Scheduling: The 2019 British Grand Prix / New York City E-Prix

Formula 1 heads home to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix!

For the first time this season, the race airs live on free-to-air television, with Channel 4 airing live coverage of the Grand Prix. Both Channel 4 and Sky have an ensemble cast on offer for the weekend.

No restrictions in place for Channel 4
Steve Jones continues to front Channel 4’s presentation team, with Eddie Jordan, Mark Webber and David Coulthard alongside him. Lee McKenzie will be roving the pit lane, as well as providing paddock interviews, whilst Coulthard will also be alongside Ben Edwards in the commentary box.

It is worth noting that the restrictions in place for Channel 4’s highlights programming are lifted for the British Grand Prix weekend, meaning that the structure of Channel 4’s coverage will remain similar to last season.

Simon Lazenby fronts Sky’s offering, with analysts including Martin Brundle, Jenson Button and Damon Hill providing analysis. Brundle is alongside David Croft on commentary, whilst Ted Kravitz is also back with his Notebook output.

As-is now tradition for Silverstone, Sky’s F1 Show airs on Thursday afternoon, but this year the show airs live from Club corner due to the renovations currently taking place on the main start-finish straight.

The change means that there is no Welcome to the Weekend on Thursday, as The F1 Show effectively moves from Saturday into its time slot. Welcome to the Weekend moves to Wednesday under the title of Welcome to Silverstone.

As noted recently, Sky Sports have gone the extra mile in the run-up to Silverstone. During the Silverstone weekend, a special documentary will air focusing on Sir Frank Williams’ fifty years in Formula 1. The documentary premieres following the Formula Two feature race on Saturday.

In addition, Sky are also continuing with their live coverage throughout the Friday lunch break, meaning that they are live from Silverstone from 09:30 to 17:00 on Friday, a set-up this site has advocated for a long time.

Meanwhile, Channel 4 is airing a special interview segment, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff interviewing England’s football manager Gareth Southgate. The film first airs on Friday after the second practice session.

Over on 5 Live, Jack Nicholls’ commitments with Formula E mean that Formula Two commentator Alex Jacques is his super-sub for the whole of the Silverstone weekend.

Cricket World Cup set to throw a spanner in the works
There is plenty going on from both broadcasters to make Silverstone feel like a special weekend. However, the Grand Prix faces stiff competition from both the Wimbledon finals, and the Cricket World Cup final.

The Cricket World Cup final is interesting, because Sky Sports have announced that they will make the final free-to-air if England make it. And who holds the free-to-air highlights rights for the Cricket World Cup? Channel 4….

Various media outlets are reporting that Channel 4 and Sky are in talks, in the event that England make the final. Either the Grand Prix will need to be moved to More 4 or, the Cricket World Cup final will need to air on More 4 during the Grand Prix.

If England made the final and I was a betting man, I would place good money on both the F1 build-up and post-race analysis moving to More 4. Nothing is confirmed, and will not be confirmed until Thursday 11th July, when England’s semi-final takes place.

Elsewhere…
The 2018-19 Formula E season comes to its conclusion with a double-header in New York, as Jean-Eric Vergne looks set to clinch his second championship. Both races air live across BBC’s Red Button, Eurosport 2 and BT Sport 2.

Prior to the big weekend, Sky Sports F1 are airing live coverage from the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The channel usually covers two-hours of live action, but has expanded the live amount this year to three hours. The action airs this Sunday (7th July) from 14:00.

With Formula 1, MotoGP, Formula E, IndyCar, the W Series, and much, much more motor sport coming up throughout July, there is plenty on offer to whet the appetite.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
12/07 – 09:55 to 11:50 – Practice 1
12/07 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2
13/07 – 10:55 to 12:25 – Practice 3
13/07 – 12:55 to 15:50 – Qualifying
14/07 – 12:55 13:10 to 16:45 17:30 – Race

Supplementary Programming
12/07 – 15:35 to 16:00 – Wolff meets Southgate

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
12/07 – 09:30 to 17:30
=> 09:30 – F1: Practice 1 (also Sky Sports Main Event from 09:45)
=> 11:55 – F2: Practice (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 12:45 – Paddock (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 13:45 – F1: Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 15:55 – F2: Qualifying
=> 16:30 – The Story so Far
=> 17:00 – F3: Qualifying Tape-Delay
13/07 – 10:30 to 12:30 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 10:30 – Practice 3
=> 12:10 – Paddock Walkabout
13/07 – 13:00 to 15:35 – Qualifying (also Sky One and Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 13:00 – Pre-Show
=> 13:55 – Qualifying
14/07 – 12:30 to 17:30 – Race
=> 12:30 – Pit Lane Live
=> 13:30 – On the Grid
=> 14:05 – Race (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 16:00 – Paddock Live
=> 17:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
07/07 – 14:00 to 17:00 – Goodwood Festival of Speed
10/07 – 18:30 to 19:00 – Welcome to Silverstone
11/07 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
11/07 – 16:30 to 17:30 – The F1 Show
12/07 – 16:30 to 17:00 – The Story so Far
13/07 – 17:00 to 18:00 – Sir Frank: 50 Years in F1
17/07 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
11/07 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
12/07 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
12/07 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
13/07 – 10:55 to 12:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
13/07 – 13:55 to 15:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
14/07 – 14:00 to 16:30 – Race Updates (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Formula E – New York City (race 1)
Also airs live on YouTube
12/07 – 20:45 to 21:30 – Shakedown (BT Sport 2)
13/07 – 12:15 to 13:30 – Practice 1 (BT Sport 2)
13/07 – 14:45 to 15:45 – Practice 2 (BT Sport 2)
13/07 – 16:30 to 18:00 – Qualifying (BT Sport 2 and Eurosport 2)
13/07 – 20:30 to 22:30 – Race: World Feed
=> live on BBC’s digital platforms
=> live on BT Sport 2
=> live on Eurosport 2 from 21:00 to 22:00

Formula E – New York City (race 2)
Also airs live on YouTube
14/07 – 13:45 to 15:00 – Practice (BT Sport 2)
14/07 – 16:30 to 18:00 – Qualifying (BT Sport 2 and Eurosport 2)
14/07 – 20:30 to 22:30 – Race: World Feed
=> live on BBC’s digital platforms
=> live on BT Sport 2
=> live on Eurosport 2 from 21:00 to 22:00

Euroformula – Red Bull Ring (BT Sport/ESPN)
Also airs live on YouTube
13/07 – 14:30 to 15:45 – Race 1
14/07 – 12:00 to 13:00 – Race 2

Formula Two – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
12/07 – 11:55 to 12:45 – Practice (also Sky Sports Main Event)
12/07 – 15:50 to 16:30 – Qualifying
13/07 – 15:35 to 16:50 – Race 1
14/07 – 09:50 to 10:50 – Race 2

Formula Three – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
12/07 – 17:00 to 17:30 – Qualifying Tape-Delay
13/07 – 09:20 to 10:10 – Race 1
14/07 – 08:30 to 09:20 – Race 2

IndyCar Series – Toronto (Sky Sports F1)
13/07 – 19:00 to 20:30 – Qualifying
14/07 – 20:00 to 23:00 – Race

International GT Open – Red Bull Ring (BT Sport/ESPN)
Also airs live on YouTube
13/07 – 15:45 to 17:15 – Race 1
14/07 – 13:00 to 14:30 – Race 2

Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy Series – New York City (BT Sport 2)
13/07 – 13:30 to 14:15 – Qualifying 1
13/07 – 18:45 to 20:00 – Race 1
14/07 – 12:55 to 13:40 – Qualifying 2
14/07 – 18:45 to 20:00 – Race 2

Porsche Supercup – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
14/07 – 11:10 to 11:50 – Race

World Superbikes – Laguna Seca
Also airs live on World Superbikes‘ Video Pass (£)
13/07 – 18:45 to 19:45 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2)
13/07 – 22:00 to 23:15 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
14/07 – 18:45 to 19:45 – Qualifying Race (Eurosport 2)
14/07 – 22:00 to 23:15 – Race 2 (Eurosport 2)
17/07 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

As always, coverage plans are subject to change back, so check back here for further adjustments.

Update on July 11th – England are in the Cricket World Cup final, having beaten Australia. Free-to-air coverge will now air live on Channel 4, but will switch to More 4 during the Grand Prix.

In my view, Channel 4 have made the right call here. England were last in the CWC final in 1992, whereas the British Grand Prix is a yearly event, so the decision to move some of the build-up and the reaction of the F1 to More 4 is a no brainer. Of course, the F1 is going to be squeezed massively on Sunday, but that is FOM’s fault on the scheduling front and not Channel 4’s or Sky’s.

Elsewhere, Claire Cottingham has confirmed that she will be part of Channel 4’s coverage this weekend, and likewise Alex Brundle has announced that he will be alongside Alex Jacques on Formula Two commentary for the feature race.

Update on July 12th – Interestingly, perhaps contractually, F1’s build-up and post-race show is not airing on More 4. Instead, Channel 4 have trimmed their F1 programming by an hour, with 15 minutes cut from the build-up and 45 minutes cut from the post-race analysis, leaving a total length of 3 hours and 35 minutes.