Sky Sports News to offer 'ultimate F1 news service'

Sky Sports News has confirmed plans to offer the "ultimate news service" around Formula One, including six days of coverage from each Grand Prix.

Sky will launch Sky Sports F1 in March, the broadcaster's first channel dedicated to one sport, which will cover every race, practice and qualifying session from this year until 2018.

Backing up the channel's coverage, Sky Sports News will broadcast on-site from every 2012 Grand Prix for six days, rather than the usual four days of coverage.

The channel will have two dedicated F1 presenters - Rachel Brookes and Craig Slater - who will be among the teams during the 'test season', providing breaking news stories and analysis.

Brooks and Slater will produce six days of coverage for all the 20 Grand Prix, starting each Tuesday with build-up and extending through the week to "post-race reaction".

All the coverage will be made available on the recently-launched Sky Sports News iPad app via a dedicated F1 section.

"This is the ultimate news service for F1," Sky Sports News executive editor Andy Cairns said on the Sky Sports website.

"Our reporters will be trackside and in the Sky Sports News HD studio ensuring viewers are always up to date with what's happening on and off the track.

"And viewers with iPads will be able to follow our F1 coverage wherever they happen to be via the new Sky Sports News app which features on-demand video, the latest news and interviews, data as well as Sky Sports News itself."

Sky Sports News has already broadcast from the headquarters of Caterham, Williams and Marussia. It will also cover the launches of the 2012 cars and driver lineups throughout February.

However, the coverage plans will be another blow to Formula One fans receiving free-to-air television, as Sky removed Sky Sports News from Freeview in August 2010 and made the channel exclusive to pay-TV.

Sky's joint deal with the BBC to show the world's premium motorsport has proved highly controversial with some viewers, because live coverage of half of each season's races will only be available on the Sky Sports F1 pay-TV channel.

> Sky Sports F1 coming to Virgin Media
> Damon Hill joins Sky's Formula One team