Enlarge / Kevin Magnussen’s retirement was a key moment of the race, and one you’d have missed here in the US, because ESPN chose to cut away from the broadcast for a commercial. (credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The 2018 Formula 1 season got underway in Australia this past weekend. And now in its second year of ownership by Liberty Media, there have been a few significant changes to the sport over the off-season. All the cars today sport the Halo device—a metal and carbon fiber structure that should prevent flying debris from hitting drivers in the head (despite looking for all the world like that bit on a flip-flop that keeps it on your foot). Pirelli now has seven different tire compounds to use throughout the year, from the orange “superhard” to the pink “hypersoft.” And here in the US, the sport has a new home on ESPN.
And, oh boy, did that last initiative get screwed up.
As previously detailed, Liberty chose to give ESPN the contract to broadcast F1 races from 2018 onward because the series’ previous home, NBC Sports, wouldn’t stomach Liberty launching its own F1 streaming service. That service is due at some point this season, but we’re not entirely sure when.
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Source: Ars Technica – ESPN’s first weekend showing Formula 1 was a fiasco