Scheduling: The 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix

The 2014-15 Formula E season continues through South America, stopping in Argentina for the Buenos Aires ePrix!

The race marks race four of the nine round season, the unofficial halfway stage of the season. I say unofficial as, following this race, the championship goes on a two month break, returning in March from Miami on the same weekend as the Australian F1 Grand Prix. The reason for the large gap is because the round in Rio, scheduled originally for early February, failed to materialise. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as this is season one, but the calendar has to be paced better for season two. Eleven or twelve races, with two or three week gaps, would be better for the 2015-16 season.

On location is the usual team of Nicki Shields, Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti, with Jennie Gow in the ITV Sport studio alongside guests to be confirmed as of writing. If one of your New Year resolutions was to watch a Formula E race, then you’ll be happy to learn that ITV4’s coverage has no adverts during the race itself, so you don’t miss a thing. There are plenty of adverts during the pre and post-race coverage, but this is a good compromise in my opinion.

Formula E – Buenos Aires (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
10/01 – 13:25 to 14:10 – Practice 2
10/01 – 14:45 to 16:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Buenos Aires (ITV4)
10/01 – 18:00 to 20:30 – Race
11/01 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Highlights

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

Scheduling: The 2014 Punta del Este ePrix

The cold winter days are upon us, which means that the motor sport season is over. Well, not quite. With Formula E running through the winter, your motor sport fix is actually never far away!

Round 3 of the series takes place in Uruguay and ITV4 has full live coverage again. Jennie Gow presents the show alongside Alex Brundle and Mark Priestley in the studio. Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti will be on location commentating, with Nicki Shields down in pit lane. No coverage of qualifying on ITV4, but the action will be streamed on Formula E’s website, details are listed below.

As well as Formula E, there is the annual Race of Champions event, which airs live on Motors TV. Frustratingly, the Nations Cup portion clashes with Formula E, however Motors TV is repeating the running in full on Sunday afternoon so this is not too much of an issue.

Formula E – Punta del Este (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
13/12 – 12:30 to 13:00 – Practice 2
13/12 – 14:00 to 14:55 – Qualifying

Formula E – Punta del Este (ITV4)
13/12 – 17:00 to 19:30 – Race
14/12 – 09:30 to 10:30 – Highlights

Race of Champions (Motors TV)
13/12 – 16:00 to 19:05 – Nations Cup
14/12 – 12:55 to 16:00 – Nations Cup (R)
14/12 – 16:00 to 19:05 – Race of Champions

As always, I’ll update the above if anything is added or changed.

Update on December 13th – As per this tweet from Jack Nicholls, practice one is not broadcast online. Apologies.

BBC and Sky programming over the festive period

The 2014 Christmas schedules are starting to come out and with that, some end of season reviews to make you aware of.

BBC have their usual season review, whilst over on Sky, they have an #AskCrofty Special and Midweek Report review before Christmas. Sky also have two specials concerning Lewis Hamilton and Johnny Herbert. Details are unknown about both shows, but I suspect the Hamilton special is Sky’s season review. Some team review details should filter through soon, assuming Sky are still going down that route as in previous years.

No sign of live coverage of the AUTOSPORT Awards or the FIA Gala on Sky Sports F1 in the UK, which shouldn’t be too surprising as they did not screen live coverage in 2012 or 2013, although highlights of the former were screened over the Christmas period last year. There is not a massive amount in the schedules at the moment, but listed below are the current scheduling details.

BBC F1
27/12/14 – 13:00 to 14:10 – Season Review (BBC One)

Sky F1
05/12/14 – 20:00 to 21:30 – The F1 Show #AskCrofty Special (Sky Sports F1)
10/12/14 – 21:15 to 22:15 – Midweek Report Season Review (Sky Sports F1)
13/12/14 – 23:00 to 00:00 – Lewis Hamilton: A Champion’s Story (Sky Sports 1 + F1)
19/12/14 – 20:35 to 21:30 – 2014 AUTOSPORT Awards Highlights (Sky Sports F1)

As always, any updates and I will update the above.

Update on December 13th – It looks like the Hamilton special is actually premièring on Monday 13th November at 23:00 on Sky Sports 1 and F1. What this means is that there is no season review over the Christmas period, and it also looks like there will be no team reviews over, so a significant reduction in output for the channel, besides the usual repeats.

Update on December 17th – Highlights of the AUTOSPORT Awards have been added to Sky’s schedules.

Update on December 23rd – The ‘Johnny Herbert: Life Without Limits’ show has disappeared completely from Sky’s schedules, so presumably the show is not happening.

Scheduling: The 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After 18 races, the Formula 1 championship battle comes down to the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi! In any of the previous seasons, that statement may be somewhat surprising, but given the double points scenario this year, it is not too much of a surprise to see the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go down to the wire.

With no broadcasting announcements yet for 2015, it remains to be seen whether Abu Dhabi will be the last race for anyone on the BBC and Sky Sports teams. What we do know is that Natalie Pinkham will not be at any of the early 2015 races, but as of writing, we don’t know who will be filling her position. I suspect it will be Rachel Brookes, but that hasn’t been confirmed officially. Sadly though, Abu Dhabi will be the last race for Will Buxton as lead GP2 and GP3 commentator. The change will allow Buxton to focus solely on Formula 1 for NBC Sports, even so, he will be missed by those viewers who listen to his passionate commentary.

One person who will have an unusually busy weekend is Jennie Gow. Thanks to Formula 1 and Formula E clashing, Gow is flying to Abu Dhabi as usual mid-week, flying back to the UK after her F1 practice commitments with the BBC on Friday. Gow then heads to ITV’s London Studios to present Formula E live in the early hours of Saturday mornings, and is straight back on another plane to Abu Dhabi to cover the Formula 1 race live for BBC Radio 5 Live! For Formula E, Gow will be joined in the ITV studio by Alex Brundle and Mark Priestley.

I’ve changed the usual format to see if there are ways that the information can be presented better, I may stick to the below for 2015 instead of having one long list. It also allows me to cover different series instead of using abbreviations throughout. I notice Sky are continuing Classic F1 races throughout December, so I have omitted that as well from the below. But, for the last time in 2014, here is the full UK Formula 1 schedule with all the details you need:

Formula 1 – Sessions (BBC TV)
21/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Two)
21/11 – 13:00 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Two)
22/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
22/11 – 12:10 to 14:15 – Qualifying (BBC One)
23/11 – 12:10 to 15:30 – Race (BBC One)

Formula 1 – Sessions (BBC Radio)
21/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
21/11 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
22/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
22/11 – 13:00 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live)
23/11 – 12:45 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Formula 1 – Sessions (Sky Sports)
21/11 – 08:45 to 11:10 – Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 12:45 to 15:05 – Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 11:15 to 14:35 – Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (Sky1)
22/11 – 13:00 to 15:35 – Qualifying (Sky1 +1)
23/11 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (Sky Sports F1)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Formula 1 – Supplementary Programming
20/11 – 11:00 to 11:45 – Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
20/11 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
20/11 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Gear Up for Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
22/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
23/11 – 15:30 to 16:30 – Forum (BBC Red Button)
23/11 – 16:15 to 17:15 – Architects of F1: John Barnard (Sky Sports F1)
26/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)

GP2 Series (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 07:15 to 08:05 – Practice
21/11 – 15:05 to 15:45 – Qualifying
22/11 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
23/11 – 10:15 to 11:30 – Race 2

GP3 Series (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 11:10 to 11:45 – Qualifying
22/11 – 08:00 to 09:00 – Race 1
23/11 – 08:55 to 09:55 – Race 2

Formula E – Putrajaya (ITV4)
22/11 – 05:00 to 07:30 – Race
22/11 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Highlights

As always, if anything changes I shall update this blog if necessary.

Update on November 18th at 16:10 – Sky are staying live on Saturday from 09:45 all the way through to 16:05, as their qualifying build-up has been extended to a mammoth 105 minutes.

BT Sport screening MotoGP testing, Macau Grand Prix this week

Although the MotoGP season comes to a conclusion this weekend, BT Sport’s motor sport coverage continues into this week and next weekend with both MotoGP testing and the Macau Grand Prix being screened live by BT. As noted by Keith Huewen on Twitter, BT Sport 2 will be covering MotoGP testing live on Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th November, eight hours in total. Like last year, I imagine coverage will be the Dorna World Feed with no input from the BT team.

Alongside this, BT Sport will be airing an hour long show covering the FIM Awards Ceremony on Monday 10th November as Marc Marquez et al. pick up their trophies. The channel will also be airing live coverage of the the annual Macau Grand Prix next weekend, along with the final round of the 2014 World Rally Championship from Wales. Lastly, they are airing eight hours of their Motorsport Tonight show, with season reviews of several series. I don’t think it will be airing live, but it will feature many guests alongside the best action from the year. Elsewhere, British Eurosport and Motors TV will be covering the penultimate round of the World Endurance Championship from Bahrain.

Motorsport Tonight – BT Sport 2
Saturday 15th November – 16:30 to 20:30 [Part 1]
Sunday 16th November – 16:15 to 20:00 [Part 2]

MotoGP – BT Sport 2
Monday 10th November – 13:00 to 16:00 [Live Testing]
Monday 10th November – 21:30 to 22:30 [Awards]
Tuesday 11th November – 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00 [Live Testing]

Live Macau Grand Prix – BT Sport 2
Saturday 15th November – 05:45 to 06:45 [F3 qualifying]
Saturday 15th November – 07:30 to 08:30 [Motorcycling]
Sunday 16th November – 01:00 to 02:00 [GT Cup race]
Sunday 16th November – 07:30 to 08:30 [F3 race]

Live World Endurance Championship: Bahrain
Saturday 15th November – 11:30 to 18:35 [Motors TV]
Saturday 15th November – 16:00 to 18:00 [Eurosport]

Live World Rally Championship: Wales Rally GB – BT Sport 2
Sunday 16th November – 11:45 to 13:15 [Day 3]

I will update the above throughout the week if anything does change.