Hollywood A-lister, Keanu Reeves is a huge fan of F1 and his love for the sport led him to host the 2023 Disney+ documentary series titled ‘Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story’ about the Brawn GP team [the predecessor of Mercedes] that won the championship in 2009.
David Croft, the lead commentator for Sky Sports’ F1 coverage, recently revealed that he once had a conversation with Reeves about his famous catchphrase to signal the start of the race.
In a recent video clip shared by Sky Sports F1 on Instagram, Croft explained that when Reeves tried to repeat his catchphrase, “Lights out and away we go” he butchered it at the first attempt following which Croft had to correct the actor. He said,
“I once had a conversation with Keanu Reeves about it [the catchphrase] because he was doing the Brawn documentary, and he said, ‘Yeah, I am gonna do your job Crofty, I am gonna be the narrator, the commentator’.”
Keanu Reeves takes you on a remarkable journey into the world of racing.
Discover the story of Brawn GP and our journey to becoming F1 World Champions, streaming 15 November exclusively on Disney+ pic.twitter.com/lLvrzZmvwm— Jenson Button (@JensonButton) November 1, 2023
“And I said well, you got to say ‘lights out, and away we go then.” After this, Reeves tried to repeat the phrase in his own style to which Croft immediately gave feedback and said, “No, that’s not how you say it… I literally gave acting tips to Keanu Reeves.”
Croft also went on to explain how he came up with the catchphrase to begin with.
Croft came up with the phrase to give himself time
In the clip, the British commentator explained how he was trying to think of something that would signal to the viewers that the race was underway, but also as a commentator, he needed a couple of seconds to spot the reaction time of the drivers.
“Also, as a commentator, I needed to say something without thinking for two or three seconds because whilst I’m saying ‘Lights out and away we go,’ I’m looking at who’s got the best reaction and then the commentary kicks off from that. And it just seemed the most simple thing to say,” said Croft.
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While the phrase is not heard on the F1TV coverage anymore — with Alex Jacques leading that broadcast — it is a permanent fixture in the coverage of the race by Sky Sports.
