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.

Two Seater Testing

An F1 2 Seater navigates the brand new Yas Marina Circuit, at the opening ceremony of the track. Various journalists were invited to enjoy a few laps at the hands of Bruno Senna and Martin Brundle. They all seemed to enjoy it, which bodes well for the lap itself.

Credit: Yas Marina Circuit

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 11th Jan

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Autosport International

Paddock faces and fans alike gather in Birmingham…

• “If there is a desire for people to still be involved with the fan club, then Alan will keep it going and I might have a bit more time now to spend time with it. But it’s inevitable that whilst you’re racing you have a certain level of support, and once you retire people naturally go onto the next driver.” David Coulthard
• “I don’t think you’re going to switch your TV on this year and know who is going to win each and every race, that’s for sure. It’s not back to the ‘Michael Schumacher dominates another grand prix’ season. Who is going to get the car right with the new aerodynamics, with the KERS system, who can make the new slick tyres work best…” Martin Brundle
• “First of all, most people go for the short sound bite – and ‘retirement’ is probably the word that would most cross peoples’ lips when they talk about it. For me, the concept of not being involved in McLaren is impossible. It is part of my life.” Ron Dennis

Donington Thoughts

With planning permission granted, it’s full steam ahead…

• “But I really do struggle to understand how the economics of Donington will work. They have had a 25% swing in the dollar and the contract will be a dollar-based contract. It has got a massive investment into infrastructure. I don’t understand how we are going to get in and out of the place, although I can tell you I will be in a helicopter!” Ron Dennis
• “They will see when buildings come out of the ground and cars come on the grid – if they want to sit at home and still not believe me then that is their prerogative, but the buildings will still come out of the ground and the cars will still be on the grid.” Simon Gillett
• “The proposed change here is at Donington racetrack, not East Midlands Airport, so Donington will need to find ways to satisfy airport safety requirements and to avoid any road congestion that their events may cause. We will remain open as an airport and intend to operate normally through any events in the local community.” Penny Coates, East Midlands Airport Managing Director

Ousted Drivers

Opportunities within Formula 1 are slim…

• “I am well aware that a second chance is often much harder to get than a first one, but I have something to offer that makes me confident that I can reach this goal. At 25, I have three years of F1 racing experience and I am now my third year of testing with a manufacturer F1 team. And the BMW Sauber F1 Team is really professional on all levels. They clearly see the benefit in a reserve driver actually going racing once in a while.” Christian Klien
• “There is a very slim chance that things can happen. The main thing is I am involved with the McLaren-Mercedes family and there are different options in there. We are just pushing on to see what we can get to drive, who knows what it will bring in 2009.” Paul di Resta
• “I think in terms of Formula One drives it is looking very, very slim at the moment. You should never give up, but I am a realist as well and I have learned that over the last year and the year before. Working with Super Aguri really put me in a good position for now, for these times , because it was always a kind of rocky road anyway.” Anthony Davidson

10-Jan-09: Autosport International Day 3 Special

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Welcome to another special F1 Minute episode for Autosport International Day 3.

New BBC commentator Martin Brundle took to the trade show stage on Saturday, with his racing driver son by his side. Talking about the upcoming season, Brundle admitted that it’s very hard to predict who is going to do well. He said: “We’ve had a period of time where Formula 1 regulations have been very stable and the grid has closed up and up and up and is very competitive. So we are losing that, and I am a little bit concerned about that. In its place is uncertainty, and maybe that’s a good thing.”

Brundle also pointed out one of his main worries about the season is comparing the cars running KERS with those that aren’t, as you’ll never know whether an overtake comes down to driver skill or simply the mechanics.

David Coulthard was also in Birmingham, taking questions from the audience, and confirmed he didn’t think he’d miss being a driver as he’ll still attend all the race weekends, the routine will be the same, except for lining up on the grid.

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

24-Nov-08: Webber Recovering from Tasmania Accident

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 24th November 2008.

You’ve probably heard by now, but Mark Webber suffered an unfortunate accident over the weekend during his charity challenge in Tasmania. Webber was on the cycling leg of the adventure challenge and was involved in a head on collision with a car. He escaped with a broken leg, although it did require surgery. He is well and according to Red Bull in good spirits. They say he will return to the UK as soon as possible, will miss out on a lot of winter testing, but they’re sure he’ll be back in time for the Australian Grand Prix.

Elsewhere, Dietrich Mateschitz has said he thinks Buemi is “very likely” to get a race seat at Toro Rosso for 2009 although we won’t know the official decision before the final December test.

And lastly, the BBC have confirmed their lineup for F1 coverage next year. Martin Brundle and Jonathan Legard take over commentating duties with David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan as pundits. Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz cover the pit lane. I’d love to hear what you think of this lineup at F1Minute.com.

02-Jul-08: Singapore GP to Get More Tickets

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2^nd July 2008.

Organisers of the Singapore Grand Prix have announced they will be adding at least 1,500 more seats, due to the popularity of the event. They’ll extend one grandstand and build another for the increased ticket-holders. They’ve also reduced the number of corners to 23, after deciding that Turns 10 and 11 should only really count as one.

Elsewhere today, Ross Brawn has apparently said that any team would be interested in signing up Alonso, as indeed are Honda. However, he also pointed out that the Spaniard’s preference for Ferrari would need to be sorted out first.

Finally, two quick snippets, David Coulthard got a sneek peak at the McLaren Technology Centre today, having bid on and won a charity prize for a tour. He took Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Martin Brundle with him, as well. And Lewis Hamilton has signed the previously rumoured personal sponsorship deal with Reebok, although no numbers have been released.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

10-Dec-07: Alonso Will Join Renault for 2008

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It’s the 10th December 2007, this is F1 Minute and these are your top headlines for today.

Alonso has been holding up the drivers market for quite long enough, and has now announced his return to Renault. He’ll be joined by Nelsinho Piquet who will be making his F1 debut, and Romain Grosjean takes the test driver role. Briatore paid tribute to Fisichella and Kovalainen who will now have to look for a seat elsewhere, and said the car they provided them with was not up to scratch but the team appreciated the hard work both drivers put in. Along with the driver announcement, Renault confirmed the launch of their new car will be at the end of January, running at Valencia, and then unveiled in Paris.

In other news, the FIA’s latest war of words through the media is actually with the media. At the end of last week we found out that the FIA will be suing the Sunday Times for a column from Martin Brundle accusing them of a McLaren witch-hunt. Brundle wrote another column to defend his right to an opinion and berating the FIA for their apparent media manipulation. The FIA have hit back again saying that he does have every right to an opinion but he will have to defend it in court.

That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.