Formula 1 heads to the glitz and glamour of Monte Carlo this upcoming weekend with the Monaco Grand Prix. Both BBC One and Sky Sports F1 will be showing the coverage live this weekend. As is the tradition in Monaco, F1 Practice is held on Thursday’s instead of Friday’s. Also, as I noted on Thursday, there is a double dose for The F1 Show this weekend due to the different schedule.
If you like your classic Formula 1 action, then I would advice that you tune in to Sky Sports F1 from 09:00 tomorrow morning for nearly 15 hours of Classic F1 from Monaco. Back to the present day, however, here is the scheduling with all the times, including Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the GP2 and GP3 Series, which has a hideously early start on Friday morning!
Wednesday 23rd May
14:00 to 14:30 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
Thursday 24th May
08:45 to 10:50 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
08:55 to 10:35 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Red Button)
10:55 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 Red Button)
15:00 to 15:30 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
15:50 to 16:35 – GP2: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
Friday 25th May
06:35 to 07:20 – GP3: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
09:25 to 10:50 – GP2: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
11:25 to 12:15 – GP3: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
Saturday 26th May
09:45 to 11:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
09:55 to 11:05 – F1: Practice 3 (BBC Red Button)
12:00 to 14:45 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
12:10 to 14:15 – F1: Qualifying (BBC One)
15:05 to 16:10 – GP2: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
16:50 to 17:45 – GP3: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
Sunday 27th May
11:30 to 16:15 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
12:05 to 15:30 – F1: Race (BBC One)
15:30 to 16:30 – F1: Forum (BBC Red Button)
16:30 to 20:00 – Indy 500 (Sky Sports 4)
As of writing, Indy 500 is still on Sky Sports 4, so if you only have Sky’s HD package, you will not be able to view it. I shall update this post if/when that changes.
And for the first time, I want your opinion. Which channel will you be watching for the Grand Prix weekend? I think I shall stick with Sky Sports, as I did for Spain, although that depends somewhat on the pundits. If Sky have Damon Hill only, then I may be forced in turning over to BBC, but if they have Johnny Herbert alongside Hill, or no Hill at all, then I will probably stick with Sky Sports F1.
Of course, there’s also an interesting point about location, with space tight, will both BBC and Sky be located on a boat somewhere, or will Sky go for a ‘high up’ studio like ITV did in their latter days? We shall see.
Comments, as always, welcome.
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