The race for the 2013 Formula 1 world championship continues with one of the most prestigious and longest-running events on the calendar – the Italian Grand Prix – live on BBC Sport and Sky Sports F1.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton claimed victory last year at the circuit for McLaren, beating Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso into second and third place respectively.
Eventual 2012 champion Sebastian Vettel failed to finish and, as one of the drivers looking to close the gap on Vettel at the top of the standings, Hamilton could do with a similar outcome this time around.
Vettel tightened his grip on the drivers’ championship with an impressive win at Spa a fortnight ago and he’ll be looking to carry that form into Monza.
The German and his team pulled a sublime performance to take the win at Spa in almost effortless fashion.
Championship contender Lewis Hamilton was unable to match his previous race performance and had to settle for a distant third place, with Fernando Alonso having his best finish since Canada at the beginning of June to finish runner-up to Vettel.
For all of Formula 1’s global expansion over the past two decades, the Italian Grand Prix has remained a firm fixture on the F1 calendar.
The famous Monza circuit – one of the considered ‘crown jewels’ of F1 alongside Silverstone, Monaco and Spa-Franchorchamps – is regarded by many as the true embodiment of grand prix motor racing.
Not only is it a fantastic example of a track that combines speed with skill, it also has a heart and soul all of its own.
It has seen some of the finest races of all time, but also some of the sport’s worst accidents.
The names of great drivers and the sounds of engines from years gone by linger in the grand old trees surrounding the track in the royal park.
The list of famous victories and horrifying crashes is long, and all combine to make Monza one of the most magical places on the Formula 1 calendar.
For many there is nowhere that encapsulates the sport better than this circuit.
The Italians call it ‘La Pista Magica’, the magic track, a description few would disagree with.
While the famous old banking that surrounds the modern circuit may be a relic of a dangerous bygone era, the characteristics that have long defined the Italian GP – high-speeds, drama, history and passion – very much still remain intact at what is the effective home of Ferrari.
The Italian Grand Prix represents the final European race of the season before the teams head off for seven flyaway races to round off the campaign between the end of September to the final weekend of November.
Despite now being in the mid-season, the race remains a significant juncture in the shape of the season and all teams and drivers will be looking to head into the Asian flyaways with strong momentum behind them.
That particularly applies to Ferrari, who will be aiming for their first home win in three years to try and check Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s latest head of steam.
Follow all the action from Monza with BBC TV and Sky Sports’ extensive live coverage. Details below.
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
.
FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
BBC Sport will have live free-to-air coverage of the 2013 Italian Grand Prix across all its platforms.
Live coverage begins on Friday with both free practice sessions on BBC Two and BBC Two HD, followed by practice three on Saturday morning.
As usual on 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, with both sessions starting at 1.00pm.
All the live action from Monza will be presented 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.
McKenzie will also host the BBC’s preview programme Inside F1 on the BBC News Channel on Friday at 6.45pm and Saturday at 7.45pm.
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 Monza with James Allen, Jennie Gow and Gary Anderson.
.
FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 will have its usual extensive live coverage of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix from Monza.
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 will call the practice sessions as well as offer his insights from the Sky Pad during the weekend.
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.
Sky Sports F1 will also screen live action from GP2 and GP3 Series throughout the weekend with commentary provided by Will Buxton.
.
