NBC Sports Group Begins Extensive 2014 Formula One Coverage This Sunday

NBC Sports Group begins its comprehensive coverage of the 2014 Formula One World Championship season this weekend with live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix this Sunday at 1:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN, the first of 19 F1 races and more than 175 hours of total coverage across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC this year.

Coverage of the Australian Grand Prix begins Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a live edition of F1 Countdown. Live coverage from Melbourne begins with the first practice Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET, followed by the second practice at 1:30 a.m. ET on Friday morning. NBCSN will present live coverage of qualifying at 2 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, followed by live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix at 1:30 a.m. ET on Sunday morning. NBCSN will also air an encore presentation of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. ET.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) will look to build off his impressive 2013 season, following his fourth straight F1 World Championship. Vettel enters the season aiming for his 10th straight victory following nine consecutive wins to close out the 2013 campaign. A victory in Melbourne for Vettel would set the F1 record for most consecutive wins, surpassing Alberto Ascari's nine victories spanning the 1952-53 seasons. Last year, Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) took the checkered flag at the Australian Grand Prix for the season's first win.

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group's Formula One full announce booth returns for a second season, with lead race announcer Leigh Diffey providing live play-by-play commentary. Diffey is joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst Steve Matchett, a former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team. Rounding out the broadcast team is F1 insider Will Buxton, who will provide live reports on-site in Australia and at all 19 F1 races this season.

FORMULA ONE(TM) COVERAGE STARTS THURSDAY ON NBCSN

NBCSN's coverage of the F1 season begins with extensive programming on Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. ET with a 30-minute special, Sebastian Vettel: On Road and On Track, examining the four-time F1 World Champion's rise to stardom. A live edition of F1 Countdown with Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton airs at 9 p.m. ET, followed by live coverage of the first practice from the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.

NBCSN will present Road To Ferrari at 11 p.m. ET, an hour-long feature following Will Buxton's journey from the Hungarian Grand Prix to Maranello, Italy, where Scuderia Ferrari F1 racing team is based. In addition, NBCSN will air Horse Power, an hour-long feature highlighting Scuderia Ferrari's preparations for the 2014 season following the biggest changes to the technical rules of the sport in over two decades.

Following is this week's coverage schedule for the Australian Grand Prix on NBCSN:

Date Program Time (ET) Network

Thu., March 13 Sebastian Vettel: On Road and On Track 8:30 p.m. NBCSN F1 Countdown 9 p.m. NBCSN Australian Grand Prix - Practice #1 9:30 p.m. NBCSN Road To Ferrari 11 p.m. NBCSN

Fri.,, March 14 Horse Power 12 a.m. NBCSN Sebastian Vettel (Re-Air) 1 a.m. NBCSN Australian Grand Prix - Practice #2 1:30 a.m. NBCSN F1 Countdown (Re-Air w/ Practice #2 Update) 5 p.m. NBCSN

Sat., March 15 Mobil 1 The Grid 1 a.m. NBCSN F1 Countdown (Re-Air) 1:30 a.m. NBCSN Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying 2 a.m. NBCSN Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying (Re-Air) 6 a.m. NBCSN

Sun., March 16 F1 Countdown (Re-Air) 1 a.m. NBCSN F1 Australian Grand Prix 1:30 a.m. NBCSN F1 Extra 4 a.m. NBCSN F1 Australian Grand Prix (Re-Air) 6:30 a.m. NBCSN

FORMULA ONE(TM) ON NBC

NBC will present live coverage of four F1 races over the course of the 2014 season. NBC's coverage begins with the Monaco Grand Prix on May 25 at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, June 8 at 2 p.m. ET. NBC's F1 coverage continues with the United States Grand Prix (Austin) on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. ET, and concludes with the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Group's announce team of Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett, and Buxton will be on-site to call the action from Monaco, Montreal (Canada) and Austin (U.S.).

Due to scheduling conflicts, live coverage of the Great Britain, German and Hungarian Grands Prix will air on CNBC, NBCUniversal's fully-distributed business channel.

2014 FORMULA ONE(TM) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (Subject to change, all times ET):
Date Grand Prix Time Network
Sun., March 16 Australian Grand Prix 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., March 30 Malaysian Grand Prix 3:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., April 6 Bahrain Grand Prix 10:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., April 20 Chinese Grand Prix 2:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., May 11 Spanish Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., May 25 Monaco Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBC *
Sun., June 8 Canadian Grand Prix 2 p.m. NBC*
Sun., June 22 Austrian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., July 6 British Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. CNBC
Sun., July 20 German Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. CNBC
Sun., July 27 Hungarian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. CNBC
Sun., Aug. 24 Belgian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., Sept. 7 Italian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., Sept. 21 Singapore Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., Oct. 5 Japanese Grand Prix 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., Oct. 12 Russian Grand Prix 6:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., Nov. 2 United States Grand Prix 2 p.m. NBC*
Sun., Nov. 9 Brazilian Grand Prix 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., Nov. 24 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN

*Entire broadcast team on-site

F1 EXTRA

NBCSN's post-race show, F1 Extra, will air live after every race this season. Post-race coverage for Canada, USA and Brazil will air on NBC. The 30-minute wrap-up show will be handled by the F1 team of Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton.

FORMULA ONE(TM) ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide live comprehensive streaming coverage of practice, qualifying and grands prix of all 19 F1 events airing on NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC, including this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. Coverage will be streamed via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Coverage airing on:

· NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;

· NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via "TV Everywhere," which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the Formula One, IZOD IndyCar Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk's content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

· Keith Collantine (@KeithCollantine), editor and creator of the F1Fanatic blog;

· Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) creator of the F1 site RichlandF1.com;

· Tony DiZinno (@TonyDiZinno), who has written for RACER Magazine and has covered IndyCar and NASCAR since 2006;

· Writer Christopher Estrada (@estradawriting) who has written for the Boston Globe, FoxSports.com, created the Indy Racing Revolution blog and is a contributor to IndyCar's IndyCar Nation blog.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

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