The atmosphere inside Silverstone will be electric ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix and both BBC TV and Sky Sports F1 will screen live coverage of this eagerly-anticipated race.
This packed summer of sport is now in full swing and for the British contingent in Formula 1 that means just one thing – the annual motorsport extravaganza that is their home race at Silverstone.
Last year’s British Grand Prix weekend was largely wrecked by torrential rain over the first two days, so all involved will be hoping for better weather in the build-up to one of most prestigious events in British sport.
Silverstone plays host to round eight of the Formula 1 World Championship, not quite representing the half-way point of this present campaign as it takes place a few weeks earlier than normal in the final week of June, fortunately avoiding a clash with finals weekend at Wimbledon.
Whatever the date – and the weather – the British Grand Prix is always one of the highlights of the season and the 2013 edition certainly has all the ingredients in place to live up to that billing.
For the first time since 2007 there are four British drivers are in the field – Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Paul Di Resta and Max Chilton, who makes his British GP debut for Marussia.
The chances of the first British winner of the race in five years – when Hamilton pulled off an impressive win in atrocious conditions for McLaren back in 2008 – look fairly slim.
Hamilton is still chasing his maiden Mercedes victory and now has to do that off the back of the recent FIA tribunal in which his team were punished for taking part in an illegal test, the result of which will no doubt be one of the main talking points in paddock this weekend.
Fernando Alonso and Ferrari will be eager to close the gap to Sebastian Vettel in the title battle, while local favourites McLaren anticipating a much-needed step forward in their bid to close the gap to the front.
Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have all won at Silverstone for the last four years. In 2012, all three were on the podium with the Australian on the top step for the second time in three years.
He will be hoping to secure his first victory of the season this weekend as he bids to escape from the shadow of team-mate and championship leader Vettel, following the three-time world champion’s dominant win in Canada last time out.
It all looks set to be a memorable weekend and you can follow every moment of the on-track action at Silverstone with BBC Sport and/or Sky Sports F1.
BBC Sport will have live free-to-air coverage of the 2013 British Grand Prix on all platforms – TV, radio and online.
Forming part of a bumper weekend of live events on the BBC, which also includes Wimbledon and Glastonbury, all five on-track sessions will be shown live on BBC television, including the three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.
Because of Wimbledon, Friday’s two practice sessions will be broadcast live on BBC Red Button. These will be repeated on Saturday morning from 6.40am.
As usual, both qualifying and the race will be shown live on Saturday and Sunday respectively on BBC One and BBC One HD, with both sessions starting at 1.00pm.
All the live action from Silverstone will be introduced from trackside by Suzi Perry.
She will be joined by regular trackside experts David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan, both 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, including David Coulthard’s grid-walk on race day.
Commentary comes from Ben Edwards and David Coulthard, with technical analysis from Gary Anderson, while Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson will provide pit-lane updates and conduct interviews with the drivers and team personel.
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 3.30pm.
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 have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Silverstone.
James Allen will lead the commentary team throughout the weekend, including full live coverage of the race on BBC 5 live.
Jennie Gow will be the pit-lane and paddock reporter gathering all the interviews and Gary Anderson will provide the latest technical analysis from the pits.
There will also be a special phone-in show – Slicks-0-Slicks – on Sunday evening at 6pm on Radio 5 live.
Friday 28th June
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 1 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 10.00am-11.30am BBC Red Button Replay: 6.40am-8.15am (Sat) BBC Two
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 2 | Start: 14:00
LIVE: 1.55pm-3.35pm BBC Red Button Replay: 8.15am-9.55am (Sat) BBC Two
Inside F1: British Grand Prix Preview
6.45pm-7.00pm BBC News Channel
Saturday 29th June
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 3 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.55am-11.05am BBC Two
F1: British Grand Prix – Qualifying | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.15pm-2.20pm BBC One
Sunday 30th June
F1: British Grand Prix – RACE | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.10pm-3.30pm BBC One Post-Race Forum: 3.30pm-4.30pm BBC Red Button
F1: British Grand Prix – Highlights
Highlights: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Three
Thursday 27th June
5 live Formula 1 – British Grand Prix Preview
8.00pm-9.00pm BBC Radio 5 live
Friday 28th June
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 1 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.55am-11.35am BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 2 | Start: 14:00
LIVE: 1.55pm-3.35pm BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra
Saturday 29th June
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 3 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.55am-11.05am BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra
F1: British Grand Prix – Qualifying | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.55pm-2.05pm BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra
Sunday 30th June
F1: British Grand Prix – RACE | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.00pm-3.00pm BBC Radio 5 live
Slicks-O-Slicks – Phone-in
LIVE: 6.00pm-7.00pm BBC Radio 5 live
FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
It’s the showpiece event of the UK motorsport calendar and Sky Sports F1 will have comprehensive coverage all week from Silverstone.
Every practice session, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself will be shown live in high-definition.
Simon Lazenby will present full coverage of the Friday practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself, where he will be joined throughout the weekend by Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert and Damon Hill.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will have the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle joins Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, while Anthony Davidson, fresh from his Le Mans podium finish, will call the practice sessions as well as offer his insights from the Sky Pad during the weekend.
In a special treat, viewers will also hear direct from the Silver Arrows pitwall with Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn communicating direct to the Sky Sports F1 team from the best seat in the Silverstone house throughout the weekend.
There will also be plenty of top support programming to enjoy, including two editions of The F1 Show on Thursday (8pm) and Friday (6pm) hosted by Kravitz and Pinkham, as well as archive races and a special half-hour show looking back at home winners of the British GP in ‘British Grand Prix: Home Advantage’ on Thursday night at 9pm.
Sky’s live qualifying and race shows will include an array of special features and interviews, all building up to one of the most anticipated races in the whole Grand Prix calendar, plus the usual grid-walk from Martin Brundle and Ted Kravitz’s popular Notebook segments.
Following live race coverage on Sky Sports F1, renowned team owner Sir Frank Williams is the latest legend of F1 to be interviewed by veteran sports broadcaster Steve Rider.
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 drama from the Shanghai International Circuit can be seen 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.
Sky Sports F1 will also screen live action from GP2 and GP3 Series throughout the weekend with commentary provided by Will Buxton.
Thursday 27th June
F1 Drivers Press Conference
LIVE: 3.00pm-3.45pm Sky Sports F1
Gear Up For Great Britain
7.45pm-8.00pm Sky Sports F1
The F1 Show – British Grand Prix Special
8.00pm-9.00pm Sky Sports F1
British Grand Prix: Home Advantage
9.00pm-9.30pm Sky Sports F1
Friday 28th June
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 1 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.45am-12.00pm Sky Sports F1
GP2: Great Britain – Practice | Start: 12:00
LIVE: 12.00pm-12.35pm Sky Sports F1
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 2 | Start: 14:00
LIVE: 1.45pm-3.50pm Sky Sports F1
GP2: Great Britain – Qualifying | Start: 15:55
LIVE: 3.50pm-4.35pm Sky Sports F1
F1 Team Principals Press Conference
Delayed: 5.00pm-5.45pm Sky Sports F1
The F1 Show – British Grand Prix Preview
LIVE: 6.00pm-7.00pm Sky Sports F1
Saturday 29th June
GP3: Great Britain – Qualifying | Start: 08:45
LIVE: 8.45am-9.20am Sky Sports F1
F1: British Grand Prix – Practice 3 | Start: 10:00
LIVE: 9.45am-11.10am Sky Sports F1
F1: British Grand Prix – Qualifying | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 12.00pm-2.35pm Sky Sports F1
GP2: Great Britain – Race 1 (Feature) | Start: 14:40
LIVE: 2.35pm-4.00pm Sky Sports F1
GP3: Great Britain – Race 1 | Start: 16:20
LIVE: 4.15pm-5.05pm Sky Sports F1
Sunday 30th June
GP3: Great Britain – Race 2 | Start: 08:25
LIVE: 8.25am-9.15am Sky Sports F1
GP2: Great Britain – Race 2 (Sprint) | Start: 09:35
LIVE: 9.35am-10.40am Sky Sports F1
F1: British Grand Prix – RACE | Start: 13:00
LIVE: 11.30am-4.15pm Sky Sports F1
Legends of F1: Sir Frank Williams
4.15pm-5.15pm Sky Sports F1
F1: Canadian Grand Prix – Highlights
7.00pm-8.30pm Sky Sports F1
