Formula 1

Sky Sports to exclusively air 11 Formula One races

By Oli Gross

19-Jan-2016 - Last updated on 19-Jan-2016 at 10:44 GMT

Related tags Formula one

Sky Sports F1 will show all 21 races live in the upcoming season, 11 of which it has exclusive rights to.

This season sees the end of F1 coverage on the BBC, while some races will still be aired on Channel 4.

Exclusive

Sky Sports F1^®will be the only channel airing 11 races including Monaco, Canada and three of the first four races.

The opener will see Lewis Hamilton begins his quest for a fourth World Championship at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix on 20 March.

This season also sees the return of the Hockenheim race in Germany, which is part of Sky's exclusive deal.

Pubs

Sky Business managing director David Rey said: "With more races, more stories and more drama this coming season, only Sky Sports F1^® can give pub viewers the complete story live. F1^® is one of the most popular sports to watch in pubs and bars, offering additional money-making opportunities to licensees.

"With races taking place on Sundays from March to November, there's a great chance to attract fans to watch all the action throughout the season, giving food and drink sales a potential boost. Pubs with additional viewing cards can show football and F1^® at the same time on Sundays, keeping more customers happy and in their venue for longer."

Coverage

Commentary this season will come from Martin Brundle and David Croft, with expert analysis by Damon Hill, Anthony Davidson and Johnny Herbert.

Presenter Simon Lazenby will be fronting the coverage alongside reporter Ted Kravitz. There will be a host of programming, features and archive footage throughout the year.

Sky Sports also has the rights to live coverage of F1^® feeder series GP2™ and GP3™. Race weekends will be supported by weekly episodes of the F1^® Show and rolling coverage on Sky Sports News HQ.

2016 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Sky Sports F1^® schedule in full:

20 March - Australia - Exclusively live

3 April - Bahrain - Live

17 April – China - Exclusively live

1 May - Russia - Exclusively live

15 May - Spain - Live

29 May - Monaco - Exclusively live

12 June - Canada - Exclusively live

19 June - Azerbaijan - Live

3 July - Austria - Exclusively live

10 July - Great Britain - Live

24 July - Hungary - Live