Full BBC F1 2015 Live Race Schedule Listed Below, with the British Grand Prix, Canada, Belgium, Japan and Brazil Coverage All Making the List.
The BBC F1 TV and Radio Team: James Allen, Jennie Gow, David Coulthard, Lee McKenzie, Eddie Jordan, Suzi Perry , Tom Clarkson, Allan McNish and Ben Edwards – Image Credit: BBC/Peter J Fox
Which F1 races will BBC show live in 2015?
The list of races the public service broadcaster will be delivering live (displayed below) was officially revealed on the 7th of January 2015. So here’s the full list of races (marked LIVE) that BBC television will be showing as they happen, with the remaining meetings (marked HL) set for highlights coverage:
2015 BBC F1 Calendar – Race Dates and Locations (Updated)
March 15 – Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia – HL
March 29 – Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia – LIVE
April 12 – Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China – HL
April 19 – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – LIVE
May 3 – Korea International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea
May 10 – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – HL
May 24 – Monaco, Monte Carlo – HL
June 7 – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada – LIVE
June 21 – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria – HL
July 5 – Silverstone, Great Britain – LIVE
July 19 – Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany – HL
July 26 – Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary – LIVE
August 23 – Spa Francorchamps, Belgium – LIVE
September 6 – Autodromo di Monza, Monza, Italy – HL
September 20 – Marina Bay, Singapore – HL
September 27 – Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Japan – LIVE
October 11 – Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia – LIVE
October 25 – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, USA – HL
November 1 – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – HL
November 15 – Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil – LIVE
November 29 – Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – LIVE
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battling it out in Singapore – Photo by Morio (Sourced via Wikimedia)
For the upcoming 20-race season, the BBC’s F1 coverage will consist of 10 live race weekends, with the 10 remaining Grand Prix and qualifying sessions to be broadcast as delayed highlights. As ever, the entire Formula 1 World Championship will be available to listen to live via BBC Radio 5 Live or Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
BBC F1 Highlight Coverage and Broadcast Times Explained
Live Grand Prix weekends will feature full live TV coverage of all practice, qualifying and race sessions. Meanwhile, highlight weekends will consist of extended race highlight shows lasting around 90 minutes, including pre-race build-up and post-race analysis.
For European time zone Grand Prix’s these shows will generally be broadcast around 5:00pm. Early morning races such as Australia and China will have their highlights shown around 2:00pm, while viewers will get to watch the best of the USA Grand Prix at approximately 22:30pm.
As for Qualifying, highlight programmes lasting around 75 minutes will air Saturdays on BBC One at around 5:30pm for European races, 1:00pm for early morning races and 10:30pm for evening races.
F1 Television Broadcast Rights
As a result of the deal signed back in 2011, BBC have the rights to broadcast Formula One in its current half live/half highlights format up to and including the 2018 season.
This means Sky Sports F1 will continue to show every race weekend live and in full, while the Beeb brings viewers half the meetings live and the other half in highlight form. Like it or loathe it, most of us BBC F1 viewers are by now used to this current set-up. Barring any big changes of heart (or budget) on the part of the BBC or Sky, British motorsport fans look to be stuck with the deal for a few more years yet.
For non-Sky Sports subscribers, the hope of ITV or even BT Sport stepping in with some kind of new offer looks less and less likely as time goes on. Nothing against the quality of the BBC’s programming, just the quantity and timing of it.
F1 Rule Changes
Modifications to the FIA Formula 1 rules and regulations for 2015 will include drivers being limited to just four power units per season and a switch to standing grid restarts after the safety car has been on track. Restarting races from the gird each time there’s been a safety car deployment could certainly add plenty of drama to proceedings, mixing up the running order far more than the traditional rolling starts.
