than “Hi” or “Bye”. Alonso is a polyglot. He gives press conferences in several languages, easily switching from one to another.

Question: What are the advantages of working at home "Grand Prix"?
Natalia Fabrichnova: On the one hand, it is not important that the organizers speak Russian in order to understand how to get accreditation or book a seat in the press center. On the other hand, it is much more pleasant psychologically. Up to the point that you don't have to think about a visa or pack a big suitcase (smiles). There are even gingerbread in the press center, which already helps to feel more pleasant.

Question: What if we talk about difficulties?
Natalia Fabrichnova: More complex schedule. We have noticeably increased the number of live broadcasts and reports. At the same time, intensive preparation for inclusions remains - you need to read everything in the same volume and at the same time work two or three times more.

Question: Is the TV show any different?
Natalia Fabrichnova: He is standard. But this time we showed free races at Rossiya-2, and not at Sport-1, as at other stages. And of course, in Sochi there is a much larger film crew.

Question: Paddock, press center... Is everything in Sochi made according to a template or is it somehow different from foreign Grand Prix?
Natalia Fabrichnova: If there is a template, then it is the highest (smiles). Let's give an example. The press center at the city stages is some kind of prefabricated structure. In Canada, this is almost an awning, which is blown by all the winds, and people are forced to sit in jackets. Everything is much more convenient here. And there is no such thing as in the Asian Grand Prix, where it is very hot on the streets, and in the press centers the air conditioners work so that you have to sit in jackets. There is even food for journalists in Sochi.

Question: So it's not like that everywhere?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Far from everywhere. Sometimes they just give you water, and here you see what a variety of everything. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Question: Daniil Kvyat will be a Red Bull driver next season. How likely is it that he will immediately be able to fight, if not for the championship, but at least for the top three, given the strength of the new car?
Natalia Fabrichnova: I'm always afraid of forecasts. Sometimes in the regulations they can change completely, it would seem, insignificant things, but once - and the pace is lost. The same McLaren are switching to Honda, Lotus is switching to Mercedes engines. It is impossible to say in advance that Red Bull will be in the same good shape. Although, of course, we hope so. Especially knowing the talent of Kvyat himself. If everything goes well, we will cheer for podiums and victories.

Question: Are there any talks on the sidelines about the appearance in Formula 1 of someone else from the Russians?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Not yet. We are glad that we have Kvyat, we are counting on Sauber test pilot Sirotkin ... But usually teams keep this kind of information secret until the last moment.

Question: It turns out that only the return of Vitaly Petrov is more likely if he finds a sponsor?
Natalia Fabrichnova: Yes. This is the defining moment. Even behind Alonso there is a Santander bank. We are lucky that Kvyata supports Red Bull, we need someone to support Petrov as well.

Question: Do you see a Russian in other racing series who can make a name for himself in Formula 1?
Natalia Fabrichnova: We have been following Artem Markelov from GP2 all season. This is a very talented boy. All he needs is just to cope with the qualifications. He just rides brilliantly in races, but in qualifying, in his words, "constantly fails." Either there is no clean circle, then the car breaks down, then his own mistake ... He often manages to come to the points zone, starting from the end of the twenty. I would advise everyone to remember this name.