Category: Channel 4 F1

All post relating to Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage.

Scheduling: The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix [Updated]

This weekend, Mercedes could become 2019 Formula 1 Constructors’ Champions, whilst Lewis Hamilton is set to take a major leap towards his sixth Drivers’ Championship. It is all to play for as Formula 1 heads to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix!

As in Russia, both Martin Brundle and David Coulthard are absent from Sky’s and Channel 4’s teams respectively. Neither broadcaster has confirmed their commentary replacements, but expect Paul di Resta and Mark Webber to fill in the gaps.

Lee McKenzie and Eddie Jordan join Steve Jones out in Japan for Channel 4, Japan marking McKenzie’s last F1 race of the season.

Outside of the Formula 1 circles, it is a weekend of finales as the 2019 season begins to wrap-up for many. This weekend brings the curtain down on the British Touring Car Championship year, as well as the Euroformula and International GT Open seasons.

Update on October 11th at 20:00 – Typhoon Hagibis has thrown a spanner in the works for Formula 1, resulting in the cancellation of all of Saturday’s action at Suzuka. As a result, Channel 4 have extended their race highlights programme on Sunday by half an hour to also cover qualifying.

Sky are going above and beyond with their changes. The broadcaster will remain live on-air from 01:30 to 09:30 on Sunday in a marathon eight hour broadcast. Paddock Walkabout and #AskCrofty with Damon Hill fills the gap between the end of their qualifying show and their race show.

The typhoon has resulted in the cancellation of Sky’s The F1 Show broadcast for this week, and also claimed victim to Eddie Jordan, who won’t be part of Channel 4’s broadcast this weekend. Elsewhere, F1’s YouTube channel will be streaming the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix in full from 08:00 GMT / 09:00 UK time on Saturday morning.

Channel 4 F1
12/10 – 13:30 to 15:00 – Qualifying Highlights
13/10 – 14:20 to 16:25 14:20 to 16:55 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
11/10 – 01:45 to 03:45 – Practice 1
11/10 – 05:45 to 07:45 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
12/10 – 03:45 to 05:30 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 03:45 – Practice 3
=> 05:10 – Paddock Walkabout
12/10 – 06:00 to 08:30 – Qualifying
=> 06:00 – Pre-Show
=> 06:55 – Qualifying
13/10 – 01:30 to 09:30 – Race Day (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 01:30 – Qualifying Pre-Show
=> 01:55 – Qualifying
=> 03:30 – Paddock Walkabout
=> 04:10 – #AskCrofty with Damon Hill
=> 04:30 – Pit Lane Live
=> 05:30 – On the Grid
=> 06:05 – Race
=> 08:00 – Paddock Live
=> 09:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
10/10 – 06:00 to 06:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
10/10 – 09:00 to 09:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
11/10 – 08:30 to 09:00 – The Story so Far (also Sky Sports Main Event)
12/10 – 08:30 to 09:00 – The F1 Show (also Sky Sports Main Event)
16/10 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
09/10 – 21:30 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
11/10 – 01:55 to 03:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
11/10 – 05:55 to 07:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
12/10 – 03:55 to 05:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
12/10 – 06:55 to 08:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
13/10 – 06:00 to 08:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

British Touring Car Championship – Brands Hatch (ITV4)
13/10 – 10:30 to 18:15 – Races

Euroformula – Monza (BT Sport 2)
Also airs live on YouTube
12/10 – 13:00 to 14:00 – Race 1
13/10 – 12:30 to 13:30 – Race 2

International GT Open – Monza (BT Sport 2)
Also airs live on YouTube
12/10 – 14:00 to 15:45 – Race 1
13/10 – 13:30 to 15:15 – Race 2

Virgin Australia Supercars – Bathurst 1000 (BT Sport 1)
Also airs live on SuperView (£)
13/10 – 00:45 to 08:00 – Race

World Superbikes – Argentina
Also airs live on World Superbikes’ Video Pass (£)
12/10 – 16:30 to 18:15 – Super Pole (Eurosport 2)
12/10 – 19:45 to 21:15 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
13/10 – 16:30 to 21:15 – Support and Race 2 (Eurosport 2)
15/10 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

As always, the schedule will be updated if details change.

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Scheduling: The 2019 Russian Grand Prix

From the lights of Singapore, Sochi plays host to the sixth running of the Russian Grand Prix.

There are several key changes to both Sky’s and Channel 4’s line-up for the weekend, with both commentary teams changing. Martin Brundle is stepping away from the Sky commentary box, so expect Paul di Resta to be alongside David Croft in the box.

Karun Chandhok is also absent from Sky’s team in Russia; however, Ted Kravitz is back with Sky, and should be with them for the remainder of the season. Although not working with Sky, Kravitz was in Singapore, but working with Singapore’s big screen team for the weekend as reporter (ran by Australian company ZSpace).

Over on Channel 4, Allan McNish replaces David Coulthard in the commentary booth. Coulthard and Brundle are missing the same three races this year. Both were absent from Azerbaijan back in April, and both are missing the upcoming Russian and Japanese rounds.

Due to the time difference between Russia and the UK, the race starts two hours earlier than other European races at 12:10 UK time. Channel 4 have more flexibility with the scheduling of their highlights programme as a result, which airs an hour earlier than usual at 18:00 UK time.

Russia plays host to the final round of the inaugural Formula Three season, with Robert Shwartzman set to clinch the crown.

Channel 4 F1
28/09 – 18:30 to 20:00 – Qualifying Highlights
29/09 – 18:00 to 20:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
27/09 – 08:45 to 10:45 – Practice 1 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
27/09 – 12:45 to 14:55 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
28/09 – 09:45 to 11:10 – Practice 3
28/09 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying
=> 12:00 – Pre-Show
=> 12:55 – Qualifying
29/09 – 10:30 to 15:30 – Race
=> 10:30 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 11:30 – On the Grid (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 12:05 – Race (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 14:00 – Paddock Live
=> 15:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
26/09 – 13:00 to 13:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
26/09 – 16:00 to 16:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
27/09 – 16:00 to 16:30 – The Story so Far
28/09 – 15:45 to 16:15 – The F1 Show
02/10 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
27/09 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
27/09 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
29/09 – 11:30 to 14:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup – Barcelona (Eurosport 2)
Also airs live on YouTube
29/09 – 15:30 to 17:30 – Race

British Touring Car Championship – Silverstone (ITV4)
29/09 – 10:20 to 18:15 – Races

Formula Two – Russia (Sky Sports F1)
27/09 – 07:25 to 08:15 – Practice
27/09 – 14:55 to 15:30 – Qualifying
28/09 – 14:35 to 15:45 – Race 1
29/09 – 09:10 to 10:10 – Race 2

Formula Three – Russia (Sky Sports F1)
27/09 – 10:55 to 11:30 – Qualifying
28/09 – 08:05 to 09:00 – Race 1
29/09 – 07:45 to 08:40 – Race 2

World Superbikes – France
Also airs live on World Superbikes’ Video Pass (£)
27/09 – 13:55 onwards (Eurosport)
=> 13:55 to 14:55 – SBK: Practice 2
=> 14:55 to 15:55 – SSP: Practice 2
28/09 – 09:30 to 14:15 – Qualifying and Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
29/09 – 09:30 to 15:15 – Support and Race 2 (Eurosport 2)
01/10 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

As always, the post will be updated if plans change.

Update on September 28th – a post-transmission mention to #AskCrofty, which aired today at 11:10 on Sky Sports F1, with David Croft asking the questions to Jenson Button.

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Channel 4 to continue to air F1 in “multi-year” deal with Sky

Channel 4 are to continue broadcasting Formula 1 after agreeing a new multi-year deal with Sky, the broadcaster has confirmed.

The free-to-air broadcaster first started airing the sport in 2016, taking over the BBC’s legacy contract. From 2016 to 2018, Channel 4 aired half the races live, and the other half in highlights form.

This year, Channel 4 have aired the free-to-air element of Sky’s exclusive deal with Formula 1, that being live coverage of the British Grand Prix and highlights of every race.

That arrangement will continue into next year, in what Motorsport Broadcasting understands to be a new three-year deal until the end of the 2022 season.

I also understand that the contract to produce Channel 4’s coverage will soon be put out to tender, meaning that it is not guaranteed Whisper will continue to cover the sport. Nevertheless, the fact that the contract is going out to tender implies that Channel 4 have retained editorial control.

As was the case last year, the F1 agreement forms part of a wider package between Channel 4 and Sky, which the two are billing as a “new, broader, strategic partnership spanning content, technology and innovation.”

Channel 4’s CEO Alex Mahon said “Channel 4 has established itself as the go-to channel for free to air television coverage of Formula 1 and we’re thrilled that motorsport fans will be able to continue to enjoy the excitement of F1 through our highlights of all the races and live coverage of the British Grand Prix.”

Analysis: Little surprise as Channel 4 retains F1 highlights
The news that Channel 4 have retained their F1 highlights package is actually not a major surprise as some may think.

Earlier in the Summer, Channel 4 and Sky partnered to bring cricket fans coverage of the Cricket World Cup final featuring England to a much wider audience, with live coverage airing across Channel 4 and More4.

Whilst the British Grand Prix did not exactly benefit on that day, it showed that the partnership between Channel 4 and Sky was strong, admittedly there was public pressure involved as well.

Speaking at the Black Book Motorsport Forum last month, Sky’s Head of F1 Scott Young explained the importance of free-to-air to Sky in relation to their F1 contract.

“It was very important for Sky to transition into this new exclusive role and to have a component of this broadcast on free to air television. Our executive group is very focussed on making sure that in some way that continues beyond one year,” Young said prior to today’s announcement.

“There’s not a closed shop mentality about how we work with free-to-air.”

“It’s about how that ecosystem works where we can still create subscriber base television, where we can grow the revenue to give to the federations, and that a broader consumer can actually start to see what we produce and then want to consume more of our platforms.”

Although Channel 4 remains the biggest F1 broadcaster from an audience perspective in the UK, their audience figures have dropped year-on-year.

In depth, deep dive analysis from Motorsport Broadcasting at the halfway stage of the season showed that their F1 audience has dropped by around 15 percent, some of that heading over to Sky.

On the production front, I would be extremely surprised if Whisper did not retain control, and if the on-air team did not stay broadly the same. But hey, stranger things have happened.

Overall, this is good news for F1 in the UK, and provides some stability on the broadcasting front, with both TV and radio contracts now locked in until at least the end of the 2021 season.

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Scheduling: The 2019 Singapore Grand Prix / Aragon MotoGP

Formula 1 heads out of Europe and over to Singapore for the start of the flyaway season, as the countdown continues to Abu Dhabi.

The night-race from Singapore falls on the same weekend as the Aragon MotoGP round, with a clash initially looking likely. However, a late switch from Dorna to move the main MotoGP race earlier means that both avoid a direct clash. The F1 begins at 13:10 UK time, with MotoGP’s main event from Aragon beginning at 12:00.

Both races air exclusively live on pay-TV, F1 live on Sky Sports, with MotoGP on BT Sport. Highlights of the latter air on Quest, which reverted to two airings as of recent races after a bit of back and forth from a scheduling perspective over the Summer.

Ted Kravitz is not with Sky in Singapore (sorry Lando, if you are lurking), but will be back with Sky in Russia. There is no Formula Two or Formula Three this weekend, both returning in Russia.

Elsewhere, the IndyCar season concludes, returning to Laguna Seca for the first time in 15 years. The action airs live on Sky’s F1 channel, as IndyCar concludes the first of a multi-year deal with the broadcaster.

Channel 4 F1
21/09 – 18:30 to 20:00 – Qualifying Highlights
22/09 – 19:00 to 21:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
20/09 – 09:15 to 11:15 – Practice 1 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
20/09 – 13:15 to 15:15 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
21/09 – 10:45 to 12:30
=> 10:45 – Practice 3 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 12:10 – Paddock Walkabout
21/09 – 13:00 to 15:30 – Qualifying
=> 13:00 – Pre-Show
=> 13:55 – Qualifying
22/09 – 11:30 to 16:00 – Race
=> 11:30 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 12:30 – On the Grid (also Sky Sports Main Event until 13:00)
=> 13:05 – Race
=> 15:00 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
19/09 – 13:30 to 14:00 – Drivers’ Press Conference
19/09 – 16:30 to 17:00 – Welcome to the Weekend
20/09 – 16:00 to 16:30 – The Story so Far
21/09 – 15:30 to 16:00 – The F1 Show
25/09 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
19/09 – 21:30 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
20/09 – 09:25 to 11:05 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
20/09 – 13:25 to 15:05 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
22/09 – 13:00 to 16:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

MotoGP – Aragon (BT Sport 2)
Also airs live on MotoGP’s Video Pass (£)
20/09 – 07:45 to 15:15 – Practice 1 and 2
21/09 – 08:00 to 15:15
=> 08:00 – Practice 3
=> 11:00 – Qualifying
22/09 – 07:30 to 15:30
=> 07:30 – Warm Ups
=> 09:15 – Moto3
=> 11:00 – MotoGP
=> 13:15 – Moto2
=> 14:30 – Chequered Flag

MotoGP – Aragon (Quest)
23/09 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Highlights

British Superbikes – Assen
21/09 – 14:00 to 16:30 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2)
22/09 – 11:30 to 17:00 – Races (Eurosport 2)
26/09 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

Euroformula – Barcelona
Also airs live on YouTube
21/09 – 14:30 to 15:30 – Race 1 (BT Sport Extra 2)
22/09 – 13:00 to 14:00 – Race 2 (BT Sport Extra 3)

IndyCar Series – Laguna Seca (Sky Sports F1)
21/09 – 21:30 to 23:00 – Qualifying
22/09 – 19:30 to 23:00 – Race

International GT Open – Barcelona
Also airs live on YouTube
21/09 – 15:30 to 17:15 – Race 1 (BT Sport Extra 2)
22/09 – 14:00 to 15:30 – Race 2 (BT Sport Extra 3)

Red Bull Rookies Cup – Aragon (BT Sport 2)
21/09 – 15:15 to 16:15 – Race

Speedway Grand Prix – Britain
20/09 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Qualifying (BT Sport 1)
21/09 – 16:15 to 20:30 – Races (BT Sport 2)

As always, the schedule will be updated if timings change.

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Scheduling: The 2019 Italian Grand Prix

From Spa, Formula 1’s ten teams head south to Monza for the last stop of the European leg, with the Italian Grand Prix!

After a light-weight line-up on Sky last weekend, Ted Kravitz is back with the team for their coverage from Monza. Over on Channel 4, Stefano Domenicali returns to the team after first appearing in Australia and Canada. Meanwhile, Claire Cottingham deputises for Jennie Gow on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The Formula Two and Formula Three seasons are quickly heading towards their conclusion. There are only three rounds of Formula Two remaining this year, whilst Formula Three’s season finale takes place in Russia.

All of the F1 paddock, including F2 and F3, head into Monza with a heavy heart following the fatal accident of Anthoine Hubert last weekend in Spa.

Channel 4 F1
07/09 – 18:30 to 20:00 – Qualifying Highlights
08/09 – 19:00 to 21:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
05/09 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
05/09 – 17:00 to 17:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
06/09 – 09:45 to 17:30
=> 09:45 – F1: Practice 1
=> 11:55 – F2: Practice
=> 12:45 – Paddock Live
=> 13:45 – F1: Practice 2
=> 15:50 – F2: Qualifying
=> 16:30 – The Story so Far
=> 17:00 – F3: Qualifying Tape-Delay
07/09 – 09:30 to 17:15
=> 09:30 – F3: Race 1
=> 10:15 – Paddock Live
=> 10:45 – F1: Practice 3
=> 12:10 – Paddock Live
=> 13:00 – F1: Pre-Show
=> 13:55 – F1: Qualifying
=> 15:35 – F2: Race 1
=> 16:45 – The F1 Show
08/09 – 08:30 to 17:30
=> 08:30 – F3: Race 2
=> 09:15 – Paddock Live
=> 09:40 – F2: Race 2
=> 10:40 – Paddock Live
=> 11:05 – Porsche Supercup: Race
=> 11:40 – Paddock Live
=> 12:30 – F1: Pit Lane Live
=> 13:30 – F1: On the Grid (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 14:05 – F1: Race (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 16:00 – F1: Paddock Live
=> 17:00 – F1: Notebook
11/09 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
05/09 – 21:00 to 21:30 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
08/09 – 14:00 to 16:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

British Superbikes – Oulton Park
07/09 – 11:00 to 13:00 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2)
07/09 – 15:30 to 18:00 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
08/09 – 13:00 to 18:00 – Races 2 and 3 (Eurosport 2)
11/09 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

Euroformula – Silverstone
Also airs live on YouTube
07/09 – 15:00 to 16:00 – Race 1 (BT Sport 3)
08/09 – 13:45 to 14:45 – Race 2 (BT Sport 2)

International GT Open – Silverstone
Also airs live on YouTube
07/09 – 16:00 to 17:45 – Race 1 (BT Sport 3)
08/09 – 14:45 to 16:15 – Race 2 (BT Sport 2)

Speedway Grand Prix – Denmark (BT Sport 3)
07/09 – 17:45 to 21:15 – Races

World Superbikes – Algarve
Also airs live on World Superbikes’ Video Pass (£)
06/09 – 10:25 onwards (Eurosport 2)
=> 10:25 to 11:30 – SBK: Practice 1
=> 15:00 to 15:55 – SBK: Practice 2
=> 15:55 to 17:00 – SSP: Practice 2
07/09 – 13:00 to 15:30 – Qualifying Tape-Delay and Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
08/09 – 10:30 to 13:00 – SSP: Superpole Race (Eurosport 2)
08/09 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Race 2 Tape-Delay (Eurosport 2)
10/09 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

As always, the schedule will be updated if plans change.

Update on September 4th – Well, Sky Sports F1’s schedule for the weekend has radically changed. No, this is not a mistake, nor a typo, but schedules for the weekend show that Sky will be live from Friday morning through to Sunday evening.

The 5-minute fillers between sessions have gone. I do not know if this is a one-off for whatever reason, or a change of direction going forward (perhaps experimenting ahead of 2020?). Either way, the site will be updated as and when more information comes out.

Update on September 8th – An update on this, more for completeness purposes. Aside from an Ask Crofty special on Saturday with Nico Rosberg, none of the other special segments from Sky were actually live. In fact, it was the same pre-recorded material on a loop, just under a different title.

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