NBC Sports Continues Formula One Coverage with ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 227 points) looks to build off his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on August 23, his sixth win in 11 races this season, as he extended his lead to 28 points over Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg (199 points). Ferrari's Sebastien Vettel (160 points) sits comfortably in third place, ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen (82 points) and Williams' Felipe Massa (79).
Pre-race coverage will include special features on Vettel, who will be driving in his first Italian Grand Prix as a member of the Ferrari team. The four-time F1 champion joined Ferrari this past offseason, and has won three times at Monza, including his first win in F1 in 2008 driving for Toro Rosso. Hamilton is a two-time winner of the Italian Grand Prix, including his victory last season.
Coverage begins Friday on NBC Sports Live Extra at 4 a.m. with Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 at 8 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Live Extra airs exclusive coverage of Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m., and NBCSN will present qualifying on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. ET. NBCSN live coverage of the Italian Grand Prix begins Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, with an encore airing at 2 p.m. ET.
Lead F1 commentator Leigh Diffey will call this weekend's action, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team's on-site reporter from Monza in Italy.
As reported earlier today, NBCSN's presentation of the 2015 Verizon INDYCAR Series averaged 507,000 viewers, making it the most-watched INDYCAR season on NBCSN since INDYCAR rights were acquired in 2009. NBCSN's 2015 INDYCAR coverage (11 races) was up 34% from the network's average viewership for the 2014 season (378,000, 12 races), and up 26% vs. the previous record (402,000 in 2011), according to data provided by The Nielsen Company.
NBCSN's record INDYCAR viewership was highlighted by significant gains in the second half of the season, capped by Sunday's season finale at Sonoma. The race (5:00-7:25 p.m. ET) averaged 841,000 viewers to become the most-watched INDYCAR race on NBCSN since rights were acquired in 2009, and the most-watched INDYCAR race on cable in seven years (ESPN, 2008 at Richmond). Viewership of Sunday's race peaked in final full quarter hour (7:00-7:15 p.m. ET), as more than 1 million viewers (1.048 million) watched the thrilling conclusion to the 2015 campaign.