F1 Review: 2003 [DVD]

The box lid and Duke web site say, "It features the best of the official coverage from every round, including practice and qualifying sessions". This is a lie. What this review lacks big time is coverage from Friday and Saturday. Yes, they show Button's crash in Monaco and Firman's in Hungary, but that's about it. They showed the several drivers who made mistakes in the Austrian GP qaulifying, but all the crucial qualifying action is missed - e.g. Raikkonen's spins in Spain and Canada (very important for the championship). In older videos (best done in 1994) they play some music and cut together the battle for pole postion. This works well, as it builds the tension and sets the scene for the race. In this review, coverage of each Grand Prix starts on Sunday's grid!

The whole thing just feels very brief, with no time spent on anything. They show incidents, but there is no reaction on them. Some of the racing is highlighted, but again they totally ignore some key battles, for example M. Schumacher amazingly managing to beat the McLarens in France. They simply say "Michael Schumacher finished third", during the round-up.

On the plus side, it's great to see some of the year's incidents from onboard cameras. For example we see Alonso hitting Verstappen at the back of the Monza grid onboard with the Renault. That is great. Likewise with Raikkonen's crash at the start in Spain (seen from Kimi's car) and the pile-up in Germany from Barrichello's camera. However, sadly, that's about it. Without digital TV, most of the incidents are just from the same angle as we've all seen on the TV.

In conclusion, this video is great for documenting the year's events in a simple and efficient way. It's main problem is that it's just a bit dull. There is a nice intro to the vid, with some moody images of the track at dusk, team managers turning round in slow-motion etc and echoes of driver quotes, but from then on (other than the onboard angles) there is nothing really "cool" about it. They didn't even make one of those awesome round ups at the end of the review. Instead, there are just a few shots of Michael Schumacher with some music for 20 seconds.

DVD EXTRAS:
The only thing that makes the DVD fantastic is the coverage of each pole position lap. They don't appear on continuous play mode, but they are in the additional features menu. They are not from the onboard cameras, they are simply the world F1 feed cut together by the live director. It's exactly as we watched it at the time; the difference is that there is no commentator, we get to simply enjoy the engine sounds. On DVD, with NICAM and a good sound system in your home this are awe-inspiring to watch (and listen to!).

For collectors of these reviews, of course you must buy it to maintain the collection. But for the casual fan, don't expect anything special.