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Racing fans rejoice–Formula One is back. As per usual, the 2019 season will get underway in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix.
In the United States, the race is scheduled to start late Saturday night/early Sunday morning at 1 a.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. But if you don’t have cable, you can still watch a live stream of ESPN on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
PlayStation Vue: PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here (select “Start Streaming” in the upper-right corner), and you can then watch a live stream of the race on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
Hulu With Live TV: In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the race on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
Sling TV: ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the race on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
2019 Australian Grand Prix Preview
It’s a new season with new drivers, new rules and changing expectations, but at the top of the mountain the storyline is the same: Everyone is chasing Mercedes.
In 2018, Toto Wolff’s team pulled off the drivers’ and constructors’ double for the fifth consecutive season–and it wasn’t particularly close. En route to his fourth title in five years and fifth overall, Lewis Hamilton topped Sebastian Vettel by 88 points, earning him the largest margin of victory since Vettel’s triumph with Red Bull in 2013. And while Mercedes’ 84-point margin was actually their lowest during their current run of five-straight titles, they still had it wrapped up with two races left in the season, so there wasn’t exactly a lot of drama.
As Wolff notes, Hamilton’s mental toughness is as important as his unbelievable driving acumen.
It is one of the key differentiators, that the best guy out there first assesses and criticises himself, and then internally criticises the team, all in an environment of brutal honesty and transparency,” he said. “This is the difference, mentally and emotionally, between all the rest and him. His mental strength.
“That brutal honesty within yourself and the team is so important – if you made a mistake, you had a bad day, or you could have reacted better – and that honesty with himself is one of his strengths.”
The champions are off to a strong start in 2019–Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas clocked the fastest times during Friday’s second practice, with the former .048 seconds ahead of his teammate.
But it wasn’t Ferrari directly behind them. Instead, it was Red Bull, as Max Verstappen–coming off a career-best finish of fourth last year–was third-quickest, and new teammate Pierre Gasly was fourth.
As for Ferrari, Vettel was fifth fastest, while Charles Leclerc was ninth. That’s not necessarily a massive indicator of things to come–Vettel and Leclerc fared much better in Friday’s first practice–but it should still be interesting to see if Red Bull can challenge Mercedes and Ferrari’s strangleholds on the top two spots.
Vettel has won the last two races in Australia, and has three victories overall at this circuit. Hamilton, meanwhile, holds two titles here, with the most recent coming in 2015. In last year’s race, Vettel, Hamilton and former Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen finished 1-2-3.