The waiting is finally over. Formula 1 makes its triumphant return this weekend with its traditional curtain-raiser: the Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton enters the 2016 season chasing a fourth world championship that would see him join an elite club of just four drivers with more than a trio of titles.
Mercedes has powered the Briton to consecutive championships in the past two years, but with Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel hungry to topple the German manufacturer and end its domination, Hamilton may face a sterner test in 2016.
Hamilton will also once again have to be wary of the enemy within the team: teammate Nico Rosberg, who will want to go one better than finishing as runner-up as in 2014 and 2015.
This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix will kick off what promises to be the biggest season yet for F1 on NBC Sports, comprising 21 races and over 200 hours of coverage over the year.
FP1, FP2, qualifying and the race will all be shown live on NBCSN, while all sessions (including FP3) will be live on NBC Sports Live Extra.
As well as the on-track sessions, this week also marks the premiere of Haas F1: America’s Return to the Grid, a new documentary charting the arrival of Haas F1 Team to the sport for 2016.
Here is the full schedule for motorsport on NBCSN and Live Extra this weekend. All times are ET.
| Date | Coverage | Time | Network |
| Tues.-Thurs. | NASCAR AMERICA | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Wed., March 16 | Haas F1: America’s Return To The Grid | 11:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Thurs., March 17 | NASCAR K&N Pro Series – Mobile | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR Whelen Modified Series – Carraway | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Haas F1: America’s Return The Grid | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 1 | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| APEX: The Story of the Hypercar | 11 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., March 18 | Off The Grid – Melbourne | 1 a.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 2 | 1:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 3 | 10 p.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| Sat., March 19 | F1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying | 2 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Haas: America’s Return To The Grid | 11 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., March 20 | F1 Countdown | 12 a.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 Australian Grand Prix | 12:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Extra | 3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Australian Grand Prix (Encore) | Noon | NBCSN | |
| F1 Extra (Encore) | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mon., March 21 | F1 Australian Grand Prix (Encore) | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN |