After four flyaway races, Formula 1 returns to the comfortable familiarity of trucks and motorhomes for the start of the European season with the Spanish Grand Prix, live on BBC Sport and Sky Sports F1.
The Circuit de Catalunya, which has hosted the race since 1991, stages the fifth round of the 2014 season as the drivers arrive in Barcelona refreshed after a three week break following the Chinese Grand Prix and it will be a crucial round for all of the teams.
Traditionally, the Spanish Grand Prix is the race where all the teams bring the upgrades they have been working on ever since they launched their cars at the start of the season, as well as being a race where the frontrunners seek to move further ahead and those giving chase plan to close the gap.
A truer picture of the 2014 pecking order is likely to emerge from this race onwards, but no team looks like stopping Mercedes, who have enjoyed a significant advantage over their principal rivals Ferrari and Red Bull.
Mercedes arrive at the Spanish Grand Prix in ominous form. With a clean sweep of pole positions and victories, they are very much the team to beat in 2014.
Lewis Hamilton has been the driver to watch so far this year, winning the last three races, but it is team-mate Nico Rosberg who leads the Championship.
Though 2014 has seen a constant stream of traffic between the factories and the circuit, with upgrades appearing on a daily basis, most teams have circled this race for something more substantial.
While Mercedes may hold too much of an advantage for the moment, down the order there is much more potential for movement.
Fans can follow all the action from the fifth round of the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season on both BBC Sport and Sky Sports F1.
SOTB’s viewing guide to the 2014 F1 Spanish Grand Prix below:
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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The Spanish Grand Prix is the second of BBC TV’s nine live race weekends in 2014 and all five on-track sessions will be broadcast across BBC One and BBC Two.
Live coverage begins on Friday with both free practice sessions on BBC Two, followed by practice three live on Saturday morning.
As usual on the BBC’s live race weekends, both qualifying and the race will be shown as it happens on Saturday and Sunday respectively on BBC One and BBC One HD.
Suzi Perry presents BBC TV’s coverage across weekend where she will be joined by David Coulthard, the returning Eddie Jordan – making his first BBC appearance of the season – and Allan McNish, all of whom will be on hand to provide lively analysis and discussion in the pits and paddock.
During the lengthy qualifying and race build-ups there will be plenty of fresh features and interviews to keep viewers informed and entertained, which this weekend includes tributes to Ayrton Senna 20 years on from his tragic death at Imola, as well as David Coulthard’s grid-walk on race day.
Commentary comes from Ben Edwards and Coulthard, with Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson providing pit-lane updates and conduct interviews with the drivers and team personnel.
BBC Sport’s popular F1 Forum, presented by Suzi Perry, follows the conclusion of the BBC One race transmission on the BBC Red Button and online at 3.15pm.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of all live BBC TV broadcasts, as well as additional live video content during including extra feeds such as driver tracker, on-board cameras, pits channel and a choice of commentary, plus interviews and analysis.
All of the BBC’s TV coverage will be available to view shortly after transmission on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Barcelona with James Allen, Jennie Gow and Allan McNish.
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FORMULA 1 2014 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 will have its usual extensive live coverage of this weekend’s grand prix in Spain.
The race will be shown live and uninterrupted, along with the practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday.
Simon Lazenby will anchor Sky Sports F1′s live coverage throughout the weekend where he will be joined by regulars Damon Hill, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will provide the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle will join Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, with Anthony Davidson calling the practice sessions, as well as providing his unique insights via the Sky Pad during the weekend.
The F1 Show live from the Barcelona pits will build up to the race weekend on Friday evening, hosted by Simon Lazenby and Natalie Pinkham.
During the race, a host of interactive additions, including on-board cameras, pit-lane feeds, the latest race stats and much more available via the red button and the Sky Sports for iPad app.
For those who won’t be at home, every second of the action can be seen via computers, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices on Sky Go.
Further information, news and video content can be found at skysports.com/f1, and viewers are encouraged to interact with the live programmes via Twitter – @SkySportsF1, #SkyF1.
In addition, Sky Sports F1 will screen live coverage of the GP2 and GP3 Series throughout the weekend with commentary led by Will Buxton.
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