FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 26th, 2017
LEWIS HAMILTON CAN CLINCH 2017 FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AT MEXICAN GRAND PRIX THIS SUNDAY ON NBC
F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC; Pre-Race Coverage Begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC with F1 Countdown
NBCSN to Provide Coverage of All Practice and Qualifying, Beginning Tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET
U.S. Grand Prix on NBC is its Most-Watched U.S. Grand Prix Ever; 2017 Formula One Season is NBC Sports Group’s Most-Watched to Date
Season Four of /DRIVE on NBCSN Continues Tonight at 10 p.m. ET
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 from Martinsville Speedway Begins this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – October 26, 2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) can clinch his fourth career Formula One Drivers’ Championship on Sunday, as NBC Sports presents live coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC with F1 Countdown.
NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app will combine to present comprehensive live coverage of all practice, qualifying and race coverage this weekend, beginning tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN with Practice 1.
In addition, NBC Sports Group continues its coverage of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs this weekend with the opening race in the Round of 8 from Martinsville Speedway. Live race coverage begins Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
FORMULA ONE MEXICAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC
Hamilton is primed to capture his fourth career Drivers’ Championship following his victory at the U.S. Grand Prix last weekend, his sixth career USGP win. Hamilton holds a 66-point lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the World Championship standings as the season rolls into Mexico City. Hamilton needs to finish fifth or higher to earn his fourth career Formula One Drivers’ Championship, which would tie him with Vettel and Alain Prost for the third-most all time.
Hamilton wins Drivers’ Championship …
- If Hamilton finishes fifth or better;
- If Vettel finishes in second and Hamilton finishes ninth or better;
- If Vettel finishes outside of the top two.
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2017 F1 Drivers’ Championship |
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| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 331 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 265 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 244 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 192 |
With Hamilton’s win last Sunday, Mercedes claimed its fourth consecutive Formula One Constructors’ Championship. The German manufacturer has won 11 of the 17 races this season. Hamilton has won nine races, while teammate Valtteri Bottas has claimed two.
NBCSN will air Practice 1 on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, followed by Practice 2 at 3 p.m. ET. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream Practice 3 live on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, which will air on NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by live qualifying on NBCSN at 2 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage kicks off on Sunday with F1 Countdown beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by live race coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET. F1 Extra wraps up the day’s events on NBC at 5 p.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports Group’s lead F1 commentary team of play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey, veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett will call the action. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the on-site reporter from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
NBC Sports is proud to report that Total Audience Delivery for last Sunday’s F1 U.S. Grand Prix on NBC (2:56-4:43 p.m. ET) averaged 1.073 million viewers, ranking as its most-watched U.S. Grand Prix ever. NBC has grown race viewership of the F1 U.S. Grand Prix by 53% since the last year it was not on NBC (2012; 688,000 on SPEED).
In addition, NBC Sports Group continues to grow F1 viewership, and is in the midst of its most-watched F1 season ever, averaging a TAD of 543,000 viewers through 17 races.
SEASON FOUR OF /DRIVE ON NBCSN CONTINUES TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET
/DRIVE continues its dynamic, car-enthusiast programming on NBCSN, as Season Four continues Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. Matt Farah, Mike Spinelli, and Chris Harris will take viewers around the globe in some of the most dynamic vehicles on earth. Season Four will be comprised of six 30-minute episodes, as well as a 60-minute season finale featuring the crew’s adventures in Iceland on Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. ET. Tonight’s episodes feature a 24-hour endurance race with a beater BMW, as well as a look at the high-performance future of electric and hybrid cars.
NBC SPORTS PRESENTS MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 8 FROM VIRGINIA – THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, AT 3 P.M. ON NBC
NBC Sports Group’s robust coverage of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues this weekend with nearly 10 hours of trackside coverage from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Coverage of Sunday’s pivotal opening race in the Round of 8 begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Sunday’s race marks the first opportunity for one of the remaining eight drivers to win and punch their ticket to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Following is this week’s motorsports coverage schedule:
| Date | Program | Time (ET) | Network |
| Thurs., Oct. 26 | NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Racing Roots | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Scan All Special | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Detroit Muscle’s Top 10 – Muscle Cars (Premiere) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Caffeine & Octane (Premiere) | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Caffeine & Octane (Encore) | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Motorclub | 9 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Motorclub | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| /Drive (Premiere) | 10 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| /Drive (Premiere) | 10:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Journey to the Hammers (Premiere) | 11 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Journey to the Hammers (Encore) | 11:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., Oct. 27 | F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 1 | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 2 | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Car Matchmaker (Premiere) | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Car Matchmaker (Premiere) | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Car Matchmaker (Premiere) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Car Matchmaker (Encore) | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sat., Oct. 28 | F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 3 | 11 a.m. | Streaming** |
| NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – Martinsville | 11:30 a.m. | Streaming** | |
| F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 3* | 12:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Qualifying | 2 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – Martinsville | 3:45 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Oct. 29 | NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Martinsville | 12 p.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR America | 1 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Countdown | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | |
| F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Race | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Racing – Martinsville | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Extra | 5 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Victory Lap | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Race (Encore) | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
*delayed coverage
**NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app
NBC SPORTS GROUP STREAMING, DIGITAL AND SOCIAL CONTENT
NBC Sports Group will provide comprehensive streaming and digital coverage surrounding its motorsports properties via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – and NASCAR Talk and MotorSportsTalk, NBC Sports Group’s digital home for the latest motorsports news.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will provide season-long live streaming coverage of all Formula One practices, qualifying sessions and Grands Prix, including exclusive coverage of practices that will not air on NBC or NBCSN. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream NASCAR and IndyCar content that will air on NBC and NBCSN (race coverage and some practice and qualifying), as well as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Red Bull Global RallyCross series, and Red Bull Air Race.
MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon IndyCar Series, and other open-wheel and off-road 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.
SOCIAL: NBC Sports Group will continue to provide comprehensive motorsports social coverage across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, fans can follow @MotorsportsTalk for all-encompassing content across NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties. @NASCARonNBC and@NASCARTalkNBC share the latest NASCAR content, @F1onNBCSports provides the latest news in Formula One, and @IndyCaronNBCSN delivers up-to-the-minute information on the Verizon IndyCar Series.
In addition, the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page will provide users with videos, interactive content and much more. Fans should also “like” NBC Sports on Facebook for the most up-to-date news, videos and commentary about NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties.
For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.
– NBC SPORTS GROUP –
