American F1 viewers can watch every race live on ESPN channels commercial-free from lights-out to checkered flag in 2024.
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.
Who are Sky Sports F1’s commentary team for 2024?
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.
David Croft
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Ahead of a record-breaking 24 race calendar, which includes four double-headers and two triple-headers, Croft has taken the decision to stand down from the Emilia-Romagna, Austrian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix.
He only missed one race prior to his move to Sky when he skipped the 2007 European Grand Prix due to the birth of his son.
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 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.
Martin Brundle, Sky Sports F1
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
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.
Harry Benjamin
A newcomer to main F1 commentary box in 2024, Benjamin will take the position of lead commentator from Croft at the Emilia-Romagna, Austrian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix.
Benjamin initially trained as an actor at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, has performed in the West End and worked on feature films. After moving into the broadcasting world, he has presented a wide variety of programming and hosted his own national radio show on Hits Radio.
His previous television work was with BBC Sport, CNN and Motorsport.com before taking a commentary role with Sky Sports for its F1 Juniors broadcasts last year.
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.
Simon Lazenby
Photo by: McLaren
Lazenby got his break in television working in Rugby Union and has been presenting on Sky Sports since 2002.
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.
Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports F1, interviews Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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.
Karun Chandhok, Sky TV, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Chandhok has worked as a pitlane reporter for the BBC and Channel 4, moving to Sky Sports F1 in 2020.
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.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari, is interviewed on the grid by Bernie Collins, Sky Sports F1
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In 2023, she left the pitwall to become an analyst for Sky’s on-event F1 coverage. Collins will have a bigger role this season, providing analysis of racing strategy over 10 race weekends.
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.
Anthony Davidson
Photo by: Florent Gooden – DPPI
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.
Damon Hill, Sky TV
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Hill joined Sky Sports F1 in 2012 and has been a frequent presence in the punditry role ever since.
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.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, is interviewed by Rachel Brookes, Sky Sports F1
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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.
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.
Nico Rosberg
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
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.
Presenter Naomi Schiff, Sky Sports F1
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
After co-presenting the launch of the 2022 Mercedes F1 car with Pinkham, she joined Sky’s presenting team at races.
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.
Jenson Button
Photo by: Williams
Like Rosberg, Button has developed a number of interests in life after F1 but continues to race in the World Endurance Championship after dabbling in NASCAR in 2022. He made his Sky Sports F1 debut in 2018.
Danica Patrick
The most successful female driver in IndyCar Series history, Patrick’s 2008 win at Motegi in Japan remains its only race win by a woman. Having quit open-wheel racing for NASCAR in 2010, Patrick won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500.
Patrick retired from the sport at the end of 2018 to embark on a varied post-racing career in wine making, sports apparel and media.
Danica Patrick, Sky Sports F1, interviews pole man Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, after Qualifying
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
She has also been a guest analyst for NBC’s Indy 500 coverage – a race in which she finished third in 2009 – since 2019, and she first joined the Sky Sports F1 presenting team for the 2021 United States Grand Prix.
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.
Ted Kravitz, Pit Lane Reporter, Sky Sports F1
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
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.
Craig Slater, Sky TV
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Source : Motorsport.com