At the end of November, we noticed that 5live were advertising for someone to replace the outgoing Holly Samos in the pitlane reporter role, and we pondered who would be applying for such a job. The BBC announced today that the position has been filled by Natalie Pinkham, who met up with her new colleagues today at Autosport International.

Natalie has plenty of experience in sports reporting, and a little in motorsports - most notably she has presented the TV coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. She has also covered tennis and football, appearing on ITV, Five and the Fox Soccer Channel, which sounds exciting, but only if there are actual foxes playing soccer.

Of her new role, Natalie says she can't wait:

I love all sports – and I am massive fan of 5 Live, I can't wait to get fully involved and immersed in the F1 season and am hugely looking forward to getting face to face with the teams – and making my mark with them – I am ready to go.

- Natalie Pinkham

She's also on Twitter, which is always a plus point, her username is quite predictable @nataliepinkham, and as Pat pointed out in the comments she seems as though she is up for a laugh, meaning she'll fit in at 5live very well.

Meanwhile, the BBC TV crew have confirmed their lineup as well, with David Coulthard replacing Jonathan Legard in the commentary box. Martin Brundle and DC have been firm friends for a long time, so they will have a rapport. David will also continue his pundit role with Jake Humphrey and Eddie Jordan, so he is going to be exhausted after a full Sunday's work!

Finally, the BBC confirmed they will be broadcasting F1 in HD this year, after Bernie Ecclestone finally brought himself into the 21st Century. There's a lot of chopping and changing for 2011, and it's far too early to judge how it's all going to pan out. We'll have to wait and see how well Natalie gets on chasing the drivers around the pitlane, and how David fares trying to explain the intricacies of a Grand Prix weekend.