Will Buxton

Last updated

Will Buxton
Will Buxton 2024 Chinese GP.jpg
Buxton in 2024
Born
William Frank Buxton

(1981-02-14) 14 February 1981 (age 43)
Portsmouth, England [1]
NationalityBritish
Alma mater University of Leeds
Occupation(s) Presenter
Journalist
Sports commentator
Author
Years active2002–present
Employer Fox Sports

Will Buxton (born William Frank Buxton; [2] 14 February 1981) is a British motorsport journalist and presenter best known for his coverage of Formula One with the Formula One Group. He is set to become the play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' coverage of the IndyCar Series beginning with the 2025 season. [3]

Contents

Early and personal life

Buxton was born in Portsmouth, but grew up in Malvern, Worcestershire. He attended King's School, Worcester where he was a chorister at Worcester Cathedral under Donald Hunt. He went on to study at Lord Wandsworth College and Sixth Form College, Farnborough in Hampshire before studying Politics at the University of Leeds. [1] [4]

In 2018, Buxton announced he was engaged to Victoria Helyar, who worked in marketing for the Racing Point F1 Team. [5] They got married on 16 April 2022. [6]

Racing career

In 2014, Buxton was invited to participate in the inaugural Florida Winter Series. He drove at three events, alongside future Formula One drivers Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi. [7]

Motorsports journalism

Whilst at university Buxton started writing for GrandPrix.com. In 2002 he joined the Official Formula 1 Magazine, and was a staff writer there until it closed in February 2004, when he went on to freelance work.[ citation needed ]

Buxton was offered the role of press officer for the inaugural GP2 Series of 2005, and was later promoted to Director of Communications. In 2008 Buxton became editor of the GPWeek virtual magazine, and in 2009 he started providing live commentary for the GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series for Formula One Group. [8]

In 2010, Buxton joined Speed, a motorsports channel which was owned by Fox Sports, as Formula 1 pit-lane reporter, until it lost the rights to broadcast F1 at the end of 2012. [9] In 2013, the broadcasting rights for Formula 1 went to NBC Sports, where Buxton resumed his role as pit-lane reporter, as well as later joining NBC's broadcast team for IndyCar Series races, until 2017.

In a Sky Sports F1 interview in December 2017, Buxton supported the changes Liberty Media had made whilst running Formula 1, despite these changes having lost him his job at NBC Sports. [10]

Buxton returned to Formula 1 in an official capacity in 2018, becoming Formula One Group's first Digital Presenter. [11] He hosts a number of features on F1 TV and the official F1 YouTube channel, including Weekend Warm-Up (formerly Paddock Pass), a feature he carried over from NBC.[ citation needed ]

Buxton has appeared in all six seasons of the Netflix documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive based on the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Formula 1 seasons, giving his opinions on the events covered in the series. [12]

In 2019, Buxton released his first book, titled: My Greatest Defeat: Stories of Hardship and Hope from Motor Racing's Finest Heroes, featuring illustrations from Giuseppe Camuncoli. [13] In it Buxton named three of his favourite drivers to watch as Lewis Hamilton, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and Indy NXT driver Myles Rowe. [14] In his 2024 book, Grand Prix: An Illustrated History of Formula 1, Buxton detailed his childhood ambitions of becoming a Formula 1 driver but said he was held back by troubles operating a manual gearbox, something he continued to have difficulty with. [15]

On 14 January 2025, Fox Sports announced Buxton as its commentator for its first season covering the IndyCar Series in 2025, alongside James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell as race analysts. [16]

Filmography

Television
YearTitleRoleNetworkNotesRef.
2019–2024 Formula 1: Drive to Survive Himself Netflix [17] [18]
Web
YearTitleRoleNetworkNotesRef.
2018–2022Paddock PassHimself F1TV 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 season. [19]

Games

YearTitleTypePlatformDeveloperRef.
2020 F1 2020 Sport Playstation, Xbox and PC Codemasters [20]
2021 F1 2021 Sport Playstation, Xbox and PC Codemasters and EA Sports [21]
2022 F1 22 Sport PlayStation, Xbox and PC Codemasters and EA Sports


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References

  1. 1 2 "About Will Buxton". 13 May 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. ↑ Buxton, W. (27 June 2019). My Greatest Defeat: Stories of Hardship and Hope from Motor Racing's Finest Heroes. EVRO PUBLISHING.
  3. ↑ "FOX Sports Unveils Broadcast Team for NTT INDYCAR SERIES". foxsports.com. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "About Will Buxton". The Buxton Blog. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Who Is Will Buxton's Wife? Had Tweeted About His Engagement With HIs Girlfriend". Ecelebritymirror. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Yadav, Khyati (17 April 2022). "F1 Fans Jibe At Newly-Married Will Buxton- "If You Are Married…"". Essentially Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Buxton's Racing Debut: Episode 1, 17 March 2014, retrieved 17 November 2021
  8. ↑ Rowe, Callum (1 May 2012). "Q&A – Will Buxton". Fast Cars On The Track. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  9. ↑ Gordon, Claire (12 October 2012). "Sports Reporter Will Buxton Fired Over Twitter". AOL.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  10. ↑ McAssey, Pat (14 December 2017). "Despite Losing NBC Job, Will Buxton Supports Liberty's Vision For F1". New England Sports Network. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Nelson, David (19 March 2018). "Will Buxton joins Formula 1's in-house team". Motorsport Broadcasting. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Formula 1: Drive to Survive (TV Series 2019– ) - IMDb , retrieved 29 November 2023
  13. ↑ ""My Greatest Defeat" by Will Buxton reviewed · RaceFans". RaceFans. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Buxton, W. (27 June 2019). My Greatest Defeat: Stories of Hardship and Hope from Motor Racing's Finest Heroes. EVRO PUBLISHING.
  15. ↑ Buxton, W. (20 August 2024). Grand Prix: An Illustrated History. Penguin UK.
  16. ↑ "FOX Sports Unveils Broadcast Team for NTT INDYCAR SERIES". foxsports.com. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "Will Buxton". IMDb. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  18. ↑ ""I can honestly so it's the best so far"- Will Buxton on F1 Drive To Survive season 3". The SportsRush. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Formula 1". F1 TV. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  20. ↑ "The 'F1 2020' Racing Game Can't Keep Up With Reality". www.vice.com. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "F1 2021 Game Review: A turbo-charged triumph". Racing Games. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
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