TV News: Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix Live on ABC, ESPN App

After crisscrossing the globe, countries, and continents for eight months, the Formula 1 World Championship returns to America this weekend for the MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix. The second of three F1 events in the U.S. this year, the race will be live on ABC and the ESPN App on Sunday, Oct. 19, from Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.

Sunday’s coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Grand Prix Sunday and the race will start at 3 p.m. In addition to the main telecast, the ESPN App will stream a Spanish language feed of the race as well as additional alternate views for fans to pick from. The race telecast will be presented commercial-free by Mercedes-Benz.

Surrounding the race telecast and coverage of other on-track activity, ESPN will have on-site coverage by SportsCenter for three days. The Disney+ program Vibe Check will have U.S. Grand Prix content and the ESPN Radio and SEC Network program Marty & McGee will include a race preview. Digital content will include full coverage on ESPN.com/F1, exclusive live preview and post-race shows on race day and multiple podcasts.

In addition to the race, ESPN platforms will have live coverage of Sprint qualifying and the practice session on Friday, Oct. 17, and the Sprint and qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 18. All events will stream on the ESPN App in addition to airing on television.

F1 fans will have two alternate telecasts on ESPN+ for supplemental viewing during the race – the Driver Tracker Channel and the Onboard Cameras Channel. Both begin streaming at 2:55 p.m.

ESPN will utilize sets in the Formula 1 paddock for programs and reports as well as other locations around the circuit. ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of the U.S. Grand Prix will include:

SportsCenter

ESPN’s signature news and information program will have reports and interviews from the U.S. Grand Prix on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of race weekend. SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe, also the host of ESPN’s F1 encore telecasts, will be on location in Austin.

Countdown to Austin and Post-Race

ESPN will produce an exclusive live preview show from 2-3 p.m. on race day. Countdown to Austin will be hosted by Nicole Briscoe and Liz Loza joined by ESPN.com/F1’s Laurence Edmondson and Nate Saunders. Originating from the race circuit, the show will stream to ESPN’s YouTube, as well as the ESPN App. In addition to driver interviews and special guests, the crew will break down all the latest F1 news heading into the race as well as previewing the race and making their predictions. The crew will return after the race for a post-race show starting at 5 p.m. ET.

ESPN+ Alternate Viewing Options

ESPN+ is offering race fans a full season of alternate viewing options, with two unique streams available for every race:

• Driver Tracker — a live, interactive tracker that plots the location of all drivers on track in real-time.
• Onboard Cameras Channel — an option that moves to different drivers’ perspectives throughout the race. 

ESPN.com/F1

ESPN’s Laurence Edmondson and Nate Saunders are providing complete coverage of every F1 race across all global digital platforms, including exclusive interviews with drivers and team principals, as well as breaking news and in-depth analysis. ESPN’s coverage of F1 includes a dedicated site that reports on the championship year-round. Also connected with the ESPN.com/F1 website are social handles @ESPNF1 on X, @ESPNF1 on Instagram, ESPNF1 on Facebook and ESPNFormula1 on YouTube.

Unlapped podcast

ESPN’s Formula 1 video podcast Unlapped is produced weekly and more often when news or events warrant. ESPN.com/F1’s Laurence Edmondson and Nate Saunders and host Nicole Briscoe discuss the latest news, races and happenings in F1. The program appears all season on the ESPN/F1 YouTube channel and on Spotify and Apple Music. An edition of Unlapped will be produced from the U.S. Grand Prix.

Marty & McGee — The Marty & McGee presented by Old Trapper program will include a U.S. Grand Prix preview on Saturday, Oct. 18, with co-hosts Ryan McGee and Marty Smith talking with ESPN.com/F1 reporter Nate Saunders. Marty & McGee is live on Saturday mornings from 9-10 a.m. ET on SEC Network and ESPN Radio. Smith and McGee meet at the intersection of southern lifestyle and sports to bring viewers the latest headlines, Hillbilly and otherwise, across the SEC landscape.

ESPN Social Media Platforms — The ESPN Social Media team will be on-site in Austin and provide fans with exclusive content with teams and drivers and behind-the-scenes moments, along with coverage of celebrity appearances around the event. The team will collaborate on-site with ESPN personalities and with ESPN Marketing’s activations throughout race week.

ESPN On-Site Activations at Circuit of the Americas

• ESPN/TRON Ares Collaboration – ESPN collaborated with Walt Disney Studios to promote the new film TRON: Ares at the U.S. Grand Prix. In the Fan Zone at Circuit of the Americas, spectators can take photos on a TRON Lightcycle. In addition, TRON: Ares star Jared Leto narrated a co-promo for both broadcast and social promoting the movie and tune-in for the race.      
• ‘This Ain’t Our First Rodeo’ – In Austin, F1 takes on a Texas twist. ESPN features F1 drivers as rodeo headliners on bold Americana posters in the paddock at the ESPN x COTA Rodeo. The display creates a modern photo moment that celebrates the energy of the city, the heritage of COTA, and the spectacle of race week — all with a wink of cowboy flare. Drivers, VIP’s and others will have the chance to play rodeo-style games, with ESPN Social capturing content.
• Vibe Check – the new female-led sports studio show exclusive to Disney+, produced by ESPN – will include content from the U.S. Grand Prix in episodes streaming on Friday, October 17. ESPN SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe, also the host of ESPN’s F1 encore telecasts, will be on location in Austin and will record interviews and features for Vibe Check at the ESPN location in the paddock. New episodes of Vibe Check drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. ET on Disney+.
• Sportsish – ESPN is also collaborating with Lily Shimbashi, Sportsish, in the paddock at COTA. Sportsish (“not your boyfriend’s sports news,” a source for fresh and vibrant takes on sports, appealing to a broad audience) will host three Social Vlogs and conduct F1 driver interviews for the Sportsish and ESPNF1 social handles. Earlier this year, Shimbashi was part of the third iteration of ESPN Creator Network, an innovative program designed to cultivate authentic and diverse voices in the world of sports content creation.

Coverage in Spanish

ESPN Deportes reporter Katia Castorena will be on location at COTA to provide on-site coverage for multiple ESPN Deportes programs including SportsCenter, Ahora o Nunca, Enfocados, Generation F and others.

Social media influencers – Thursday through Sunday, a trio of social media influencers will be on-site at Circuit of the Americas in collaboration with ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America. Actor and singer Jencarlos Canela will serve ESPN Deportes and the U.S. Hispanic market with content from the USGP. Also, Singer, songwriter and television personality Bautista Mascia and actor Jose Gimenez Zapiola (El Purre), who are both YouTube streamers, will provide content for ESPN Latin America.

F1 will return to America next month for the Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix Nov. 20-22.

Formula 1 MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix on ESPN Networks

(all times Eastern)

ESPN Deportes Schedule (in Spanish)

(all times Eastern) 

All programs also will stream on the ESPN App.