After a winter of massive change, the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship bursts into life this weekend with what should be a highly unpredictable Australian Grand Prix and you can follow all the action with Sky Sports F1 and BBC Sport.
The much-anticipated 2014 season promises excitement and surprises aplenty, with a raft of intriguing driver moves, an injection of new blood and some big changes to the rules.
Sky Sports F1 will screen the opening race weekend of the season at Albert Park exclusively live on March 14-16, while BBC TV will broadcast extensive free-to-air highlights of both qualifying and the race.
Having shown great pace in pre-season testing, Mercedes and Williams enter the race in Melbourne as favourites, but the truth is that nobody knows for sure what to expect.
The only certainty is that reliability is likely to play a huge part and this doesn’t bode well for reigning world champions Red Bull, whose new RB10 machine has been plagued by technical difficulties.
Many teams believe that if they can finish what is often a punishing race in terms of reliability, then you will have a strong chance of scoring points.
Despite their pre-season woes, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel lines up on the grid as the man to beat once again.
The German is chasing an incredible fifth straight world title and he has a new team-mate this season as Daniel Ricciardo has replaced Mark Webber.
Vettel is also aiming to break Alberto Ascari’s record of nine straight grand prix victories, which he tied in Brazil on the final race of last season.
Ferrari will be strong challengers this year with two former world champions in their ranks following Kimi Raikkonen’s arrival to join Fernando Alonso.
Great Britain’s two world champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton again line up on the grid for McLaren and Mercedes respectively, while Max Chilton returns for Marussia.
Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen has re-joined Ferrari and will drive alongside Fernando Alonso, with the Finnish driver having won their last world drivers’ title back in 2007.
The temporary track around the Albert Park lake provides a stern challenge for drivers and cars alike and as is traditional with street circuits, the surface lacks the grip of a permanent racing track.
The circuit also has various bumps and undulations that have been known to catch drivers out in the past, particularly coming into braking zones, with gravel traps and unyielding walls waiting for the unwary or the unlucky.
All the teams have acknowledged this first grand prix of the season will be a voyage into the unknown, with many discovering for the first time the capabilities of their race-specification cars during the practice sessions
It promises to be a surprising and exhilarating weekend for Formula 1 fans around the world as they tune in to see how much the established pecking order has been shaken up.
Follow all the action from the opening round of the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season on Sky Sports F1. Extended highlights of qualifying and the race will be shown on BBC TV.
SOTB’s viewing guide to the 2014 F1 Australian Grand Prix below:
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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FORMULA 1 2014 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
The 65th Formula 1 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend and Sky Sports F1 is the only place to see all the action as it happens.
The race will be shown live and uninterrupted, along with the qualifying and practice sessions, and with the early start times, fans will be able catch up on any of the action they’ve missed with full session replays at various times throughout the day.
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, Damon Hill 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.
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.
Friday 14th March
Free Practice 1 – Start: 01:30
LIVE: 1.00am-3.20am Sky Sports F1 Replay at 2.00pm
Free Practice 2 – Start: 05:30
LIVE: 5.15am-7.30am Sky Sports F1 Replay at 4.20pm
The F1 Show
LIVE: 9.30am-10.30am Sky Sports F1 / Sky Sport 1 Replays at 1.00pm & 8.00pm
Saturday 15th March
Practice 3 – Start: 03:00
LIVE: 2.45am-4.15am Sky Sports F1 Replay at 1.00pm
Qualifying – Start: 06:00
LIVE: 5.00am-7.45am Sky Sports F1 / Sky 1 Replays at 9am, 2.30pm, 6pm & 10pm
Sunday 16th March
Australia Grand Prix LIVE – Race Start: 06:00
LIVE: 4.30am-9.15am Sky Sports F1 Replay at 12.00pm
F1 Legends: Juan Pablo Montoya
9.15am-10.15am Sky Sports F1 Replays at 4.45pm & 9.30pm
Australian Grand Prix Highlights
11.00am-12.00pm Sky Sports F1 Replays at 6.00pm, 7.45pm & 10.30pm
The BBC will broadcast free-to-air TV highlights of the 2014 season curtain-raiser in Melbourne.
Suzi Perry presents all the action from the Albert Park alongside David Coulthard, who will provide his analysis in the pits and paddock, plus there will be further insights from BBC TV’s new signing Allan McNish.
Extended highlights of the qualifying session will be shown on BBC Two on Saturday afternoon at 2.55pm, with comprehensive two-hour race highlights show the following day over on BBC One at 2.00pm (3.00pm on BBC Two for viewers in Scotland).
Commentary on qualifying and the race comes from Ben Edwards and David Coulthard, with Tom Clarkson providing regular updates from the pit-lane while Lee McKenzie is on hand to conduct interviews with the drivers and team personnel.
McKenzie will also host Inside F1 on BBC News Channel on Friday and Saturday evenings, which will preview the weekend’s action.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of BBC TV’s broadcasts, as well as additional video content including highlights of practice sessions, qualifying and the race, 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 will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Melbourne with James Allen and Jennie Gow.
In addition, the legendary motorsport broadcaster Murray Walker is the castaway on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with Kirsty Young on Sunday morning at 11.15am.
Saturday 15th MarchAustralian Grand Prix – Qualifying Highlights: 2.55pm-4.25pm BBC Two Sunday 16th March Australian Grand Prix – Race Highlights: 2.00pm-4.00pm BBC One (3.00pm on BBC Two Scotland)
