American F1 viewers can watch every race live on ESPN channels commercial-free from lights-out to checkered flag in 2023. The races are broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC channels, with all practice sessions and qualifying – also shown live – moving around its channels (including ESPNU or ESPNews).
ESPN relies on its commentary and punditry from UK-based Sky Sports F1, which it also exports to Canada (via TSN) and Australia (via Foxtel).
Who are Sky Sports F1’s commentary team?
Simon Lazenby
Sky Sports F1’s coverage has been fronted by Lazenby since the channel’s creation in 2012. He graduated from Durham University in the UK and used to work as a grain trader in Lincolnshire.
Lazenby got his break in television working in Rugby Union and has been presenting on Sky Sports since 2002.
David Croft
Commonly known as ‘Crofty’, he is Sky Sports F1’s lead commentator, having held the position since Sky began broadcasting F1 in 2012.
Prior to that, Croft had commentated on F1 races for the UK’s BBC Radio 5 Live radio station since 2006, and he has spent the best part of two decades commentating on darts, firstly for the BBC and more recently for Sky.
Croft’s voice has featured prominently in Codemasters' official F1 video game since 2010.
Martin Brundle
Making his first start in 1984 for Tyrrell, Brundle also raced for Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan in an F1 career that ended in 1996.
Although he never won a race, he came close on a number of occasions, finishing second at the Italian Grand Prix in 1992 and at the Monaco GP in 1994 and scoring seven other podium finishes. In 1990 he won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Jaguar, swapping cars mid-way through the race after his own had been forced to retire.
Brundle’s commentary career began alongside the late Murray Walker at ITV in 1997, later working with James Allen from 2002 onwards. Brundle moved to the BBC when it acquired the rights to F1 coverage in the UK in 2009, and became the lead commentator for the broadcaster two years later with David Coulthard stepping into the co-commentary role.
Brundle moved to Sky Sports F1 in 2012, where he has been a co-commentator alongside David Croft ever since.
Brundle is also known for his pre-race grid walks, in which he interviews drivers and team principals in the frantic few minutes before the lights go out. These have become more famous for some hapless interactions with rapper Megan Thee Stallion, rocker Ozzy Osbourne and tennis legend Serena Williams.
Natalie Pinkham
Joined Sky Sports F1 in 2012 as a pitlane reporter, having done so for BBC Radio 5 Live in 2011. In 2013, Pinkham became a host of The F1 Show, a role she has held ever since.
Prior to F1, Pinkham’s broadcasting career saw her work at the Isle of Man TT and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with two years spent presenting for The Poker Channel. In 2009, she co-hosted the Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside fellow motorsport broadcaster Steve Rider.
Pinkham led Sky’s coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix in 2020.
Karun Chandhok
The Indian ex-racer has developed a reputation as one of the most well-respected analysts working in F1, deriving his expertise from a varied career that included 11 grand prix starts in F1 between 2010 and 2011. Prior to F1 he raced in British GP2, A1 Grand Prix, F3 and various other series, and has since competed in Formula E, the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Chandhok has worked as a pitlane reporter for the BBC and Channel 4, moving to Sky Sports F1 in 2020.
Rachel Brookes
A presenter and reporter for Sky Sports F1, conducting interviews with drivers and other key figures since 2009. Her background is in radio, having previously worked for ITN and Talksport.
She’s also a host of The F1 Show, and stepped in for Lazenby as the main presenter for Sky’s coverage of the Russian Grand Prix in 2020.
Anthony Davidson
Made two appearances for Minardi in F1 in 2002 but retired from both grands prix. After spending much of the next three seasons as a test driver, he secured a full-time drive with Super Aguri in 2007. However, he failed to score any points and, early in 2008, the team pulled out of F1 due to financial difficulties.
Davidson has been far more successful away from F1, winning the World Endurance Championship with Toyota in 2014 and collecting 10 WEC victories across five full seasons racing in LMP1.
The Briton joined the Sky Sports F1 team in 2012, and filled in for Paul di Resta in the commentary box when the Scot made his one-off appearance for Williams in Hungary in 2017.
Damon Hill
Son of two-time F1 world champion Graham, Damon followed in his father’s footsteps in 1996 when he won the world title with Williams.
Statistically one of the most successful F1 drivers ever, Hill won 22 grands prix and was a podium finisher 42 times over eight seasons, before calling it a day at the end of the 1999 season.
Hill joined Sky Sports F1 in 2012 and has been a frequent presence in the punditry role ever since.
Bernie Collins
A graduate of Queen’s University in Belfast, Collins joined McLaren as a trainee before going on to become a performance engineer on its F1 team in 2014.
She then joined Force India in ’15, as a performance and strategy engineer, and worked her way up to be head of race strategy as the team morphed into Aston Martin.
In 2023, she left the pitwall to become an analyst for Sky’s on-event F1 coverage.
Nico Rosberg
The German won the 2016 F1 world championship after a fraught title battle with Lewis Hamilton. He promptly retired from F1 a few days later, having accumulated 23 grand prix wins and 57 podiums in his time with Williams and Mercedes.
Rosberg has pursued a number of endeavors since retiring from F1, including as an owner of an Extreme E team. He first appeared on Sky Sports F1 as an analyst in 2018, and has also worked for broadcasters in Germany and Italy in a similar role.
Naomi Schiff
Born in Belgium to a Rwandan mother, Schiff grew up in South Africa and initially raced in Formula Volkswagen before her career took her to Asia and then on to GT racing in Europe, where she contested the Nurburgring 24 Hours. She also raced in the inaugural all-female W Series in 2019, scoring two points.
After co-presenting the launch of the 2022 Mercedes F1 car with Pinkham, she joined Sky’s presenting team at races, and also co-hosts the Any Driven Monday show.
Jenson Button
He was at the centre of a fairytale story in 2009, when Button became F1 world champion racing for Brawn GP, an outfit that was hastily formed at the beginning of the season when previous owner Honda announced its shock departure.
Along with his world title, Button’s 15 wins and 50 podiums rank him as one of the most successful British F1 drivers in history, and he’s one of only five drivers to date to compete in more than 300 grands prix.
Like Rosberg, Button has developed a number of interests in life after F1, but continues to race in sportscars and NASCAR. He made his Sky Sports F1 debut in 2018.
Ted Kravitz
He has worked in F1 for nearly 25 years, starting out as a producer for ITV in 1997. He then became a pitlane reporter in 2002, and fulfilled the same role for the BBC between 2009 and 2011.
Kravitz was one of Sky’s headline signings when the broadcaster began covering F1 in 2012, developing a fanbase with his show Ted’s Notebook, in which he investigates and explains various technical aspects of F1.
Craig Slater
Reports on F1 for Sky Sports News, with his interviews also featuring on Sky Sports F1’s coverage on race weekends.
How much does F1’s TV deal in America cost?
ESPN, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder, is reported to pay $85million per year for the rights to show Formula 1 in America.
It initially inked a three-year exclusive deal signed in 2019, but now holds the contract through 2025 in a fresh deal revealed in October 2022.
Stefano Domenicali, F1’s president and CEO, said: “Formula 1 has seen incredible growth in the United States with sold-out events and record television audiences, and the addition of Las Vegas to the calendar, alongside Austin and Miami, will see us host three spectacular races there.
“The ESPN networks have played a huge part in that growth with their dedicated quality coverage. We are excited to expand our relationship and continue to bring the passion and excitement of Formula 1 to our viewers in the U.S. together.”
This growth has been boosted by Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, which created a wave of American interest in Formula 1.
Why did NBC lose the F1 deal?
ESPN took the U.S. F1 deal away from previous broadcaster NBC Sports Network, which had held the rights since 2013, after F1 announced plans to stream races on its own platform, F1 TV.
NBC had been willing to pay for a seven-year contract, but the streaming issue proved to be a deal breaker as NBC was starting its own subscription platform, called Peacock.
Can I stream F1 in the United States?
ESPN+ is the live streaming and on-demand platform that carries all of ESPN’s Sky-supplied F1 coverage.
Formula 1’s own ‘over-the-top’ digital service also allows fans to stream races online with extra features available. Called F1 TV Pro, it costs $10 per month or $80 per annum.
A more basic tier, called F1 TV Access, costs $3 per month or $27 per annum but does not include live races.
