BBC Sport has announced that it will continue to broadcast live coverage of the FIA Formula E World Championship throughout its forthcoming seventh season.
The corporation will show comprehensive, live and free-to-air coverage of the all-electric motor racing series across its TV and online platforms – BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website – with some races also airing live on the BBC’s network TV channels, schedules permitting.
The BBC’s coverage of the 2021 season will begin with Formula E’s first races as an official FIA World Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, on 26-27 February.
It will be third successive Formula E season to be broadcast live across BBC TV and online platforms, with ITV and Channel 5 previous broadcasting the series in the UK.
The all-electric series sees 12 teams compete in a season which takes in races across several continents.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, only eight races are currently scheduled to take place between February and June, with further races in Rome, Valencia, Monaco, Marrakesh and Santiago to follow, but further announcements will be made in due course.
The championship is expected to return to the UK for the first time since 2015 with races around London’s Excel centre, which were due to be staged last year before being cancelled due to the pandemic.
Last season’s drivers’ championship was won by Antonio Felix da Costa for the DS Techeetah team, while Britain’s Sam Bird, who drives for Jaguar, is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, having competed in the series since it began in 2014, winning nine races.
Commenting on the deal with the BBC, Aarti Dabas, Formula E’s chief media officer, said:
“Extending our partnership with the BBC gives us the platform to bring the unpredictable action of our all-electric racing to people in the UK on mainstream channels and the popular BBC digital channels, as we also look to engage the next generation of sports fans around the world with our BBC Global News content partnership.”
For more information about the FIA Formula E World Championship, visit the official website – fiaformulae.com.
For a full list of all forthcoming major motorsport events on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated motorsport on TV listings page.
