Here are your European GP times at Baku on NBCSN, Live Extra

By Jun 15, 2016, 3:58 PM EDT
0 Comments

After a trip to North America last weekend and a bit of unexpected jostling owing to unforeseen, unfortunate circumstances in Orlando, Formula 1 returns to the airwaves this weekend in a more normal European time slot for the first trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, and the return of the European Grand Prix.

The race is scheduled to air back on NBCSN after the last two races at Monaco and Canada have aired on NBC. Race coverage starts at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday on NBCSN.

Here are the full times and details:

—

F1 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 8:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

The F1 European Grand Prix returns to the schedule for the first time since 2012 this weekend, and will take place in Azerbaijan at the Baku City Circuit for the first time in the racing circuit’s history. Lewis Hamilton won his fifth Canadian Grand Prix last weekend in Montreal, his second consecutive win after going winless in the first five races of 2016. Hamilton’s win in Montreal coupled with teammate  fifth-place finish have brought the two-time defending champion within nine points of Rosberg in the Championship standings. The European Grand Prix has been held at various locations, most recently at the Valencia Street Circuit in Spain in 2012.

Coverage begins Friday on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app at 5 a.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN’s coverage of Practice 2 at 9 a.m. ET. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream coverage of Practice 3 on Saturday at 6 a.m. ET, prior to NBCSN’s live coverage of qualifying at 9 a.m. ET. NBCSN will present pre-race coverage on F1 Countdown on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET, leading into the European Grand Prix at 8:30 a.m. ET. NBCSN will also air an encore presentation Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports Group’s lead F1 broadcast team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), 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 report on-site from the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Fri., June 17 F1 European Grand Prix – Practice 1 5 a.m. NBCSports.com
F1 European Grand Prix – Practice 2 9 a.m. NBCSN
Sat., June 18 F1 European Grand Prix – Practice 3 6 a.m. NBCSports.com
F1 European Grand Prix – Qualifying 9 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., June 19 F1 Countdown 8 a.m. NBCSN
F1 European Grand Prix 8:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra 11 a.m. NBCSN
F1 European Grand Prix (Encore) 6 p.m. NBCSN

AJ Foyt Racing promotes Benjamin Pedersen from Indy Lights to IndyCar for 2023 season

Associated PressSep 28, 2022, 1:00 PM EDT
Benjamin Pedersen AJ Foyt
AJ Foyt Racing
4 Comments

Benjamin Pedersen is the first driver to land a promotion from Indy Lights into IndyCar for next season as AJ Foyt Racing confirmed Wednesday he’ll be part of its 2023 lineup.

Pedersen, a 23-year-old dual citizen of Denmark and the United States, spent last season running the full Indy Lights schedule for HMD Motorsports. Linus Lundqvist, his teammate, won the Lights title, and Pedersen finished fifth in the final standings. Pedersen earned his only win earlier this month when he led every lap from the pole at Portland.

Pedersen also ran four races for HMD in 2021 with back-to-back runner-up finishes in his debut. Pedersen landed on AJ Foyt Racing team president Larry Foyt’s radar through a “trusted colleague” and Pedersen spent most of last season shadowing the IndyCar team.

His promotion to IndyCar comes ahead of all four drivers who finished ahead of him in the Indy Lights standings, including champion Lundqvist.

“We are really looking forward to having Benjamin as part of the team,” Larry Foyt said. “His enthusiasm is infectious, and he is 100 percent committed to IndyCar, AJ Foyt Racing, and doing the best he can to win races.

“It’s been great to have him embedded with the team this past season, and everyone is excited to hit the ground running when testing begins. It is also great to have a multi-year program in place, which will help him and the team grow together.”

Foyt did not announce a car number for Pedersen. Kyle Kirkwood spent his rookie season driving AJ Foyt’s flagship No. 14 but Kirkwood is moving to Andretti Autosport. The team has not yet announced if Dalton Kellett will return for a fourth season, and a third car for Tatiana Calderon was pulled from competition after seven races because of sponsorship non-payment. Shutting down Calderon’s team removed the only semi-regular female driver from the IndyCar field.

Pedersen, however, was signed to an agreement Foyt said “spans multiple seasons as the team plans to develop the young rookie and is aligned to a longer-term plan for AJ Foyt Racing.”

Pedersen was born in Copenhagen but raised in Seattle and currently lives in Indianapolis. He said his time shadowing the IndyCar team has given him a jump on his rookie preparations.

“I’ve spent a lot of time this season with AJ Foyt Racing learning the ins and outs of making the jump to IndyCar and it’s been really nice to do that in conjunction with my Indy Lights season,” Pedersen said. “IndyCar has been my target goal since I started open wheel racing in 2016. The racing, atmosphere, fans, events, tracks, etc. are all awesome.”