05/05/2018
NEWS STORY
In the wake of issues surrounding the Australian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, ESPN appears to be reacting to the ongoing criticism from fans as the American broadcaster reveals that it is expanding its coverage for next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
For the event at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the first round of the season, fans will be able to watch coverage of the first two practice sessions of the weekend on ESPNU. For the first four races of the season, coverage of the first two practice sessions was only available for viewing on ESPN3 via the ESPN App.
The third Spanish Grand Prix practice session, qualifying and the race will all air on ESPN2.
After a 20-year absence, Formula 1 racing returned to ESPN and ABC this year as part of a multiyear linear and digital partnership. All 21 races in the championship will be televised on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, with practice and qualifying sessions for each race also airing.
The race and qualifying telecasts, presented by Mothers Polish, are airing commercial-free.
All race, practice sessions and qualifying programs also will continue to be available for live viewing and replays on the ESPN App. Network schedules for race weekends will be published during the week on the dedicated ESPN F1 landing page on ESPN.com.
Most of the complaints surrounding ESPN's coverage of the Azerbaijan weekend centred on the information given by the various viewing guides, which not meant fans missing sessions but leaving them unable to record them.
In the midst of the furore, some fans claimed the move was a deliberate attempt to force people to purchase F1's streaming service F1.TV which goes live next weekend.
With an eye on the official F1 live timing app, now in its ninth full season and still prone to errors, those fans subscribing to F1.TV are advised to ensure that they have back-up plans available to them.
The timing and channel information shown in the accompanying image is that provided by ESPN.