Daniel Ricciardo And Will Arnett’s ‘Manningcast’ Starts With F1 Canadian GP On ESPN2

Building off the successful alternate broadcasts that Peyton and Eli Manning have done with the NFL games, ESPN will see if lightning strikes twice with arguably the most-charismatic Formula 1 driver, and a comedian with F1 chops.

Starting with today’s Canadian Grand Prix in Toronto (1:55 p.m. ET), Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett will supply a “Manningcast” on ESPN2 entitled “The Grandstand”. The traditional broadcast airs on ABC with coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. and stream on ESPN+.

While the Canadian GP marks the first race that the two will do, it won’t be the last. They will do the U.S. Grand Prix for the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race in Autin, TX on Oct. 22, and the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix night race on Nov. 18. The broadcasts will be produced by ESPN in collaboration with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. For the debut episode with the Canadian Grand Prix, Ricciardo will be on location in Montreal while Arnett will join from a remote location.

“It’s great to be partnering with ESPN to expand the ‘megacast’ format into F1,” said Peyton Manning, founder of Omaha Productions. “We are excited to do this project with Daniel and Will. They are good friends who will bring expertise and fun to the broadcast.”

Riccardo, whose last active driver stint was last year with McLaren is currently a backup driver for Oracle Red Bull Racing. Arnett’s resume includes acting in a host of feature films, television, commercials, and animated voice parts has hosted an F1 podcast, so it has the capacity to be entertaining. The key will be chemistry and being genuine, something that the Mannings have been able to do to great effect, but has been lacking with the MLB alternate broadcasts with Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay.

“This is going to be a hoot!” said Ricciardo. “As you’d expect Will and I are going to have some fun with the show, but we’re hoping it just feels like you’re watching F1 with your mates. We will have some amazing guests, plenty of laughs and with some luck, bring fans another step closer to the sport I love so much. Buckle up America!”

Guests slated for the inaugural F1 alternate broadcast on ESPN2 of the Canadian Grand Prix include actor/racer Patrick Dempsey, former NFL running back, Marshawn Lynch, and others.

The 2022 F1 season averaged 1.21 million viewers per race across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, up +28% over the previous U.S. television record of 949,000 average viewers that was set in 2021. The 2022 season also became the first in U.S. television history to average 1 million or more viewers per race.

ESPN inked a major extension of F1 broadcasts which see many of them produced by Sky Sports in Britain, through 2025 with rights running a reported $75-$90 million annually.