“It will be the Martini approach to grands prix,” Dominic Coles, the BBC’s director of sports rights, said. “You can watch it any time, any place, anywhere.”

The BBC, which plans to reinvent Formula One, will employ all the technological advances that have come about since the sport defected to ITV 12 years ago. Races will be screened live on broadband and the coverage will be made available for the next week through the BBC iPlayer.

The corporation is expected to ask independent companies to pitch to produce the show, with a multimedia strategy a vital component of any bid.

Fans stuck on trains should be able to watch races streamed live to their mobile phones, if they are willing to pay the charges. The BBC also expects to employ high definition cameras to bring viewers a sharper picture of the view from behind the wheel.

Tests are taking place to screen motor sport in 3D HD after a successful screening of the England versus Scotland RBS Six Nations Championship rugby match in London. Philips has developed a prototype screen that creates the impression of a car coming towards the viewer without the need to wear 3D glasses. The web proposition should enable surfers to act as their own race director, switching between cars and tracking the onboard telemetry systems.

But the greatest advance for many viewers will be the removal of ITV’s advertising breaks which too often coincided with an important incident.