Thursday 15th March 2012

F1 TV coverage: your options

Pay to view or catch the BBC highlights? PH guides you through your F1 viewing decisions

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Welcome to the Pistonheads F1 TV guide. Last year it was blissfully simple: turn on BBC and there was your racing. This year a sneaky deal with Sky means only half the races are available live on the BBC, with the rest shown in a highlights package only.

With Australia kicking the season off on Sunday, we thought you might like to know what gets shown where, starting with the BBC's schedule this weekend.

For all a list of all the races shown by the BBC, scroll down to the highlighted calendar. If you've got any added advice or tips, let fellow PHers know in the comments.

Australia on the BBC
The lights go out on the season opener 6am Sunday morning, but it's not one covered live by the BBC. Instead, it's highlights only. The BBC won't show the whole race at any point.

Saturday 17 March:
Qualifying highlights: 1pm-2:15pm, BBC Two/BBC HD/online

Sunday 18 March:
Grand Prix highlights: 2pm-4pm, BBC One/BBC HD/online

Radio 5Live
Live from 5.30am, Sunday 18 March.
James Allen and Jaime Alguersuari commentate

It'll cost to watch these guys

Ways to watch F1 this season:

BBC
The BBC will show 10 races live, with the rest shown as two-hour highlights packages, either in the afternoon if it's a morning race or in the evening if it's an afternoon race. They haven't said what timing we can expect from the evening races. You also get qualifying highlights too.

As for the 10 races, there are four of the best in Monaco, Silverstone, Spa and Brazil but there are some duffers too, notably Korea and Valencia.

Those resolutely holding out against paying for Sky get the benefit of established team of Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan, with experienced commentator Ben Edwards standing in for Sky defector Martin Brundle.

Could be the perfect way to cut down on an F1 addiction that can leave sufferers full of self-disgust at wasting a nice summer's afternoon watching Vettel romp away with it again.

Sky
Those with existing Sky Sports or HD (high definition) packages are pigs in the proverbial because the new F1 channel comes free. To join this happy band costs a minimum of 40 a month with Sky Sports or 30.25 with the HD package. You need a satellite dish screwed onto the side of your house, of course. Installation is free. Do that and you can watch all 20 races live, as well as getting a much larger fix of F1 news and gossip from more regular magazine shows scheduled in the evening every day (many repeated of course).

You also get to watch races live online via smartphone, tablet or computer via Sky Go, no matter whether you get your broadband via Sky or not.

Lead commentator is the ever-reliable Martin Brundle, with David Croft pinched from BBC 5Live to help out. Croft teams up with Anthony Davidson again to commentate on practise sessions, which get screened too.

Pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz also made the switch and old-stager Steve Rider is wheeled out for interviews. With both the BBC and Sky competing for access to the drivers and teams it remains to be seen whether we get as much as previous seasons when the stars got just one British camera in their faces.

Virgin
Cable viewers can get the Sky F1 channel if they sign up to the whole Sky Sports package for an extra 22.50 or 28 depending on the size of channel bundle already chosen. BT Vision currently doesn't offer Sky F1 as part of its two-channel Sky Sports package.

Race calendar
BBC live races in bold, UK times shown

Australia: March 18
Albert Park, 6am

Malaysia: March 25
Sepang, 9am

China: April 15
Shanghai, 8am

Bahrain: April 22
Bahrain International, 1pm

Spain: May 13
Circuit de Catalunya, 1pm

Monaco: May 27
Circuit de Monaco, 1pm

Canada: June 10
Montreal, 7pm

Europe: June 24
Valencia, 2pm

British: July 8
Silverstone, 1pm

Germany: July 22
Hockenheim, 2pm

Hungary: July 29
Hungaroring, 1pm

Belgium: Sept 2
Spa-Francorchamps, 1pm

Italy: Sept 9
Monza, 1pm

Singapore: Sept 23
Marina Bay Street Circuit, 1pm

Japan: Oct 7
Suzuka, 7am

Korea: Oct 14
Korea International Circuit, 7am

India: Oct 28
Jaypee International, 9:30am

Abu Dhabi: Nov 4
Yas Marina Circuit, 1pm

United States: Nov 18
Austin, 7pm

Brazil: Nov 25
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, 4pm

 

[vincegail]

Can you listen to 5 live on the iPlayer when you're not living in the UK?
I wanted to watch the F1 on french television with the 5 live on the internet.

[MartinJames]

Highlights suit me. When I Sky+ previous seasons I mostly watched the race on fast forward. Now I don't have to, I can watch it on The BBC already edited with the tedious bits edited out. Saves me a job.

[sagarich]

SKY F1 HD for me, build up coverage has been cracking so far.

[bosscerbera]

Laughed out loud at "Could be the perfect way to cut down on an F1 addiction that can leave sufferers full of self-disgust at wasting a nice summer's afternoon watching Vettel romp away with it again."

[danielhodgkiss]

Anyone know of an IP streaming channel?

[JonnyFive]

Steve Ryder? WTF!

[mikebradford]

downgraded my Sky paclage, as it was costing me £60 a month with all the additional receivers

stopped paying for Sky sports, and im not missing it
F1 on sky is not enough to get me back

the highlights on BBC will do for me, and as someone else said the boring bits edited out
many times ive listened to the races on the radio as im out, so i dont feel im losing anything with the switch to SKY

[sammm123]

Are there any foreign options for sneaking a peek in the same way as the football?

[supertouring]

I assume I can listen to the 5-live practice session coverage later in the day in i-player?

Working at home, I am going to miss the tv coverage of the practice sessions as this was a nice build-up to qualtifying and the race over the weekend.

Shame on you BBC.

[robmlufc]

Just incase there wasn't enough threads on this topic.

[Output Flange]

Is PH sponsored by the BBC?

[iain1970]

Pay on top of the TV Licence to watch cars 'racing', where the win has more to do with pit lane tactics and reliability rather than actual racing? No thanks. The highlights will suffice. Hopefully they will edit the boring post race interviews too.

Anyone fancy a sweep on how many times the drivers can say "for sure" during their interviews?

[snorky]

sorry the Sky value vs price ratio has long ago dropped to nil for me. Freeview HD for me thanks, F1 or not

[williamp]

Thanks Nick

Now, what about the Sebirng 12h this weekend? Or the Nascar?

[Ali_T]

Dear BBC,

WRC is far cooler and has no TV deal. You have a hole in the sports schedule. Doesn't take much imagination to connect the dots....

[SlimJ]

"Last year it was blissfully simple: turn on BBC and there was your racing."

Err, it still is, just on a different channel. Sky F1 HD for me, build up coverage so far has been great!

[dublet]

I'm kind of sad. One of the 10 races on the BBC I will definitely be missing.


But only because my better half got me tickets for the entire weekend.

[Eric Mc]

SlimJ said:

"Last year it was blissfully simple: turn on BBC and there was your racing."

Err, it still is, just on a different channel. Sky F1 HD for me, build up coverage so far has been great!

Only for some who are happy to pay extra (in most cases) - that is the crucial difference. It will cost me £270 so forget it.

[y2blade]

sagarich said:

SKY F1 HD for me, build up coverage has been cracking so far.

Same here.
The build-up stuff has been very refreshing compared to the dull crap Council TV has been punting out for years.

Thank you Sky

[Rugbyman]

Output Flange said:

Is PH sponsored by the BBC?

No by Sky