Scheduling: The 2015 Monaco Grand Prix / Berlin ePrix

Next weekend sees two of the three blue riband events take place in the form of the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500! The Monaco Grand Prix is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1, with the Indianapolis 500 exclusively live on ESPN. For those without the F1 channel, qualifying for Monaco is also live on Sky Sports 1.

Over on the BBC, their radio output is depleted due to Test Match cricket on 5 Live Sport Extra meaning that practice commentary will be via the website only. I know it is the luck of the draw sometimes, but I’m mildly amused that BBC’s qualifying highlights show is longer than their race highlights show, which is certainly a first since their current deal came into effect at the beginning of 2012. In terms of supplementary programming, Sky are airing their first Tales from the Vault programme of 2015 looking back at past Monaco races.

The Indianapolis 500 is being broadcast live on ESPN from 16:00 next Sunday. As noted earlier, it appears that BT’s output has been reduced with less studio coverage. If that changes, I will update the schedule, but it doesn’t appear that way at the moment. Over at Formula E’s Berlin ePrix, Mike Conway will again be alongside Jack Nicholls in the commentary box with Andy Jaye presenting the coverage for ITV.

Below are all the details you need for the blue riband events, plus much more…

BBC F1
BBC One
23/05 – 17:10 to 18:45 – Qualifying Highlights
24/05 – 17:05 to 18:35 – Race Highlights

BBC Radio
21/05 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
23/05 – 13:00 to 14:00 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live)
24/05 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Supplementary Programming
22/05 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
23/05 – 16:10 to 17:10 – F1 Rewind (BBC Two)
23/05 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
21/05 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
21/05 – 12:45 to 15:00 – Practice 2
23/05 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
23/05 – 12:00 to 14:15 – Qualifying (Sky Sports 1)
23/05 – 12:00 to 14:45 – Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
24/05 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
20/05 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
20/05 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Monaco
21/05 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference
21/05 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show
22/05 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show
22/05 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Tales from the Vault: Monaco Special
27/05 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

GP2 Series – Monaco (Sky Sports F1)
21/05 – 11:00 to 11:50 – Practice
21/05 – 15:10 to 15:50 – Qualifying
22/05 – 10:10 to 11:40 – Race 1
23/05 – 15:05 to 16:20 – Race 2

World Series by Renault – Monaco (BT Sport 2)
24/05 – 10:00 to 11:00 – Race

Formula E – Berlin (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
23/05 – 07:10 to 08:10 – Practice 1
23/05 – 09:25 to 10:10 – Practice 2

Formula E – Berlin (ITV4)
23/05 – 11:00 to 12:15 – Qualifying
23/05 – 14:00 to 16:30 – Race
24/05 – 08:30 to 09:30 – Highlights

IndyCar Series – Indianapolis 500 (ESPN UK)
24/05 – 16:00 to 21:00 – Race

Speedway Grand Prix – Czech Republic (British Eurosport 2)
23/05 – 18:00 to 21:00 – Race

World Superbikes – Donington Park (British Eurosport 2)
23/05 – 11:45 to 13:00 – Superpole
24/05 – 11:15 to 16:30 – Races

As always, if anything changes, I will update the above schedule.

Scheduling: The 2015 Spanish Grand Prix / Monaco ePrix

Formula 1 returns to action in May after a break following the four flyaway races with the Spanish Grand Prix. The action is exclusively live on Sky Sports with highlights on BBC television. It should be noted that, due to the 2015 general election, the BBC schedules could change at short notice in the event of a hung parliament, so it is worth keeping an eye out as the weekend approaches.

The BBC Radio team are without Jennie Gow for at least the first two days of the weekend, with Suzi Perry down to do the radio preview show on BBC Radio 5 Live. Gow has other commitments, with round seven of the 2014-15 Formula E season from Monte Carlo. As of writing, no details are available concerning ITV4’s studio line-up for Monaco.

Below are all the details for Formula E and the F1, along with BTCC and IndyCar action from Indianapolis…

BBC F1
BBC One
09/05 – 17:10 to 18:20 – Qualifying Highlights
10/05 – 17:05 to 18:30 – Race Highlights

BBC News Channel
08/05 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1
09/05 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1

BBC Radio
07/05 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
09/05 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
09/05 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying Updates (BBC Radio 5 Live)
10/05 – 12:45 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
08/05 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
08/05 – 12:45 to 15:00 – Practice 2
09/05 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
09/05 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky1)
10/05 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
07/05 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
07/05 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Spain
08/05 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference
08/05 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show
13/05 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

GP2 Series – Spain (Sky Sports F1)
08/05 – 11:00 to 11:50 – Practice
08/05 – 14:50 to 15:30 – Qualifying
09/05 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
10/05 – 09:30 to 10:45 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Spain (Sky Sports F1)
09/05 – 08:45 to 09:25 – Qualifying
09/05 – 16:15 to 17:15 – Race 1
10/05 – 08:20 to 09:20 – Race 2

Formula E – Monaco (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
09/05 – 07:10 to 08:10 – Practice 1
09/05 – 09:25 to 10:10 – Practice 2
09/05 – 10:45 to 12:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Monaco (ITV4)
09/05 – 11:00 to 12:15 – Qualifying
09/05 – 14:00 to 16:30 – Race
10/05 – 09:55 to 11:00 – Highlights

British Touring Car Championship – Thruxton (ITV4)
10/05 – 11:00 to 18:30 – Races

IndyCar Series – Indianapolis Road Course (ESPN UK)
09/05 – 20:30 to 23:00 – Race

As always, if anything changes, I will update the above schedule.

Update on May 3rd – In an interesting u-turn compared with earlier this season, ITV4 are screening qualifying live from Monaco for the first time ever, which is great news all around.

Scheduling: The 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix

The Formula 1 and MotoGP paddocks quickly head out of China and America respectively, onto Bahrain and Argentina, as both series see back-to-back races for the first time this year. The Bahrain Grand Prix is the fourth round of the Formula 1 season, with Argentina round number three in MotoGP’s season.

BBC and Sky Sports will both be screening the Formula 1 action live, with some differences compared to BBC’s usual live output. A congested weekend of live sport for them means that the qualifying show on BBC One is truncated, with half an hour of build-up and very little reaction afterwards due to the FA Cup semi-final. As far as I can see, there is not extra coverage on the Red Button for qualifying. On the brighter side, the new F1 Rewind show on BBC Two begins on Friday, as Suzi Perry and Murray Walker look back at classic F1 races, the first episode focusses on classic championship deciders.

Over on Sky, the new-look GP2 Series makes a return. The series in 2015 will feature DRS as well as a new commentator. The identity of the new commentator has yet to be revealed, but GP2’s Twitter page promises us that the revealing will be “soon enough.” So, we shall see. Elsewhere, a new classic race on the channel – the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix. Below are all the details you need…

BBC F1
BBC TV – Sessions
17/04 – 11:55 to 13:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Red Button)
17/04 – 16:00 to 17:40 – Practice 2 (BBC Two)
18/04 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
18/04 – 15:30 to 17:05 – Qualifying (BBC One)
19/04 – 15:00 to 18:05 – Race (BBC One)
19/04 – 18:05 to 19:00 – Forum (BBC Red Button)

BBC Radio – Sessions
17/04 – 11:55 to 13:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
18/04 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
18/04 – 15:55 to 17:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
19/04 – 15:55 to 19:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

Supplementary Programming
17/04 – 15:00 to 16:00 – F1 Rewind (BBC Two)
17/04 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
18/04 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
17/04 – 11:45 to 13:50 – Practice 1
17/04 – 15:45 to 18:00 – Practice 2
18/04 – 12:45 to 14:15 – Practice 3
18/04 – 15:00 to 17:45 – Qualifying
19/04 – 14:30 to 19:15 – Race
=> 14:30 – Track Parade
=> 15:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 15:30 – Race
=> 18:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
16/04 – 13:00 to 13:30 – Driver Press Conference
16/04 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Australia
17/04 – 19:00 to 19:45 – Team Press Conference
17/04 – 20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show
22/04 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

NEW Classic Races
16/04 – 21:00 to 21:45 – 1995 San Marino Grand Prix Highlights

GP2 Series – Bahrain (Sky Sports F1)
17/04 – 10:00 to 10:50 – Practice
17/04 – 17:55 to 18:35 – Qualifying
18/04 – 11:05 to 12:35 – Race 1
19/04 – 12:10 to 13:25 – Race 2

MotoGP – Argentina (BT Sport 2)
17/04 – 13:00 to 20:00
=> 13:00 – Practice 1
=> 15:45 – Reaction and Build-Up
=> 17:00 – Practice 2
18/04 – 13:00 to 20:15
=> 13:00 – Practice 3
=> 16:00 – Qualifying
19/04 – 13:30 to 15:15 – Warm Up
19/04 – 16:30 to 21:00
=> 16:30 – Races
=> 21:00 – Chequered Flag

MotoGP – Argentina (ITV4)
20/04 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights

IndyCar Series – Long Beach (ESPN)
19/04 – 21:00 to 23:30 – Race

British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park (ITV4)
19/04 – 10:30 to 18:30 – Races

As always, if anything changes, I’ll update the schedule.

Scheduling: The 2015 Chinese Grand Prix

It is a mammoth weekend of motor racing next weekend. Alongside the third round of the Formula One season from China, there is also MotoGP action from Texas, IndyCar action from Louisiana and the first round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season from Silverstone. It is definitely one of the busiest weekends that I can remember in a long time. The victim, from a UK scheduling perspective is the IndyCar Series, which finds itself consigned to BT’s Red Button as a result.

The main broadcasting news is that Jennie Gow will be returning to the 5 Live team, as she never travelled to either of the first two races due to scheduling clashes, in the case of the Australian Grand Prix, it clashed with Formula E, which Gow presents for ITV. Elsewhere, there is not much to report, although it appears that Anna Woolhouse will be back presenting the Midweek Report.

Sky’s offering outside of the race weekend continues to remain distinctly thin, with very few new Classic F1 races appearing in the schedule, whilst there is no sign of F1 Legends returning yet, either (although why they can’t do a similar series with the journeymen of the sport, I don’t know). Tales from the Vault should be back soon, as episodes are being taped this month.

Below are all the scheduling details, for what will hopefully be Hamilton vs Vettel – Round 2…

BBC F1
BBC One
11/04 – 13:00 to 14:15 – Qualifying Highlights
12/04 – 14:00 to 15:55 – Race Highlights

BBC News Channel
11/04 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1
12/04 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1

BBC Radio
09/04 – 21:30 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
10/04 – 02:55 to 04:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
10/04 – 06:55 to 08:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
11/04 – 04:55 to 06:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
11/04 – 07:55 to 09:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
12/04 – 06:30 to 09:00 – Race

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
10/04 – 02:45 to 04:50 – Practice 1
10/04 – 06:45 to 09:00 – Practice 2
11/04 – 04:45 to 06:15 – Practice 3
11/04 – 07:00 to 09:45 – Qualifying
12/04 – 05:30 to 10:15 – Race
=> 05:30 – Track Parade
=> 06:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 06:30 – Race
=> 09:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
09/04 – 08:00 to 08:30 – Driver Press Conference
09/04 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Malaysia
10/04 – 09:00 to 09:45 – Team Press Conference
10/04 – 11:00 to 12:00 – The F1 Show
15/04 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

NEW Classic Races
12/04 – 18:15 to 19:00 – 1990 French Grand Prix Highlights

MotoGP – Texas (BT Sport 2)
10/04 – 15:00 to 22:00
=> 15:00 – Practice 1
=> 17:45 – Reaction and Build-Up
=> 19:00 – Practice 2
11/04 – 15:00 to 22:15
=> 15:00 – Practice 3
=> 18:00 – Qualifying
12/04 – 16:30 to 21:00 – Races
12/04 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Chequered Flag

MotoGP – Texas (BT Sport Xtra)
12/04 – 14:50 to 16:30 – Warm Up

MotoGP – Texas (ITV4)
13/04 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights

IndyCar Series – Louisiana (BT Sport Xtra)
12/04 – 20:00 to 23:00 – Race

World Endurance Championship – Silverstone (Motors TV)
12/04 – 11:30 to 18:30 – Race

As always, I’ll update the schedule if anything changes.

Scheduling: The 2015 Long Beach ePrix

After a three week gap, Formula E is back for round six of the inaugural 2014-15 season. Round six takes place at a familiar location for motor sport fans as the paddock heads west to California for the Long Beach ePrix! It is a star-studded back-to-back, with the Monte Carlo ePrix following in five weeks time. There are three practice sessions for Long Beach, looking at the live streaming page, it appears all three sessions will be streamed live, but I’ll update the schedule below if that is not the case.

Formula E is not the only motor racing series on offer during the Easter weekend, as BTCC makes its 2015 debut live from Brands Hatch. It really is a big weekend for ITV4, with BTCC offering eight hours of action alongside Formula E’s action on Saturday night. The ITV line-up for both series are the same as usual, Jennie Gow will be presenting the Formula E race, with Steve Rider and Louise Goodman presenting the BTCC coverage. David Addison remains lead commentator for the BTCC races, Tim Harvey is alongside Addison in the commentary box. Elsewhere, British Superbikes begins with round one at Donington Park on Bank Holiday Monday.

Formula E – Long Beach (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
04/04 – 16:05 to 16:45 – Practice 1
04/04 – 17:15 to 17:55 – Practice 2
04/04 – 18:25 to 19:05 – Practice 3
04/04 – 19:45 to 21:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Long Beach (ITV4)
04/04 – 23:00 to 01:30 – Race
05/04 – 09:25 to 10:30 – Highlights

British Touring Car Championship – Brands Hatch (ITV4)
05/04 – 10:30 to 18:30 – Races

British Superbikes – Donington Park (British Eurosport 2)
05/04 – 15:30 to 18:00 – Qualifying
06/04 – 12:30 to 18:00 – Races

As always, the schedule will be updated if anything changes.