Motorsport Broadcasting: Your 2019 Verdict

The chequered flag has fallen on another year of Formula 1, and with it the end of the 2019 motor racing season.

Despite both MotoGP and F1 having a relatively predictable outcome, the journey to the destination has been enticing throughout. From the thrilling German Grand Prix on four wheels, to Alex Rins beating Marc Marquez at Silverstone by milometers on two wheels, there was something for everyone this year.

Off track, 2019 has been a year of change for fans of F1 in the UK. Live coverage of the sport aired exclusively on Sky Sports for the first time ever, following in the footsteps of MotoGP which moved to BT in 2014. Only the British Grand Prix aired live on free-to-air television.

In the social media space, F1 continues to make excellent strides in an ever-changing world, whilst others have had to rethink their strategy to work out how best to engage with their audience.

Now, Motorsport Broadcasting wants your opinion on the past twelve months. Which personality has shone in 2019 and deserves a bigger presence in 2020? What was the low-light from a broadcasting perspective for you this season? And, if there was one thing you could change next season, what would it be?

As always, the best thoughts will form an article on this site over the festive period.

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Live coverage of F1 testing to return in 2020

Live coverage of Formula 1 pre-season testing will return in 2020, broadcaster Sky Sports has confirmed after a successful outing earlier this year.

Although Formula 1 themselves have yet to officially confirm the news, both Simon Lazenby and Ted Kravitz announced details to viewers watching Sky’s coverage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The two confirmed that in-depth testing coverage will air live on Sky Sports F1, with Kravitz also referring to the post-session wrap-up show.

Earlier this year, testing aired live across F1 TV’s premium tier service and Sky Sports, to positive reviews, which has influenced the decision making process for 2020.

If 2019 is anything to go by, live coverage of the first Barcelona test from Wednesday 19th February to Friday 21st February is a certainty.

The question mark hangs over the second test a week later, which F1 opted not to cover live this year, and it remains unclear if F1 will extend their offering in 2020, or stick with the tried and tested 2019 approach.

Coverage performed solidly on Sky Sports back in February, peaking with 96,000 viewers according to overnight viewing figures in a slot that would have otherwise got zero on a normal weekday.

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Scheduling: The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Formula 1 heads to Abu Dhabi for the final race of the 2019 season. The championship ends in December for the first time since 1963, when the South African round that year took place on December 28th.

The race as usual airs exclusively live on Sky Sports, although one person who will not be out in Abu Dhabi with Sky is Damon Hill, as mentioned by the man himself during their Brazilian Grand Prix broadcast.

Post Abu Dhabi, Sky are showing live coverage of the final of this year’s F1 Esports Series, which takes place on Wednesday 4th December.

Over on Channel 4, Mark Webber joins Steve Jones and David Coulthard for their final weekend of the year. Channel 4’s relationship with Formula 1 continues into 2020 and beyond, having signed a new contract with Sky Sports to cover the sport until the end of 2022.

As of writing, it is unknown whether Whisper will be producing Channel 4’s coverage in 2020, an answer on that front is due imminently.

Channel 4 F1
30/11 – 17:00 to 18:30 – Qualifying Highlights
01/12 – 18:05 to 20:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
29/11 – 08:45 to 10:45 – Practice 1 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
29/11 – 12:45 to 14:55 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
30/11 – 09:45 to 11:30
=> 09:45 – Practice 3
=> 11:10 – Paddock Walkabout
30/11 – 12:00 to 14:40 – Qualifying
=> 12:00 – Pre-Show
=> 12:55 – Qualifying
01/12 – 11:30 to 16:30 – Race
=> 11:30 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – On the Grid
=> 13:05 – Race
=> 15:00 – Paddock Live
=> 16:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
28/11 – 13:00 to 13:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
28/11 – 15:00 to 15:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
29/11 – 12:00 to 12:30 – The Brundles Race the Nordschleife
29/11 – 15:30 to 16:00 – The Story so Far (also Sky Sports Main Event)
30/11 – 15:45 to 16:15 – The F1 Show
04/12 – 19:00 to 21:30 – F1 Esports Pro Series Grand Final

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
28/11 – 21:00 to 21:30 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
29/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
29/11 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
30/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
30/11 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
01/12 – 13:00 to 14:55 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

Formula Two – Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
29/11 – 07:25 to 08:15 – Practice (also Sky Sports Main Event)
29/11 – 14:55 to 15:30 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports Main Event)
30/11 – 14:40 to 15:45 – Race 1
01/12 – 09:20 to 10:20 – Race 2

This article will be updated if schedules change.

Updated on November 28th – Sky are also airing a 30-minute programme throughout the Abu Dhabi weekend as Martin and Alex Brundle tackle the Nordschleife.

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Scheduling: The 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix

The championship race may be over, but the racing continues as Formula 1 heads to Interlagos in Brazil for the penultimate round of the 2019 season.

Unusually, the race on Sunday faces tough sporting competition in the form of England’s last Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo. The match kicks off at 17:00 live on ITV, whilst the Grand Prix starts at 17:10 on Sky.

Although England themselves have already qualified for the tournament next Summer, expect the football to put a significant dent in F1’s audience figures.

Elsewhere, both the World Rally Championship and MotoGP series conclude in Australia and Valencia respectively, the latter airing live on BT Sport 1 for the season finale instead of its usual BT Sport 2 home.

Fans of the annual Macau Grand Prix will need to look elsewhere for viewing options, with no UK TV channel currently airing the race (last year the race aired live on Eurosport).

Channel 4 F1
16/11 – 22:50 to 00:20 – Qualifying Highlights
17/11 – 22:30 to 00:30 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
15/11 – 13:45 to 15:45 – Practice 1
15/11 – 17:45 to 19:45 – Practice 2
16/11 – 14:45 to 16:30
=> 14:45 – Practice 3
=> 16:10 – Paddock Walkabout
16/11 – 17:00 to 19:30 – Qualifying
=> 17:00 – Pre-Show
=> 17:55 – Qualifying
17/11 – 15:30 to 20:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports Main Event from 16:00)
=> 16:30 – On the Grid (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 17:05 – Race (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 19:00 – Paddock Live
=> 20:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
14/11 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
14/11 – 18:00 to 18:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
15/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – The Story so Far
16/11 – 19:30 to 20:00 – The F1 Show
20/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
15/11 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
15/11 – 17:55 to 19:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
15/11 – 21:30 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
16/11 – 17:55 to 19:10 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
17/11 – 17:00 to 19:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

MotoGP – Valencia
Also airs live on MotoGP’s Video Pass (£)
15/11 – 07:45 to 16:15 – Practice 1 and 2 (BT Sport 2)
16/11 – 08:00 to 16:00 (BT Sport 1)
=> 08:00 – Practice 3
=> 11:00 – Qualifying
=> 15:00 – MotoE: Race 1
17/11 – 07:15 to 14:30 (BT Sport 1)
=> 07:15 – Warm Ups
=> 08:45 – MotoE: Race 2
=> 09:30 – Moto3
=> 11:00 – Moto2
=> 12:30 – MotoGP
=> 14:00 – Chequered Flag
18/11 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Highlights (Quest)

~~World Rally Championship – Australia (All Live – BT Sport Extra 1)~~
~~Also airs live on WRCPlus.com (£)~~
~~14/11 – 05:30 to 07:45 – Stages 1 and 2~~
~~14/11 – 21:45 to 07:00 – Stages 3 and 10~~
~~15/11 – 21:00 to 08:30 – Stages 11 to 19~~
~~16/11 – 19:00 to 04:00 – Stages 20 to 25~~

~~World Rally Championship – Australia~~
~~15/11 – 12:30 to 13:00 – Day 1 Highlights (BT Sport 3)~~
~~16/11 – 04:00 to 05:00 – Stage 16 (BT Sport 1)~~
~~16/11 – 12:15 to 12:45 – Day 2 Highlights (BT Sport 3)~~
~~16/11 – 21:30 to 22:30 – Stage 22 (BT Sport 1)~~
~~17/11 – 11:15 to 11:45 – Day 3 Highlights (BT Sport 3)~~
~~18/11 – 18:55 to 20:00 – Highlights (5Spike)~~

World Touring Car Cup – Macau (Eurosport)
15/11 – 05:30 to 07:00 – Qualifying
16/11 – 06:50 to 07:45 – Race 1
17/11 – 00:40 to 01:15 – Race 2
17/11 – 03:10 to 04:15 – Race 3

As always, the schedule will be updated if plans change.

Update on November 13th – The final round of the World Rally Championship season in Australia has been cancelled due to the rapidly spreading bush fires. On the F1 front, both BBC and Sky got their Friday and Saturday schedules out by an hour, I have updated this article with the revised schedule.

For readers looking for the action from Macau, that airs live on Motorsport.tv‘s online platform.

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Scheduling: The 2019 United States Grand Prix

F1 heads across the border from Mexico into Texas for the US Grand Prix! Now in its eighth year, the Circuit of the Americas is a favourite with fans and drivers’ alike.

Barring any technical disasters for Lewis Hamilton, the Brit will almost certainly leave America next weekend with his sixth Drivers’ Championship, unless Valtteri Bottas outscores him by a significant margin.

On the broadcasting side, Stefano Domenicali returns to Channel 4’s line-up, whilst Nico Rosberg is back with Sky stateside for their offering.

With qualifying not starting until 21:00 UK time, it means that Channel 4’s highlights air in the early hours of Sunday morning. Their qualifying show airs at 00:40, the latest qualifying has aired on free-to-air television in the UK for many years.

With the FIA publishing the hotly anticipated 2021 technical regulations on Thursday, Sky have opted to air a live 30-minute special immediately following Welcome to the Weekend, focusing on the announcement.

Outside of F1, it is a quiet weekend for motor racing fans, with only MotoGP playing out in the far east in Malaysia.

Channel 4 F1
02/11 – 00:40 to 02:10 – Qualifying Highlights
03/11 – 23:00 to 01:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
01/11 – 15:45 to 17:45 – Practice 1
01/11 – 19:45 to 21:45 – Practice 2
02/11 – 17:45 to 19:30
=> 17:45 – Practice 3
=> 19:10 – Paddock Walkabout
02/11 – 20:00 to 22:30 – Qualifying
=> 20:00 – Pre-Show
=> 20:55 – Qualifying
03/11 – 17:30 to 22:30 – Race
=> 17:30 – Pit Lane Live
=> 18:30 – On the Grid
=> 19:05 – Race (also Sky Sports Main Event)
=> 21:00 – Paddock Live
=> 22:00 – Notebook

Supplementary Programming
31/10 – 16:00 to 16:30 – Drivers’ Press Conference
31/10 – 22:00 to 22:30 – Welcome to the Weekend (also Sky Sports Main Event)
31/10 – 22:30 to 23:00 – 2021 Rule Changes Special (also Sky Sports Main Event)
01/11 – 22:00 to 22:30 – The Story so Far (also Sky Sports Main Event)
02/11 – 22:30 to 23:00 – The F1 Show
06/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Midweek Debrief

BBC Radio F1
All sessions are available live on BBC’s F1 website
31/10 – 21:00 to 21:30 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
01/11 – 15:55 to 17:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
01/11 – 19:55 to 21:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
02/11 – 17:55 to 19:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
02/11 – 20:55 to 22:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
03/11 – 19:00 to 21:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
=> Joins BBC Radio 5 Live in progress at 20:00

MotoGP – Malaysia
Also airs live on MotoGP’s Video Pass (£)
01/11 – 00:45 to 08:15 – Practice 1 and 2 (BT Sport 2)
02/11 – 01:00 to 09:15
=> 01:00 – Practice 3 (BT Sport 2)
=> 04:00 – Qualifying (BT Sport 2)
=> 08:15 – Asia Talent Cup (BT Sport 3)
03/11 – 00:30 to 08:15 (BT Sport 2)
=> 00:30 – Warm Ups
=> 02:15 – Asia Talent Cup
=> 03:15 – Moto3
=> 05:00 – Moto2
=> 06:30 – MotoGP
04/11 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Highlights (Quest)

As always, the schedule will be updated if details change.

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