After a three week break, Formula 1 is back, and it is back home. The roadshow moves to Silverstone and the British Grand Prix! Sky Sports F1’s schedule has made strides in the right direction compared with last season, with a total of fourteen extra programmes in the schedule. The GP Uncovered series looks back at the 1972, 1974 and 1976 British Grand Prix’s, whilst there are a plethora of highlights and full races nearer to the current day. I should note that some of the GP Uncovered’s have already been shown previously, but not all of them. For those wondering, the reason for the differing names (GP Uncovered vs Classic F1) is because the latter all comes out of FOM’s archive post-1981 whereas GP Uncovered comes from many different archives.

There are actually two separate Classic F1 strands: ‘Mansell’ and ‘Great Britain’, which is why 1987 Austria, 1991 Britain and 1994 Australia are not repeated as they are in the ‘Mansell’ strand. Strands aside, all of the details are listed below where that is concerned. To tie in with the Mansell theme, Sky Sports F1’s F1 Legends series is back this weekend with Sir Frank Williams next to be interviewed by Steve Rider. Rider will also be presenting ‘British Grand Prix: Home Advantage’, which is similar in nature to his Monaco Grand Prix programme from May, as Rider talks to drivers past and present about the race. As in 2012, there is also an extra editon of The F1 Show on Thursday 27th June.

Over on BBC, unfortunately neither Practice 1 or 2 is on BBC Two due to Wimbledon. Instead, the sessions will be live on BBC Red Button. BBC Two will show Practice 1, 2 and 3 back to back on Saturday morning, Practice 3 airing live. Unlike last year, where both Qualifying and the Race were on BBC Two, thankfully this year the proceedings take place on BBC One. It should remain that way as Wimbledon is on middle Sunday when the race is taking place, but heavy rain could change that.

Elsewhere, also lost in the BBC scheduling congestion is MotoGP. With no room in Saturday’s schedules, the MotoGP race live from Assen is bumped to the Red Button, with BBC Two airing a re-run on Sunday morning at 10:30. I suspect this means British Eurosport will air it live as is normally the case in these cases.

And, as this is Silverstone, The F1 Broadcasting Blog wants to know: which channel will you be watching?

The full schedule is as follows… keep an eye out for any updates!

Friday 21st June
20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
21:00 to 21:45 – F1: 1987 Austrian Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt

Saturday 22nd June
20:00 to 20:15 – GP Uncovered: First Time Out (Sky Sports F1)
20:15 to 21:15 – F1: 1991 British Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt
– repeated on Tuesday 25th June at 21:20 and Saturday 29th June at 18:00

Sunday 23rd June
20:00 to 21:00 – GP Uncovered: Nine Days of Summer (Sky Sports F1)
– first shown in March, see here for more information
21:00 to 21:50 – F1: 1994 Australian Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Jonathan Palmer

Monday 24th June
20:00 to 20:30 – GP Uncovered: 1972 British Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
20:30 to 21:15 – F1: 1989 British Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt
– repeated on Friday 28th June at 08:00
– EPG says it is 1987, but apparently it is 1989

Tuesday 25th June
20:00 to 20:40 – GP Uncovered: 1974 British Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
20:40 to 21:20 – F1: 1994 British Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Jonathan Palmer
– repeated on Saturday 29th June at 17:20
21:00 to 22:00 – James Hunt: Pitstop Playboy (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Wednesday 26th June
20:00 to 20:30 – GP Uncovered: 1976 British Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
20:30 to 22:15 – F1: 2003 British Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Saturday 29th June at 21:50

Thursday 27th June
15:00 to 15:45 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
19:00 to 20:00 – F1: Preview (Sky Sports News Radio)
19:45 to 20:00 – F1: Gear Up for Great Britain (Sky Sports F1)
20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
20:00 to 21:00 – F1: Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
21:00 to 21:30 – British Grand Prix: Home Advantage (Sky Sports F1)
– repeated at various times throughout the weekend
21:30 to 23:30 – F1: 2008 British Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Sunday 30th June at 23:30

Friday 28th June
09:45 to 12:00 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
09:55 to 11:35 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Red Button)
12:00 to 12:35 – GP2: Practice (Sky Sports F1)
13:45 to 15:50 – F1: Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
13:55 to 15:35 – F1: Practice 2 (BBC Red Button)
15:50 to 16:35 – GP2: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 17:45 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
18:00 to 19:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Saturday 29th June
06:40 to 11:05 – F1: Practice (BBC Two)
08:45 to 09:20 – GP3: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
09:45 to 11:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
12:00 to 14:35 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
12:15 to 14:20 – F1: Qualifying (BBC One)
14:35 to 16:00 – GP2: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
16:15 to 17:05 – GP3: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sunday 30th June
08:25 to 09:15 – GP3: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
09:35 to 10:40 – GP2: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
11:30 to 16:15 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
12:10 to 15:30 – F1: Race (BBC One)
15:30 to 16:30 – F1: Forum (BBC Red Button)
16:15 to 17:15 – Legends: Sir Frank Williams (Sky Sports F1)
18:00 to 19:00 – Slicks-o-Six (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Wednesday 3rd July
19:00 to 19:30 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)

Update on June 24th – Unfortunately 1995 has been dropped from Sky’s Classic F1 schedule, with two repeats of 1991 now in its place.

The controversy of ‘secret’ testing looks set to boil over into next week, as the Formula 1 roller-coaster moves into its first trip to North America this year for the standalone Canadian Grand Prix. Unlike last year, both BBC and Sky Sports F1 have live coverage of the race. From a ratings perspective, I am very pleased about that as it means I should not have to repeat headlines such as this. It also means that Formula 1 blockades BBC One in primetime, which should lead to nice viewing figures.

There are some schedule changes compared to the usual BBC live race, though. Firstly, practice two is on BBC Three, however, the bigger oddity is that the first 45 minutes of practice one is not on BBC Two, instead a Springwatch repeat taking priority. Why? I’m not entirely sure. It seems to be one of them strange decisions without any logic or thought. You could argue that the first half of practice will probably have little action, but still strange regardless. I assume that practice one in full will be on the Red Button, but have not seen that confirmed anywhere.

On the Sky side of things, Natalie Pinkham will not be with the team this weekend as confirmed on her Twitter. Rachel Brookes, who will be out in Montreal for Sky Sports News, will also be presenting The F1 Show alongside Ted Kravitz as a result, a good move by the channel and one that I’m pleased about. Don’t forget that there is no GP2 or GP3 action in Canada. GP2 returns at Silverstone, whilst GP3 has a standalone weekend in Valencia. The Sky Sports F1 schedule details for the latter will be up on the blog early next week.

Sunday 2nd June
20:00 to 20:45 – F1: 1991 Canadian Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt
– repeated on Saturday 8th June at 19:45

Monday 3rd June
20:00 to 20:45 – F1: 1995 Canadian Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Jonathan Palmer
– repeated on Saturday 8th June at 20:30

Tuesday 4th June
20:00 to 22:00 – F1: 2007 Canadian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Sunday 9th June at 00:15

Wednesday 5th June
20:00 to 22:15 – F1: 2008 Canadian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Sunday 9th June at 09:25

Thursday 6th June
16:00 to 16:45 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – F1: Gear Up for Canada (Sky Sports F1)
19:45 to 22:30 – F1: 2011 Canadian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Martin Brundle and David Coulthard
– repeated on Sunday 9th June at 14:30

Friday 7th June
14:45 to 16:50 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
14:55 to 16:45 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Red Button)
15:45 to 16:45 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Two)
18:45 to 21:00 – F1: Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
19:00 to 21:00 – F1: Practice 2 (BBC Three)
21:00 to 21:45 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
23:00 to 00:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)

Saturday 8th June
14:45 to 16:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
14:55 to 16:10 – F1: Practice 3 (BBC Two)
17:00 to 19:10 – F1: Qualifying (BBC One)
17:00 to 19:45 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)

Sunday 9th June
17:30 to 22:00 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
18:15 to 21:10 – F1: Race (BBC One)
21:10 to 22:10 – F1: Forum (BBC Red Button)
22:00 to 22:45 – GP Uncovered: The Ringmasters 1967 (Sky Sports F1)

Wednesday 12th June
19:00 to 19:30 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)

Last updated on June 5th.

From a fairly confusing Spanish Grand Prix, it is time for the glitz and glamour in the Formula 1 world: the Monaco Grand Prix! One of the shocks when the BBC and Sky picks came out at the end of last year was the the Monaco Grand Prix will be screened on Sky Sports F1 exclusively live. As thus, BBC viewers will either have to listen to it on the radio, wait for the highlights or find another method of viewing.

Sky’s coverage during the weekend is broadly similar to last year, with an extra The F1 Show again on the schedule. The Qualifying show is 20 minutes longer but there are no other changes versus last year. As normal, there are five classic races – 1992 and 1996 in highlights form with 2003, 2008 and 2011 as full races. Aside from that, there is some special programming within the schedule. ‘Monaco: The Greatest Race of All’ first airs on Friday 17th May following The F1 Show, as Steve Rider asks drivers past and present their thoughts on the Monte Carlo race. I suspect it is bits from his ‘F1 Legends’ interviews cut into one programme, but we shall see. ‘GP Uncovered’ is a strand of archive programming looking back at past Monaco Grand Prix races. If you don’t have access to Sky Sports F1, the strand is repeated also on the main Sky Sports channels.

On BBC, due to cricket and golf on the schedule, neither Qualifying or Practice 3 are live on BBC Radio, both sessions you can only listen to online. Also not on the schedule is the GP3 Series, despite being on the Monaco Grand Prix schedule last year, they will be having a standalone race towards the end of June. I’ve also added the Indianapolis 500 to the schedule, it is unfortunate that only two men and their dogs will be watching that prestigious event…

Friday 17th May
20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
21:00 to 21:30 – Monaco: The Greatest Race of All (Sky Sports F1)

Saturday 18th May
20:00 to 20:30 – GP Uncovered: 1955 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– from the D. A. Clarke archive
– repeated on Friday 24th May at 19:30
20:30 to 21:15 – F1: 1992 Monaco Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt
– repeated on Friday 24th May at 18:00

Sunday 19th May
20:00 to 20:40 – GP Uncovered: 1957 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– from the Castrol archive
– repeated on Friday 24th May at 21:30
20:40 to 21:20 – F1: 1996 Monaco Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Jonathan Palmer
– repeated on Friday 24th May at 18:45

Monday 20th May
20:00 to 20:40 – GP Uncovered: 1957 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– from the JFPT archive
– repeated on Saturday 25th May at 11:20
20:40 to 22:55 – F1: 2003 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Friday 24th May at 22:10

Tuesday 21st May
20:00 to 20:30 – GP Uncovered: 1962 French Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– from the Castrol archive
– repeated on Saturday 25th May at 17:30
20:30 to 23:00 – F1: 2008 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Saturday 25th May at 22:25

Wednesday 22nd May
14:00 to 14:45 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
19:45 to 20:00 – F1: Gear up for Monaco (Sky Sports F1)
20:00 to 20:30 – GP Uncovered: 1958 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– from the Hepolite archive
– repeated on Sunday 26th May at 18:30
20:30 to 23:30 – F1: 2011 Monaco Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Martin Brundle and David Coulthard
– repeated on Sunday 26th May at 08:15

Thursday 23rd May
08:45 to 11:00 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
08:55 to 10:35 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
11:00 to 11:35 – GP2: Practice (Sky Sports F1)
12:45 to 15:00 – F1: Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
12:55 to 14:35 – F1: Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
15:10 to 15:55 – GP2: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
16:00 to 16:45 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
20:00 to 21:00 – F1: Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Friday 24th May
10:10 to 11:35 – GP2: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Saturday 25th May
09:45 to 11:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
12:00 to 15:05 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
15:05 to 16:10 – GP2: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
17:35 to 18:50 – F1: Qualifying (BBC One)
19:45 to 20:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sunday 26th May
11:30 to 16:00 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
13:00 to 15:00 – F1: Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)
16:00 to 17:00 – F1 Legends: Gerhard Berger (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 20:30 – Indianapolis 500 (ESPN)
17:35 to 19:05 – F1: Race (BBC One)
– note: For Scotland viewers, the race is on BBC Two at 18:35

Wednesday 29th May
19:00 to 19:30 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)