How to watch F1 on TV, 4K, online and mobile
The 2018 F1 season has seesawed between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel and there are likely to be more thrills and surprises as we get back up to speed after the summer break
F1 on TV The Belgian GP will begin Channel 4’s run to the end of the season, which will also mark the final season to be shown on terrestrial TV in the UK for several years. Their schedule also includes the Singapore, Japanese and US GPS, concluding with the Abu Dhabi season finale in November.
Steve Jones hosts alongside 13-times race winner David Coulthard, with Karun Chandhok as technical analyst and Lee Mckenzie as pitlane reporter. Mark Webber, Susie Wolff and the inimitable Eddie Jordan are your special guests.
Sky has the rights to all the races through its dedicated F1 channel: Sky Sports F1. Ex-racer Martin Brundle and former world champion Damon Hill continue to host the show and are joined by Johnny Herbert, Paul di Resta and Anthony Davidson. Sky’s F1 channel is the only place to see the all the races live. Sky customers can get the channel on top of their existing subscription for £18/m.
F1 in Ultra HD 4K If you want to watch F1 races in 4K, your options are limited to Sky. Sky’s F1 channel broadcasts each practice, qualifying session and race in Ultra HD resolution, and the only way to get 4K is to purchase the Sky Q 2TB set-top box (the 1TB does not output in 4K). HDR support is coming in 2019, so for now you’ll be watching in plain old 4K at 50fps. Sky hasn’t specified a date for Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) integration, but we’d imagine it’ll be ready for the start of the 2019 season.
F1 online and on mobile Your online options are limited to Channel 4 and Sky. For its races, Channel 4 has live broadcast rights to practice sessions, qualifying and full races – all of which can be streamed on its All 4 catch-up and on demand platform. Get the free All 4 app and you can download the content on various mobile devices afterwards. Like BBC iplayer, programmes stay on the service for 30 days.
Alternatively, there’s Sky Go (free to Sky customers), which allows streaming across a range of compatible Android, IOS and Kindle Fire devices. For another £5 you can get Sky Go Extra, which allows downloads. If you have no interest in a Sky contract, you can opt for Now TV. Available across a range of devices, purchasing Day (£7.99), Week (£12.99) or Month (£33.99) passes will allow viewers to dip in and out of Sky’s sporting line-up at their leisure. It’s available on a number of platforms including Android, IOS, Xbox, PS4 and selected LG TVS.