Scheduling: The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix

The Malaysian Grand Prix switches back to the latter stages of the season, this year playing host to round 16 of the 2016 Formula One season. It is the third time that the Sepang circuit has been at this end of the calendar, having previously played host to the penultimate round in 1999 and the season finale in 2000.

Channel 4 will be showing live coverage of this round, with Lee McKenzie returning to the fold after her second stint in Rio for the Paralympics and Mark Webber too with the team. Elsewhere in Channel 4’s portfolio, the channel will be airing a full replay of both qualifying and the race, this being their first live morning race. There will also be a special programme after qualifying, with David Coulthard interviewing Christian Horner.

Over on Sky, GP2 and GP3 return to action. It is the first time that GP2 has been in action at Sepang since 2013. For GP3, it is the first race ever at Sepang next weekend. Both take place in the early hours, but are repeated on Sky Sports F1 straight after the F1 action.

Elsewhere, there is a huge amount of motor sport, as the British Touring Car Championship comes to a close, whilst other championships such as the British Superbikes hurdles towards its conclusion.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
30/09 – 02:55 to 04:40 – Practice 1
30/09 – 06:55 to 08:40 – Practice 2
01/10 – 06:55 to 08:05 – Practice 3
01/10 – 09:00 to 11:30 – Qualifying
01/10 – 16:30 to 18:30 – Qualifying Replay
02/10 – 07:00 to 10:45 – Race
02/10 – 16:50 to 19:30 – Race Replay

Supplementary Programming
01/10 – 11:30 to 12:00 – David Coulthard meets Christian Horner

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
30/09 – 02:45 to 04:50 – Practice 1
30/09 – 06:45 to 08:55 – Practice 2
01/10 – 06:45 to 08:15 – Practice 3
01/10 – 09:00 to 11:45 – Qualifying
02/10 – 06:30 to 11:15 – Race
=> 06:30 – Track Parade (also Sky Sports Mix)
=> 07:00 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports Mix)
=> 07:30 – Race (also Sky Sports Mix)
=> 10:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
28/09 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Preview
29/09 – 08:00 to 08:30 – Driver Press Conference
29/09 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
30/09 – 09:30 to 10:00 – Team Press Conference
30/09 – 10:00 to 10:30 – The F1 Show
05/10 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
29/09 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
30/09 – 02:55 to 04:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
30/09 – 06:55 to 08:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
01/10 – 06:55 to 08:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
01/10 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
02/10 – 07:30 to 10:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Blancpain Sprint Series – Barcelona (BT Sport 2)
02/10 – 08:00 to 09:30 – Qualifying
02/10 – 12:45 to 14:30 – Race

British Superbikes – Assen
01/10 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2)
02/10 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
02/10 – 13:00 to 17:00 – Race 2 (Eurosport 2)
13/07 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

British Touring Car Championship – Brands Hatch (ITV4)
02/10 – 10:15 to 18:30 – Races

Euroformula – Monza
01/10 – Race 1
=> 14:05 to 15:00 (Motors TV)
=> 14:15 to 15:15 (BT Sport 3)
02/10 – Race 2
=> 12:00 to 13:00 (BT Sport//ESPN)

FIM CEV Repsol – Jerez
02/10 – Races
=> 09:45 to 11:45 (BT Sport 2)
=> 11:45 to 14:45 (BT Sport X4)

Formula 3 Europe – Imola
01/10 – 10:00 to 11:00 – Race 1 (BT Sport 3)
02/10 – 14:45 to 16:00 – Race 3 (BT Sport X4)

Formula V8 3.5 – Monza
01/10 – 13:00 to 14:15 – Race 1 (BT Sport 3)
02/10 – 14:30 to 16:00 – Race 2 (BT Sport//ESPN)

GP2 Series – Malaysia (Sky Sports F1)
29/09 – 09:05 to 09:40 – Practice
30/09 – 08:55 to 09:30 – Qualifying
01/10 – 04:45 to 06:15 – Race 1
02/10 – 04:15 to 05:30 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Malaysia (Sky Sports F1)
30/09 – 10:30 to 11:05 – Qualifying
* note: this appears to be airing on a 40-minute tape-delay
01/10 – 03:25 to 04:25 – Race 1
02/10 – 03:00 to 04:00 – Race 2

International GT Open – Monza
01/10 – Race 1
=> 15:00 to 16:50 (Motors TV)
=> 15:15 to 17:00 (BT Sport 3)
02/10 – Race 2
=> 13:00 to 14:30 (BT Sport//ESPN)

Speedway Grand Prix – Poland (BT Sport 1)
01/10 – 17:45 to 21:15 – Races

TCR International Series – Malaysia (Motors TV)
01/10 – 10:45 to 12:05 – Race

World Rally Championship – France
30/09 – Day 1 Highlights
=> 22:00 to 22:30 (BT Sport 1)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
01/10 – Day 2 Highlights
=> 21:45 to 22:15 (BT Sport 3)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
02/10 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Power Stage (BT Sport 2)
02/10 – Day 3 Highlights
=> 22:15 to 22:45 (BT Sport 1)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
03/10 – 19:00 to 20:00 – Highlights (Channel 5)

World Superbikes – France (British Eurosport 2)
01/10 – 09:15 to 13:00 – Qualifying and Race 1
02/10 – 10:00 to 11:00 – Support Race
02/10 – 12:00 to 13:00 – Race 2

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

Scheduling: The 2016 Singapore Grand Prix

Formula 1 heads east for the first of the flyaway races to wrap up the 2016 season. There are seven stops left on the calendar: Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, USA, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Singapore marks the two-thirds stage of the season, with the Marina Bay Street circuit playing host to round 15 of 21.

Sky Sports are live through the whole weekend, with Channel 4 providing extensive highlights. The time slots are slightly different for practice and qualifying before reverting back to the usual 13:00 start time for the race. Channel 4’s highlights programme airs later on Sunday evening due to coverage of the Paralympic Games before it. This should result in a higher viewing figure, but does mean that the highlights clash with ITV’s The X Factor, which might dent things slightly. 5 Live’s programming is truncated slightly by Paralympics and football coverage.

On the personnel front, Holly Samos is again standing in for Lee McKenzie, who is covering the Paralympics for Channel 4. McKenzie will be back for the Malaysian Grand Prix in two weeks time. Elsewhere, the IndyCar Series season comes to an end late on Sunday night in the UK live on BT Sport//ESPN. Back home, both the British Superbikes and Touring Car championships are in action at Donington Park and Silverstone respectively. Below are all the scheduling details you need.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
17/09 – 17:30 to 19:00 – Qualifying Highlights
18/09 – 18:30 to 21:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
16/09 – 10:45 to 12:50 – Practice 1
16/09 – 14:15 to 16:15 – Practice 2
17/09 – 10:45 to 12:15 – Practice 3
17/09 – 13:00 to 15:45 – Qualifying
18/09 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
14/09 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Preview
15/09 – 11:00 to 11:30 – Driver Press Conference
15/09 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
16/09 – 16:15 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference
16/09 – 16:45 to 17:15 – The F1 Show
21/09 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
15/09 – 20:30 to 21:30 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
16/09 – 10:55 to 12:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
17/09 – 10:55 to 12:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
18/09 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race Updates (BBC Radio 5 Live)

British Superbikes – Donington Park
17/09 – 16:00 to 18:00 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2)
18/09 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
18/09 – 13:00 to 18:00 – Race 2 (Eurosport 2)
22/09 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

British Touring Car Championship – Silverstone (ITV4)
18/09 – 11:00 to 18:30 – Races

FIM World Endurance Championship – Bol d’Or (Eurosport 2)
17/09 to 18/09 – Race
=> 13:45 to 16:00 (Eurosport 2)
=> 17:00 to 18:55 (Eurosport 1)
=> 19:00 to 23:00 (Eurosport 1)
=> 23:00 to 00:00 (Eurosport 2)
=> 06:00 to 10:00 (Eurosport 2)

IndyCar Series – Sonoma (BT Sport//ESPN)
18/09 – 23:30 to 02:30 – Race

Virgin Australia Supercars – Sandown 500 (BT Sport 1)
17/09 – 04:45 to 05:45 – Qualifying 1
17/09 – 07:00 to 08:00 – Qualifying 2
18/09 – 06:00 to 08:00 – Race

World Endurance Championship – Austin
17/09 – 22:30 to 05:30– Race (Motors TV)
17/09 – 23:00 to 05:15 – Race (Eurosport 1)

World Superbikes – Germany (British Eurosport 2)
17/09 – 09:15 to 13:15 – Qualifying and Race 1
18/09 – 10:00 to 11:00 – Support Race
18/09 – 12:00 to 13:00 – Race 2

Last updated on September 9th.

Scheduling: The 2016 Belgian Grand Prix

Nine races in just over three months, with three double headers. That is what greets Formula 1 as the second half of the 2016 season gets underway the Belgium Grand Prix!

Channel 4 will be screening five of the remaining nine races live, including Belgium. Their race day broadcast is four hours long, which is probably no surprise when you see that Alain Prost and Mark Webber will be part of their punditry team. Lee McKenzie is also back, but for one race only as she is heading back to Rio for the Paralympics.

The simulcasting over on Sky Sports continues, with Sky simulcasting their Formula 1 coverage on the new Mix channel. We knew this would be the case when the channel was first revealed in March, but the schedules now confirm it.

BBC’s radio coverage steps up a notch with a 90-minute special fronted by Tom Clarkson looking back at Michael Schumacher’s debut in the 1991 Belgium Grand Prix. No guests have been confirmed publicly as of writing, but I will update this paragraph as and when that happens.

Elsewhere, live coverage of the British Superbikes over the Bank Holiday weekend is being shown also on Quest as Eurosport breaks away for the Vuelta a Espana cycling event. Below are all the details you need in another packed schedule…

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
26/08 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1
26/08 – 12:55 to 14:40 – Practice 2
27/08 – 09:55 to 11:25 – Practice 3
27/08 – 11:55 to 14:30 – Qualifying
28/08 – 12:00 to 16:00 – Race
28/08 – 00:40 to 01:40 – Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
26/08 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
26/08 – 12:45 to 14:50 – Practice 2
27/08 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
27/08 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports Mix)
28/08 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (also Sky Sports Mix)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
24/08 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Preview
25/08 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
25/08 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
26/08 – 15:30 to 16:00 – Team Press Conference
26/08 – 16:00 to 16:30 – The F1 Show
31/08 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
25/08 – 20:00 to 22:00 (BBC Radio 5 Live)
=> 20:00 – 7 Days That Changed F1
=> 21:30 – Preview
26/08 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
26/08 – 12:55 to 14:30 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
28/o8 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Blancpain Sprint Series – Hungaroring
27/08 – 16:00 to 17:30 – Qualifying (BT Sport 2)
28/08 – 10:45 to 12:45 – Race (BT Sport//ESPN)

British Superbikes – Cadwell Park
28/08 – Qualifying
=> 16:00 to 18:00 (Quest)
=> 16:45 to 18:00 (Eurosport 1)
29/08 – 12:30 to 18:00 – Races
=> 12:30 to 18:00 (Quest)
=> 12:30 to 13:45 (Eurosport 2)
=> 16:45 to 18:00 (Eurosport 2)
31/08 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

British Touring Car Championship – Rockingham (ITV4)
28/08 – 10:45 to 17:45 – Races

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 – Paul Ricard
27/08 – Race 1
=> 11:30 to 12:30 (Eurosport 2)
=> 12:30 to 14:00 (BT Sport 2)
28/08 – Race 2
=> 09:45 to 11:00 (BT Sport 2)
=> 11:45 to 12:45 (Eurosport 1)

FIM CEV Repsol – Algarve (BT Sport 2)
28/08 – 10:45 to 16:00 – Races

FIM Endurance World Championship – 8 Hours of Oschersleben (Eurosport 2)
27/08 – 12:45 to 15:15 – Race (start)
27/08 – 18:00 to 21:10 – Race (finish)

GP2 Series – Belgium (Sky Sports F1)
26/08 – 11:00 to 11:50 – Practice
26/08 – 14:50 to 15:30 – Qualifying
27/08 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
28/08 – 09:20 to 10:35 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Belgium (Sky Sports F1)
27/08 – 08:45 to 09:20 – Qualifying
27/08 – 16:10 to 17:10 – Race 1
28/08 – 08:10 to 09:10 – Race 2

IndyCar Series – Texas 600 (BT Sport//ESPN)
28/08 (Saturday night) – 02:00 to 04:00 – Race

Porsche Supercup – Belgium (Eurosport 2)
28/08 – 10:30 to 11:15 – Race

Speedway Grand Prix – Poland (BT Sport 2)
27/08 – 17:45 to 21:15 – Races

Virgin Australia Supercars – Sydney (BT Sport 2)
27/08 – 07:00 to 08:45 – Race 18
28/08 – 04:30 to 06:45 – Race 19

Last updated on August 20th.

ITV and Formula E part company

ITV will not broadcast season three of the Formula E championship in the UK leaving the series without a terrestrial television free-to-air partner, this site can confirm.

The broadcaster has shown the series since its inception on ITV4, with the London ePrix aired live on ITV’s main channel. Overnight viewing figures, supplied by Overnights.tv, show that appetite for the series in the UK has declined across the two seasons so far. The inaugural 2014-15 season averaged 216k (2.6%) across the eleven rounds live on ITV and ITV4, but live coverage of the 2015-16 season averaged just 138k (1.3%) across ITV and ITV4, a drop of 42 percent. 2015-16’s number includes the Mexico ePrix which was aired live on BT Sport Europe.

Formula E’s highlights programming have not fared well on ITV’s main channel for the 2015-16 season, averaging around 170k and being beaten by all five of its terrestrial television competitors on numerous occasions. The fact of the matter is, Formula E rated below the relevant slot averages for ITV wherever and whenever it was aired. This news is not a major surprise, when you consider that horse racing will fill up most of ITV4’s Saturday content from 2017.

> February 2016: Addressing Formula E’s issues in the UK

Sources have indicated to this writer that Channel 4 or Channel 5 are candidates to pick the series up. For Channel 4, it would fit well into their growing motor sport portfolio following their recent acquisitions of Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship. Formula E will be a nice addition to Channel 5 alongside the World Rally Championship. The BBC are not expected to get involved, but time will tell.

There is also the possibility that Formula E will be placed exclusively behind a pay wall, in which case BT Sport or Eurosport are the likely homes for the electric series. Both channels already air highlights as filler content throughout the week. It will be fascinating to monitor events as the next few weeks unfold. In my opinion, Formula E needs to stay live on free-to-air television. But, I am not convinced the ratings on ITV and ITV4 have been strong enough to persuade Channel 4 and 5 to get in on the act. Hopefully I am proven wrong on that front.

Scheduling: The 2016 German Grand Prix

Formula 1’s last stop before the Summer break takes the championship to the Hockenheimring for the German Grand Prix!

Aside from the F1, it is a busy weekend of motor sport with IndyCar action, BTCC, WEC amongst a host of other events taking place. One notable point to mention is that Motors TV are not broadcasting coverage of the World Rally Championship round from Finland, although it is unclear whether they have done that out of choice or whether they have surrendered those rights.

Below are all the details you need…

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
30/07 – 17:45 to 19:30 – Qualifying Highlights
31/07 – 18:00 to 20:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
29/07 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
29/07 – 12:45 to 14:55 – Practice 2
30/07 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
30/07 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports 1)
31/07 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race
=> 11:30 – Track Parade (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 12:30 – Race (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
28/07 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
28/07 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
29/07 – 15:30 to 16:00 – Team Press Conference
29/07 – 16:00 to 16:30 – The F1 Show
03/08 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
28/07 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
29/07 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
29/07 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
30/07 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
30/07 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
31/07 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Blancpain Endurance Series – 24 Hours of Spa
30/07 15:00 to 31/07 14:45 – Race (Motors TV)
30/07 – 15:30 to 18:55 – Race Start (Eurosport)
31/07 – 14:00 to 16:45 – Race Finish (Eurosport 2)

Blancpain GT Sports Club – Spa (Motors TV)
29/07 – 14:30 to 15:25 – Race 1
30/07 – 09:30 to 10:35 – Race 2

British Touring Car Championship – Snetterton (ITV4)
31/07 – 10:30 to 18:15 – Races

Formula 3 Europe – Spa
29/07 – Race 1
=> 11:00 to 12:15 (BT Sport 2)
=> 11:10 to 12:15 (Motors TV)
29/07 – Race 3
=> 15:00 to 16:00 (BT Sport 2)
=> 15:25 to 16:20 (Motors TV)
30/07 – Race 3
=> 12:00 to 13:00 (BT Sport 2)
=> 12:00 to 13:05 (Motors TV)

FIM World Endurance Championship – 8 Hours of Suzuka (Eurosport 2)
31/07 – 03:15 to 11:45 – Race

GP2 Series – Germany (Sky Sports F1)
29/07 – 11:00 to 11:50 – Practice
29/07 – 14:55 to 15:30 – Qualifying
30/07 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1 (also Sky Sports 1)
31/07 – 09:20 to 10:35 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Germany (Sky Sports F1)
30/07 – 08:45 to 09:20 – Qualifying
30/07 – 16:10 to 17:10 – Race 1
31/07 – 08:10 to 09:10 – Race 2

IndyCar Series – Mid Ohio 200 (BT Sport//ESPN)
31/07 – 19:30 to 22:00 – Race

Porsche Supercup – Germany (Eurosport)
31/07 – 10:30 to 11:15 – Race

World Rally Championship – Finland
28/07 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Stage 1 Live (BT Sport 2)
29/07 – 18:30 to 19:30 – Stage 2 Live (BT Sport//ESPN)
29/07 – 21:45 to 22:45 – Day 1 Highlights (BT Sport 1)
30/07 – 21:30 to 22:00 – Day 2 Highlights (BT Sport 1)
31/07 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Power Stage Live (BT Sport 1)
31/07 – 22:00 to 22:30 – Day 3 Highlights (BT Sport 1)
04/07 – 19:00 to 20:00 – Highlights (Channel 5)

Updated last on July 24th.