One of the most frantic winter periods in recent Formula 1 history is ending. On February 27th, 2017 the sound of Formula 1 machinery will again be heard as the drivers and teams head to Barcelona in Spain for the first pre-season test session!

Sky Sports F1 will be covering the action, with brief interviews interspersed with track footage on each of the four days, followed by Ted Kravitz’s usual Notebook material. Sky Sports News will also have their usual reporter (either Rachel Brookes or Craig Slater) at the circuit.

Given that the sport is now under the ownership of Liberty Media, we might see more activity than previous years from Formula One Management (FOM) at these tests. As of writing, I do not know if they have any new plans for covering testing as a whole, but I will update this post if they are planning to do something different this year.

On the subject of car launches, there is nothing currently in Sky’s schedules. However, Natalie Pinkham and David Croft are presenting the Force India car launch from Silverstone on February 22nd, so I would expect something to turn up on the channel. Likewise, I would be surprised if the Mercedes launch the following day was not covered, either.

The Barcelona test one schedule currently stands as follows:

Thursday 16th February

19:30 to 20:30 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Wednesday 22nd February

13:00 to 16:00 – Afternoon Edition (BBC Radio 5 Live)

– live from the Mercedes factory with Jack Nicholls

Monday 27th February

21:00 to 21:45 – Day 1 Highlights (Sky Sports F1)

– round-up at 21:00

– Ted’s Notebook at 21:15

Tuesday 28th February

20:15 to 21:00 – Day 1 Highlights (Sky Sports F1) (R)

21:00 to 21:45 – Day 2 Highlights (Sky Sports F1)

– round-up at 21:00

– Ted’s Notebook at 21:15

Wednesday 1st March

20:15 to 21:00 – Day 2 Highlights (Sky Sports F1) (R)

21:00 to 21:45 – Day 3 Highlights (Sky Sports F1)

– round-up at 21:00

– Ted’s Notebook at 21:15

Thursday 2nd March

20:15 to 21:00 – Day 3 Highlights (Sky Sports F1) (R)

21:00 to 21:45 – Day 4 Highlights (Sky Sports F1)

– round-up at 21:00

– Ted’s Notebook at 21:15

If anything changes, I will update the schedule above.

Update on February 15th – The BBC are airing a 5 Live Formula 1 special on Thursday 16th February with Jennie Gow, Mark Gallagher, Andrew Benson, Toto Wolff, Ross Brawn and Claire Williams.