Alex Jacques
{{Short description|Sports commentator (born 1989)}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|03|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Suffolk, United Kingdom
| occupation = Sports Commentator
| years_active = 2015-present
| known_for = Sports commentator
| website = https://alexjacques.co.uk/
}}
Alex Jacques is a sports commentator and broadcaster who most recently served as the lead commentator for Formula One and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2024, the latter of which he left after ten years working for the series and its predecessor GP2.{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Veerendra Vikram |date=2024-12-06 |title="This Will Be My Final Year": Alex Jacques Announces Retirement From F2 Commentary After 10 Years |url=https://thesportsrush.com/f1-news-this-will-be-my-final-year-alex-jacques-announces-retirement-from-f2-commentary-after-10-years/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=The SportsRush |language=en}} Jacques is the lead commentator on F1TV and Channel 4, and won Commentator of the Year award in the 2022 Broadcast Sports.{{Cite web |title=Winners |url=https://www.broadcastsportawards.co.uk/winners-2022 |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Broadcast Sports Awards |language=en-GB}} Jacques' voice has been used in the official Formula One video games since the 2022 edition and the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive.{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=David |date=2024-05-30 |title=Alex Jacques on the joy of F1 commentary and the ‘unwinnable’ battle it presents |url=https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/2024/05/30/alex-jacques-on-the-joy-of-f1-commentary-and-the-unwinnable-battle-it-presents/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Motorsport Broadcasting |language=en}}
Career
Prior to commentating, Jacques studied Politics in University and worked on his university's newspaper and radio station, as well as his local hospital's radio. His first break was with BBC covering local football. Eventually, he started taking on bigger games with teams such as Manchester United or Liverpool in the Premier League in Norwich City, and covered other sports such as Cricket and eventually, GP3. Additionally, he also worked a day job as a news reporter for the Times.{{Cite web |title=Alex Jacques: The voice behind Formula 2 |url=https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/5xFt4MK2pY4W5cH0eTB46d/alex-jacques-the-voice-behind-formula-2 |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website |language=en}}
In 2015, Jacques got the opportunity to commentate in GP2 races after Will Buxton announced a surprise departure. In what Jacques describes as an 'extreme slice of luck', he was hired to join the commentary box alongside Jolyon Palmer and Davide Valsecchi. His commentary in the first few races he participated in was met with criticism, but eventually he was able to improve and fans warmed up to him. When GP2 rebranded to Formula 2, he continued commentating on it.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-30 |title=Formula One Management |url=https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/category/formula-one-management/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Motorsport Broadcasting |language=en}}
During this time, he also offered commentary in Formula Three (F3; the rebranded GP3 championship) and Esports, and also worked on the BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2018, Jacques started commentating on F1 races for F1TV,{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2021-03-29 |title=Former RWSfm presenter Alex Jacques takes over as lead commentator for Channel 4’s F1 coverage |url=https://rwsfm.co.uk/former-rwsfm-presenter-alex-jacques-takes-over-as-lead-commentator-for-channel-4s-f1-coverage/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=RWSfm 103.3 |language=en-GB}} and covered the 2020 Indianapolis 500 for Sky Sports. In 2021, he took over Channel 4's chief commentating duties, replacing the retiring Ben Edwards.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-21 |title=Who are the 2024 F1 commentators? Sky Sports and Channel 4 teams |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-commentary-teams-sky-sports-channel-4/5854877/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=www.autosport.com |language=en}} Jacques also provided commentary on the all-woman W Series championship from the 2021 and 2022 seasons and stopped commentating on F3 following the conclusion of the 2021 season.{{Cite web |last=Camp |first=Steve |date=2020-01-11 |title=F2 commentator Alex Jacques joins W Series broadcast team |url=https://www.motorsportweek.com/2020/01/11/f2-commentator-alex-jacques-joins-w-series-broadcast-team/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Motorsport Week}}{{cite web|last=McClure|first=Michael|title=F2 drivers: Departing commentator Jacques ‘represented us well’|url=https://feederseries.net/2024/12/06/f2-drivers-departing-commentator-jacques-represented-us-well/|work=Feeder Series|date=2024-12-06|access-date=2025-04-01}} He was part of Discovery+'s commentary team that provided coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in {{24hLM|2023}} and {{24hLM|2024}}.{{cite news |last=Picton |first=Oli |date=2024-12-29 |title=F1's Alex Jacques on 2024 season and Town promotion |url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/sport/24817966.f1s-alex-jacques-2024-season-town-promotion/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=Ipswich Star}}
In 2024, Jacques announced that he would be retiring from F2 commentary after 10 years, citing the need to spend more time with his family and to focus on Formula One.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Alex}}