Formula One: Building a broadcast team for ESPN

By Alex Herbst | Nov 20, 2017

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 12: Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H and Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 lead the field toward turn one at the start during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2017 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

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Bob Varsha

The man who led Speed’s coverage of the Formula One world championship would be everyone’s favorite to lead ESPN’s new team. Bob Varsha did not get the sendoff he deserved when he was dropped from the Fox Sports IMSA team, but perhaps his career could come full circle and return to ESPN for one final ride.

Varsha is one of the longest-serving and most well-respected voices in motorsports, especially in North America. He has covered every type of race in his career, from NASCAR to IndyCar to Formula One to IMSA. His most recent work came with Formula E, serving as race host for a handful of races on their world feed, which coincidentally also aired on Fox Sports.

So what makes Varsha the best candidate for the play-by-play role? As an all-American announcer, Varsha can reach both the staunch racing traditionalists and the new casual fans tuning in on the ESPN family of networks. Leigh Diffey did a great job serving in this role previously, but he will be remaining with NBC Sports to cover primarily IndyCar in 2018. Now, it might be Varsha’s turn again to make his triumphant return.

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