Formula One Season Finale To Be Shown On Free-to-air Television
Channel 4 has struck a deal with Sky to share the rights to the winner-takes-all race between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi.
Since 2019 Sky Sports F1 has had exclusive live rights, with only one event – the British Grand Prix – available free to air on Channel 4. The latter does show delayed highlight programmes of qualifying and the race from the other events on the calendar throughout the year.
This is not the first time that Channel 4 and Sky have collaborated on bringing sporting events to a wider audience.
In 2019, the free-to-air broadcaster shared live coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand with Sky, airing a simulcast of Sky’s broadcast.
Earlier this year, Channel 4 also aired coverage of Emma Raducanu’s victory in the US Open final after striking a late deal with Amazon Prime.
Mercedes’ Hamilton, 36, and Red Bull’s Verstappen, 24, go into the race level on points at the top of the driver’s championship.
Verstappen has the potential to clinch his first F1 drivers’ championship, while the British appeal for fans undoubtedly lies with Hamilton and his bid to win a Michael Schumacher-beating eighth world title as the pair currently sit tied on seven.
