Hamilton upstaged by Ecclestone
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The art of the ringmaster is to run the show, but yesterday Bernie Ecclestone indulged in a little of the magician's sleight of hand as well when news broke at the Hungaroring that from next season until 2018 the television coverage of Formula One will be split between the BBC and Sky Sports. It drew a vitriolic reaction from fans, angry at having to pay to watch their sport despite his recent protestations it would always be on free-to-air TV.
The news completely overshadowed Lewis Hamilton's domination of the practice laps for the Hungarian GP.
The BBC made it clear they wanted to end the expense – "north of £45m annually," say insiders – of broadcasting F1 until 2013, while Sky are keen to add it to their sporting portfolio.
According to a BBC statement, the unusual and unexpected partnership entails "all races, qualifying and practice sessions being shown live on Sky Sports across TV, online and mobile and tablet devices, while half the races and qualifying sessions will remain live on BBC TV, online and mobile, including key races such as the British Grand Prix, Monaco Grand Prix and the final race of the season".
Thus, under a deal that only Ecclestone could have engineered, Sky have effectively become the rights holder for the next seven years, but the BBC will continue to transmit coverage at the same time, thus fulfilling the free-to-air requirement for half the events.
Out on the track, Hamilton headed both sessions, raising hopes that McLaren's winning form last weekend was no flash in the pan. "It's a great feeling to start the weekend on a high," Hamilton said. "The car looks reasonably competitive ... It's important not to read too much into Fridays, though. Having said that, I think we've got about the same pace as we had in Germany, which is encouraging."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments