2010 Formula 1 on the BBC

Live Formula 1 racing action returns to the BBC on 12 March when the 2010 season kicks off in Bahrain. Once again the BBC will bring every piece of the action both on and off the track with comprehensive coverage across TV, radio, online, red button and mobile.

2010 looks set to be one of the most exciting seasons yet with World Champions from the last two years – Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – driving as team mates in McLaren and F1 legend Michael Schumacher returning to the track for Mercedes.

Plus, there are new teams, new rules and new venues to add into the mix.

The BBC TV presentation team returns with anchor Jake Humphrey joined by Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard as expert pundits.

Commentary comes courtesy of Martin Brundle and Jonathan Legard with reporters Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz bringing all the interviews and action from the pits.

Plus the legendary F1 voice Murray Walker is once again part of the team with online blogs/reports at regular intervals during the season.

The BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team is led by David Croft alongside Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson, providing a driver’s perspective to events, and pit lane reporter Holly Samos with all the news and reaction as it happens.

The BBC’s Head of Formula 1 Ben Gallop says: “We’re delighted with the way 2009 went and we can’t wait for the 2010 season to start.

“The BBC Sport team will once again be bringing great coverage across all our platforms, meaning F1 fans can follow the action and interact wherever they are, whenever they want.

“We’re proud to offer our audiences the opportunity to follow the great stories and share all the excitement of this fantastic sport.”

TV Coverage
Live coverage of every qualifying session and all 19 races live on BBC One [1]:

• All races and qualifying sessions that finish before 10.00am to have full repeat on terrestrial TV later in the day
• One-hour evening highlights programme on BBC Three

BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra
Live commentary of every race plus:

• Coverage of all the stories as they break plus big name interviews from the drivers, owners and personalities
• 5 Live Formula 1 on 5 Live Sport every Friday night prior to a race, previewing all the action with expert analysis and the latest news from the track
• Coverage of practice and qualifying sessions
• Chequered Flag podcast available to download at bbc.co.uk/5live with expert analysis and reaction from the circuit

BBC Radio 5 Live’s Formula 1 coverage is produced by USP Content.

You can listen to 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra via DAB digital radio, Digital TV and online at bbc.co.uk/5live; 5 Live is also on 693 & 909 MW.

BBC Red Button
Live coverage of all on-track sessions including practice sessions plus the following options:

• Network feed with choice of commentary from 5 Live or TV for qualifying and Grands Prix
• In-car camera feed and leaderboard
• Rolling highlights
• Coverage of Friday and Saturday practice sessions
• Up to an hour of analysis on the red button immediately after all races with Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle. Viewers are invited to e-mail/text in, ask questions and interact

BBC Sport Website
Live video streaming of all on-track sessions, including:

• Network TV feed with choice of commentary from 5 Live or TV
• Option to choose a high-quality video stream
• In-car camera feed
• Rolling highlights
• Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle provide up to an hour of analysis available immediately after all races, with viewers invited to e-mail/text in, ask questions and interact

Editorial coverage to include:

• Latest leaderboard
• Full statistics from all on-track sessions
• Distinctive live text commentary
• News stories
• Martin Brundle, Mark Webber, Mark Hughes, Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie columns
• Blogs by Jonathan Legard, Jake Humphrey and journalists Andrew Benson and Sarah Holt
• Murray Walker regular post-race video summary and Q&A
• Interactive world venue map and circuit guides, including animated laps of tracks
• Driver and team profiles
• Chequered Flag podcast available to download at bbc.co.uk/5live
• The BBC has a five year deal to broadcast F1, which runs from 2009 to 2013 inclusive, and includes exclusive rights to TV, radio, full broadband and mobile.

Notes to Editors
[1] Please note: all broadcast details subject to change, including accommodation of the General Election.

Celebrity Guests Attend Mercedes GP Petronas Team Presentation

600 specially invited guests were in Stuttgart on Monday to celebrate the official launch of the new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One team ahead of the 2010 season.

The presentation was attended by Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna, AMG founder and ITR chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht, world boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, former McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver David Coulthard, former Formula One driver and DTM star Ralf Schumacher, record DTM championship winner Bernd Schneider, plus Mercedes-Benz DTM drivers Gary Paffett, Paul Di Resta, Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green, Maro Engel and Mathias Lauda.

In addition to 200 representatives of the media, 200 Mercedes-Benz employees were also invited to attend the launch. They had been specially selected as a reward for outstanding service to the company or had been fortunate enough to secure one of the hundred tickets for the occasion that had been advertised on the Mercedes intranet – all of which had been snapped up within 21 minutes of going online.

The presentation of the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team took place in a fitting location – the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart where examples of the legendary Silver Arrow from all epochs are on display. The Mercedes-Benz Museum was re-opened in May 2006 on the Mercedes-Benz World site. The nine-storey building comprises around 17,000 square metres of exhibition space.

14-Jan-10: Four More Teams Reveal 2010 Launch Dates

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It is the 14th January 2010, and this is F1 Minute.

It’s the first day of Autosport International, and the headlines are pouring in from people talking about what they’re going to do, if not actually doing anything yet.

We’ve got several new launch dates confirmed – Mercedes are set to reveal their new car on the 28th January – the same day as Ferrari – but in Stuttgart. McLaren have chosen the 29th January and are unveiling it in London. Lotus F1 will be switching the Cosworth engine on for the first time on the 5th February, before launching the next week. Finally, Renault are launching on the 31st January, at the Valencia circuit, alongside Sauber.

Elsewhere, David Coulthard took to the stage at the racing car show to announce a new driver rankings project from Autosport. It’s… controversial, to say the least, mapping drivers from many motorsport series, and comparing them in an unspecified fashion. Button is number one.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Ex-Drivers in the Frame

Charlie Whiting is set to get some extra help during race weekends in 2010, as the stewarding process has changed. Instead of a panel of ever-changing names, there will be a permanent fixture of stewards, including ex-F1 drivers. Alan Donnelly’s role has also been made non-permanent, with a different chairman voted for each Grand Prix.

Credit: GEPA pictures/ Franz Pammer

New Colours for Final Send Off

David Coulthard participates in his last Grand Prix at Brazil 2008. The Red Bull sported a new livery, as did DC’s overalls, promoting the Wings for Life charity. Sadly for both DC and the charity, he didn’t manage to complete a single lap after he was clouted by both Williams at the start.

Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images

09-Oct-09: Massa Admits Abu Dhabi Return Unlikely

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 9th October 2009.

We mentioned Massa’s return to form earlier in the week, but now the Brazilian has admitted he doesn’t think he will be back in the car for Abu Dhabi, although he had hoped he would be. He said: “I hope that I’ll be back soon, but I also know that the best thing is that I’m coming back 100% at the start of next season.” Massa will be waving the chequered flag at the upcoming race. He says it’s an honour, I think it will be difficult for him.

Elsewhere, Renault and Red Bull are heading to the streets to give fans a taste of Formula 1 up close. Renault are off to Romania for their roadshow, with Romain Grosjean and reserve driver Lucas di Grassi driving last year’s R28. Red Bull are in India, with David Coulthard ready to get behind the wheel in Mumbai, crossing a recently opened bridge in an F1 car. Apparently this “Red Bull Speed Link” event has been going since Wednesday, I hadn’t heard of it, and it will continue until Sunday.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Driving It Like He’s Stolen It

David Coulthard entertains the crowds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. The Red Bull team were there for all three days, and will also head to Moscow later in the month to join Williams and McLaren for an F1 demonstration in Moscow.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Red Bull – British Grand Prixview

To commemorate the last Silverstone GP, we asked: What’s your favourite memory?

ADRIAN NEWEY:
The 1973 Silverstone GP was my first F1 race. I went with my parents and we had tickets for the Woodcote stand. I remember my father went to get us a burger each; I dropped mine through the grandstands so I ran down to recover it from the dirt below. The race started and when Jackie Stewart came round he was miles in the lead at the end of the first lap. But then, Jody Scheckter lost it right in front of us and caused a pile up of around 12 cars. I was only a young lad and it looked horrendous, I thought people must have been killed – but miraculously there was only a broken leg and everyone climbed out of their cars. It was a very dramatic way to be introduced to the sport and it definitely gave me a bug for racing. They red flagged the race and it was re-started; amazingly Jackie didn’t win despite his dominant lead, I think he spun off, although that’s stretching my memory! I was about 13 or 14 at the time.

It’s sad that this might be the last Silverstone GP; it has a lot of memories for me. We had some good outings there during my time with Leyton House and then with Williams. In 1991, Nigel Mansell won in Silverstone with my first Williams – it was right in the middle of ‘Mansell Fever’, so you had all the Sun readers turning up to cheer Nigel on. We’ve had a few good races since and lots of happy memories. Silverstone is the circuit where the British Grand Prix should be held, it seems a great shame that politics have conspired that it won’t be the case in the near future.

MARK WEBBER:
A great memory from Silverstone was being on the front row of the grid for Red Bull last year. The race didn’t turn out as planned, but qualifying on Saturday was very rewarding. The Red Bull Racing factory is very close to Silverstone and there were so many people there supporting us that to start the race on the front row was great, it was a very special day. I don’t think this will be the last Silverstone GP. Donington is a beautiful bike track and Silverstone is a fantastic car track, so I think they should leave them as they are – I think we’ll be back.

DAVID COULTHARD:
Before I started racing in 1990, I remember standing at Stowe corner listening to a V12 Ferrari coming out of the morning mist through Maggotts on to Hangar Straight. You could hear it before you could see it and, in those days, the engines all sounded very different: a V12 against a V8, so, of course, you knew it was a Ferrari coming and it was a shiver-down-your-spine moment that I have never forgotten. In terms of my own racing career, winning at Silverstone back-to-back and in 2000 was pretty special – also it’ll be another 992 years before someone can win it in two millennia, so that’s one record that should stay for a while! I think that Silverstone is a high-speed, get stuck in, challenging race track and given the free choice I’d rather race at Silverstone than Donington.

CHRISTIAN HORNER:
One of the best memories I have of Silverstone came soon after I’d passed my driving test. I took my Volkswagen Beetle up to the Silverstone F1 tyre testing that they used to do there. It was June, 1991. I managed to sneak under the fence and got into the pit lane, so I was really close to the cars and drivers. It was the first time I’d ever seen Ayrton Senna in the flesh – I remember he’d just had an accident on a jet ski and had several stitches in the back of his head. I instigated a conversation with him, which he probably thought was completely irrelevant, but I was keen to talk with him. I also spent a considerable amount of time admiring the Williams which must have been one of Adrian’s first cars – I was an aspiring go-karter at the time. I’ve enjoyed many good races there as a driver and also, as a team owner, we won the support race there (Formula 3000) three years in succession. We’ve had some good fun on Sunday evenings there too, so a lot of good memories. Hopefully it won’t be too long before it comes back.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL:
This will only be my second Silverstone GP – so not as many memories for me as some of the other guys. I think it’s a shame that Silverstone will no longer be on the calendar. It’s a circuit with a great tradition and a lot of fast turns, which makes it really interesting for the fans attending the race as well as the drivers. Silverstone is only a short drive from our factory in Milton Keynes and nearly the entire Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology workforce will be at the track cheering for me and Mark – so the atmosphere will be very special.

IAN MORGAN:
I will never forget standing in the Woodcote grandstand with my dad at Silverstone in 1985. We were watching qualifying and Keke Rosberg was driving for Williams. What I saw was the most amazing thing. When Keke came round the old chicane at Woodcote on his first run he was completely sideways, the whole crowd just went silent. He got pole, but had it taken off him so he went out for his next run and got it back again. He was just so much quicker than anyone else; the way that the whole crowd went silent as he approached us was something I’d never experienced before. It was incredible and definitely cemented my decision to get into this business.

I grew up in this area and my first grand prix visit was in 1973, so I’ve been to Silverstone many, many times and have a lot of memories. It’s sad to lose what is clearly the home of British motor racing, but whether it will actually be the last ever remains to be seen. I think we’ll be back.

About as Far Away From Paris as You Can Get

David Coulthard is flown over the unfinished Yas Marina Circuit ahead of the Red Bull Air Race weekend back in April. The Air Race sees the world’s best pilots challenge each other in a series of time trials around a racetrack in the sky. Sounds like a nice way to get away from all the current F1 politics!

Credit: Russell Cheyne/Red Bull Air Race via AP Images

01-May-09: Hartley Granted Super Licence and RBR Role

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 1st May 2009.

Brendon Hartley has finally been granted his super-licence by the FIA, which means that he can take over from Coulthard as third driver for Red Bull Racing. Hartley was always in the running for the role, and he now says: “I know that with the in-season testing ban, I’m not likely to get much cockpit time, but I will be part of the team and will learn a lot from that.”

Elsewhere, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has complained about the budget cap regulations revealed by the FIA  yesterday. He wrote a letter to Max Mosley suggesting that monitoring any sort of cap is going to be very difficult to do, and he is concerned that the two-tier system will eventually create a championship that would quote: “…create confusion in the public’s mind which would seriously lower the value of F1.” So far, the only person who appears to have spoken out in favour of the budget caps is Jenson Button, who has said the smaller teams such as his own need to be able to guarantee their future.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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