Here’s how you can watch Formula 1 races on TV and online in the UK, and when to catch the action at Imola.
The second race of the 2021 F1 season is this weekend, and here’s everything you need to know about watching it on TV and online in the UK. Friday 16th – Practice 1 & 2: Sky Sports F1 9.30am,1.15pm Saturday 17th – Practice 3: Sky Sports F1,9.45am Saturday 17th – Qualifying: Sky Sports F1,12pm, Channel 4 (highlights),7.30pm Sunday 18th – Race Coverage begins at 12.30pm on Sky Sports F1. Start time: 2pm. Channel 4 highlights,6.30pm If you’re unable to get to a TV or record broadcasts, you can watch them later on Sky and Channel 4’s catch-up services. Highlights can take a long while to appear on All4 so it’s well worth setting your DVR to record if you have one. The schedule for this year has changed a couple of times already, but below you’ll find the latest – and hopefully final – list of dates and venues. The decision to postpone the Australian Grand Prix was taken at the start of January, and it has been moved to 21 November. There won’t be a race in China or Vietnam in 2021. With a record-breaking 23 rounds to cram in, it’s going to be a busy time for teams and drivers. Just when we were worried that F1 was about to become exclusively a pay-to-watch sport, a reprieve meant fans can still watch – albeit highlights only and not live – on Channel 4 in the UK. Sky still has the exclusive rights to show live races in the UK (as well as Italy and now Germany), meaning the only coverage on free-to-air TV in the UK will be available on Channel 4. This arrangement runs until 2024 and until the end of the 2022 season, extended highlights of both qualifying and races can be shown on Channel 4 only two and a half hours after the race ends, instead of the three-hour delay in 2019. This doesn’t mean all broadcasts will be shown this soon, and many were frustrated last year that highlights didn’t appear on Channel 4’s streaming service – All4 – for hours after the TV broadcast. The highlights show lasts 2.5 hours and is allowed to cover 70 percent of the action. The presenting team hasn’t yet been announced, but is sure to include David Coulthard, Steve Jones and Mark Webber. You can watch Channel 4 on your TV, of course, but you can also watch using the All4 app on your phone or tablet (but not live), or in a web browser via Channel 4’s website.
