My latest guest I have to talk about their job is commentator, Alex Goldschmidt! Alex has been largely commentating in karting and eSports but has lots to talk about as a fellow racing fan and racing nerd!
For the last couple of weeks, I've been chatting on and off with Alex trying to get this interview sorted and I'm glad to finally be able to share this interview with you all!
I first became aware of Alex around a year and a half ago when I started working with Downforce Radio, taking my first steps into the world of writing about racing and became aware of Alex due to his previous experience with Downforce! This interview was really good to put together and hear about different aspects of racing.
Onto the questions!
1. How long have you been doing commentary? It started very much ad-hoc in 2015, but it really started in 2017 with commentary at Rye House and Daytona DMAX, before moving into Europe in 2018.
2. What’s your current job title? I’m a Motorsport Media Consultant, which includes commentary for real-life racing and sim racing, along with content creation, article writing and social media work.
1. Let’s start with some easy ones; what’s the first memory of racing you have? 1986 – Brands Hatch GP – first saw Formula Ford and the support classes, as we missed F1 qualifying by about 20 minutes.
📣 Racing in Formula Ford that year was Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger, who would later make it to F1, but sadly succumbed to an accident the day before Ayrton Senna at Imola.
2. Who became your racing hero, or who still is your racing hero? Ayrton Senna – I first watched him race in the infamous Monaco GP in 1988 on my TV at home. The way he danced that car around the circuit was so captivating and it got me truly hooked on motorsport. Even with his tragic passing in May 1994 at San Marino, he's still at the top of the list.
📸 Legendary, Ayrton Senna.
Nowadays, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel are welcome additions to my list, even having met Rubens in person, along with his son Eduardo at the RotaxMAX Challenge Grand Finals a few weeks ago in Portimão.
📸 Rubens is still racing in Brazil, while his son Eduardo 'Dudu' Barrichello spent this year in FRECA with Arden.
3. What led you to being a commentator?
I met Downforce Radio’s Jake Sanson at the Autosport Show back in 2015, and we got talking and there was a definite kindred spirit feeling there. We kept in touch, and he helped me to get some voluntary opportunities in 2015 and 2016, which really spurred my love for commentating.
Chris McCarthy is another good friend, and he’s also gone on to great things; the FRECA, F2, F3 and Le Mans amongst others. He was the one that got me several opportunities, including Rye House and DMAX in 2017, before the call that really changed my life to become the Rotax MAX Euro Trophy commentator in April 2018. Without the welcome help of these two awesome guys, I’d be nowhere without them.
📣 I've also interviewed Chris; find his interview here 👇🏻 https://www.formulalex.co.uk/post/my-job-racing-and-me-with-chris-mccarthy
4. What’s your favourite thing about being a commentator? Being able to inform, educate and entertain – it is what we have to do, and it is so humbling when I have chats with some of the parents, whose son or daughter are racing, thanking me for the wonderful comments I’ve made during a broadcast.
Also being part of a family, when it comes to the crews I work with behind the scenes, and it give me a sense of purpose. Plus we also have a lot of fun when there’s brief downtime in the weekend schedules.
5. What’s the hardest thing about being a commentator?
Two main things: Firstly, there’s the preparation – it is constantly ongoing, with research on competitors, the circuits, making sure you have accurate information about the series, tracks, etc.
Travel – people always think it’s a life of glamour going to all these different places, but the travel is part of the territory. It never gets any easier, as it’s driving to the airport, getting on a plane, driving to the circuit, and not seeing much of the surroundings due to the hefty schedules.
I’ve even had delays and baggage issues recently, which shows that nothing ever goes to plan.
6. You’ve covered a lot of of karting races; who was a driver you immediately knew would be destined for the top? Joe Turney is one of those drivers, having seen him race in the BNL Karting Series back in 2018, and now he’s one of the most well-known drivers in FIA Karting, having now switched to Kart Republic from Tony Kart.
📸 Joe Turney in action.
Kobe Pauwels is another young talent, who moved from karting to Rallycross, and now he’s a European RX3 Champion in his own right.
Kaï Rillaerts is another great young Belgian talent on the rise, as he has been so consistent in the last three years as a Junior and Senior Rotax driver, plus has multiple national and European title successes to his credit.
📸 Up and comer, Belgian Kaï Rillaerts.
Plus I can’t forget Lebanese driver Christopher El Feghali, who is the first ever driver from his nation to win a global title at the Rotax Grand Finals in Portimão this year. He also has won the MENA Karting Championship title in Micro, Mini and Junior MAX for the last three years. Truly a rising star and has a very kind and humble family behind him.
7. Was there one you were surprised never made it? There have been a few that have not made it, and with the way that motorsport is a business, I’ve seen a few that are still involved in motorsport, but have switched to driver coaching and getting on the tools as a mechanic. It doesn’t surprise me anymore.
8. What’s the best race you’ve ever commented on? Ooh, that’s a bit of a tricky one, as there have been so many. One that really stands out to me was one of the final DD2 races of the BNL Karting Series in October 2019 at Karting Genk. It was typical autumnal weather, with heavy rain battering the track all weekend.
The battle between Xander Pryzbylak, David Rehme and DJ Liveris swapped places for the lead around eight times in the first lap and they all showed racing respect and gave each other room to do so – one of the best racing exchanges I see.
📣 A large number of drivers compete at these events across different categories from Micro Max to DD2 Masters, some of the names at this event included current F4 level drivers; Mercedes' Junior Daniel Guinchard and Italian F4 star Valentin Kluss.
9. You’ve covered some esports racing too, are you surprised how big it’s become? Not really, as I think that there is still more to come from the sim racing world. It also put another side of racing front and centre, with organizations and leagues putting up prizes and prize funds, with such great teams being cheered on by their favourotes.
Once the pandemic hit in March 2020, it all started to become part of the racing culture, and now to be a part of it as a commentator, it truly is something that I have embraced as a part of what I do now.
📸 eSports' reputation is ever growing; evidenced by Cem Bolukbasi who debuted in Formula 2 this year, and began his racing in eSports before moving into the real thing.
10. What’s the best thing about it? The people I’ve got to meet and know over the course of the last nearly three years – they have a passion and a love for it.
11. You’ve previously worked as a correspondent covering DTM and F3 level; what was the most enjoyable aspect of that role? The flat-out racing, with a wonderful atmosphere along with great sounding cars roaring around the circuit. There were also some great characters in the paddock that I have met over my travels, and not just the drivers, which made it a great experience.
12. You must have watched a lot of really good drivers in your roles; if you had to narrow it down to just three, who would be the best? Max Verstappen – to see where he was in 2014 with Van Amersfoort in FIA F3 Europe was just a sign of things to come, and now he is a two-time Formula One World Champion.
📸 Max wins in F3, he took 3rd overall that season, behind Tom Blomqvist and champion Esteban Ocon.
Antonio Felix da Costa – Now a FIA WEC and Formula E champion in his own right.
📸 Portuguese star Antonio Felix Da Costa like Verstappen was a part of the Red Bull set up.
Daniel Juncadella – rapid, consistent and also great character off track.
📸 Juncadella served as Force India's test and reserve driver in 2014.
13. What’s your proudest moment of your career? Being the lead commentator at this year’s ADAC SimRacingExpo in Nuremberg, Getting the chance to be part of a LAN event was a surreal and wonderful feeling all at the same time, working with a fantastic crew behind the scenes.
14. What do you still hope to accomplish?
My dream is to one day be able to commentate on the Le Mans 24 Hours – it is the ultimate test of drivers, teams and machinery. The atmosphere and allure of this race just strikes a chord with me, and I’ve always watched it every year that I can.
It also itches that technical nerd within me, as I was in the automotive industry for over two decades before I went full-time in motorsport in October 2020.
📸 Alex would love a go at commentating on the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
15. Anything you’d like to add to the end of the interview? Just a piece of advice for those looking to move into motorsport – just keep being yourself and make sure you keep working hard towards your dream. Anything is possible if you put in the time and effort to making it happen.
Thanks Alex for this interview, we'll have to do it again sometime! This was a really good interview and a good one to read over!
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Alex Goldschmidt, 24h du Mans, Lukasz Iwaniak, Said Ait Ali Said, Javier Guerra, Sky Sports, FIA WEC, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Joe Turkey Racing, Kaï Rillaerts, GT World Challenge.
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