Formula 1 roars back into the lives of armchair motorsport fans this weekend, with the first race of 2019 taking place in Australia on Sunday.

If you’ve paid up to watch the races on Sky, congratulations – you get all of the races live, and an extra Button too, with the former F1 champion, Jenson, joining their presenting line up.

If, like me, you’ll be watching it on Channel 4... well, there’s less to be excited about. Only the British GP will be live.

Instead, Channel 4 will have highlights only.

Cue the tricky task of trying to avoid picking up your phone, turning on the laptop, or watching TV/listening to the radio for half a day after the race has finished, to try and avoid an unwelcome “and the winner was...” situation. Plus, some awkward late-night timeslots. Formula when..?!

Sky’s big promo film also conspicuously used Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” – which has been the F1 theme for coverage on the BBC in the past, and Channel 4 up until now. Have they pinched that too?

Channel 4 have also lost some of their presenting team, but are adding double-leg-amputee racer Billy Monger, who will doubtlessly bring enthusiasm, but probably not a wealth of presenting/racing experience – he’s just 19.

Whilst Sky have been heavily promoting their offering over the off-season, Channel 4 went missing in action, only adding to their Twitter feed for the first time since Christmas earlier this week.

So, whilst Sky viewers are pumped up for the new season, the rest of us are somewhat deflated. At least the racing itself seems likely to be exciting.

The battle between Britain’s Lewis Hamilton and arch-rival Sebastian Vettel looks set to resume, with winter testing suggesting that Seb’s Ferrari may have the edge.

But how many times have we heard that?

With many other drivers swapping teams and a bunch of newbies on the grid, as well as some regulation changes to (supposedly) make overtaking easier, we could be in for a vintage year.

Depending on how you’re watching it though, you may need to search through the late-night small-print in your TV guide and have an extra shot in your coffee on Monday mornings.