ITV boosts F1 coverage for new season

First and foremost among the planned changes is the use of an extra camera assigned to the pitlane and paddock. So, when commentator Martin Brundle is executing his popular grid walk, either Louise Goodman or Ted Kravitz will be adding extra colour in the countdown to the race, able to catch any last-minute drama. Equally, interviews with drivers retiring mid-race will henceforth be in-vision where possible. ITV will also have double the amount of onboard camera footage, using six cameras rather than three.

With qualifying now both on Friday and Saturday, ITV will be bringing both sessions live from the opening grand prix at Melbourne, offering viewers the opportunity to witness the manifold approaches to the new one-at-a-time flying laps as the teams learn how best to balance their lap speed against the fuel load carried, as this will have an immediate bearing on how light or heavy their car will be for the first stint in the race since no fuel is allowed to be added between qualifying and the start of the race.

A special preview show is to be broadcast at 14:30 this Sunday, 28 February, including a debate about the way forward for F1 between ITV's Jim Rosenthal, Brundle, BAR boss David Richards, McLaren's David Coulthard and Renault's test driver Allan McNish and technical director Mike Gascoyne.