Paul Marinelli has been working in motorsport commentary and PR for 30 years. He has called races from Las Vegas at night, commentated Supercars at the Adelaide 500, and spent years travelling between Europe and America running out of money and coming back, doing whatever events he could to stay close to the sport he loved. In 2008 he got the call to commentate alongside Murray Walker.
Walker was well into his 80s by then and still sharp, still entertaining, still capable of the magnificent mistakes that had made him one of the most beloved voices in sport. Paul describes it simply as one of the highlights of his career. He still has the signed biography with Walker’s handwriting in it: lovely to work with you.
The conversation goes into what it actually takes to commentate Formula 1 in the modern era, where drivers change their helmets nearly every race, liveries change constantly, and the halo makes it almost impossible to identify who is in the car at speed. Paul talks about the Las Vegas night race in 2023 where it took several sessions before he was confident calling who was in which car. His rule is simple: focus on what is happening in front of you and keep going. You will make mistakes. Refer back to nothing.
He also talks about the Australian Grand Prix from a broadcaster’s perspective, the Middle Park Hotel as the best post-race beer spot near Gate 1, and why Monaco remains the race every commentator, journalist and fan puts at the top of their list.
Paul runs Marinelli Motorsport, a PR and media services company based in Melbourne, currently in its 30th year.
Ep 14: What commentators really think, with motorsport broadcaster Paul Marinelli
Paul Marinelli has been working in motorsport commentary and PR for 30 years. He has called races from Las Vegas at night, commentated Supercars at the Adelaide 500, and spent years travelling between Europe and America running out of money and coming back, doing whatever events he could to stay close to the sport he loved. In 2008 he got the call to commentate alongside Murray Walker.
Walker was well into his 80s by then and still sharp, still entertaining, still capable of the magnificent mistakes that had made him one of the most beloved voices in sport. Paul describes it simply as one of the highlights of his career. He still has the signed biography with Walker’s handwriting in it: lovely to work with you.
The conversation goes into what it actually takes to commentate Formula 1 in the modern era, where drivers change their helmets nearly every race, liveries change constantly, and the halo makes it almost impossible to identify who is in the car at speed. Paul talks about the Las Vegas night race in 2023 where it took several sessions before he was confident calling who was in which car. His rule is simple: focus on what is happening in front of you and keep going. You will make mistakes. Refer back to nothing.
He also talks about the Australian Grand Prix from a broadcaster’s perspective, the Middle Park Hotel as the best post-race beer spot near Gate 1, and why Monaco remains the race every commentator, journalist and fan puts at the top of their list.
Paul runs Marinelli Motorsport, a PR and media services company based in Melbourne, currently in its 30th year.