For those who love the 'beautiful game' and especially England's progress during the World Cup, and equally love Formula One - this weekend, they'll be able to indulge both.

Fans will be delighted to know, should they have failed to consult their TV guides, that the French Grand Prix will start at 3.10pm this weekend.

The two-hour delay in the race's scheduled start allows footie fans to support England's match-up against Panama on Sunday, before switching over to watch Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and company race around the Paul Ricard circuit.

The decision taken by F1 owners Liberty Media at the beginning of 2018 underscores their commitment to the viewing fan, and they are unequivocal in striving to offer the best possible TV experience. 

Their novel approach to race times was unveiled back in February and boasted some quirky, but well conceived, changes to the 'conventional' scheduling of races. 

Start times were moved to 10-minutes past the hour, allowing the tense pre-race build-up to be screened, rather than broadcasters going live just as the race commenced.  

An F1 spokesperson said: "Some broadcasters usually go on air precisely on the hour, hence missing the tension and emotion that characterize the minutes before the start of each Grand Prix.

"Thanks to this change, television viewers will be brought closer to the teams and the drivers and fully enjoy the spectacle offered just before the red lights go out."

Ever committed to creating a fully immersive viewing experience, Liberty backs up these start time tweaks with careful audience profiling and research.

"Research has indicated that a wider TV audience is reachable later in the afternoons, especially in the summer months," Liberty stated.

"Consequently, it has been decided to move the schedule of every session back by one hour across the whole weekend."

These start times were moved on all European races, nudged back from a 1.00pm start, to a 2.10pm start. It was a novel approach, but has proved to be successful.

Sunday's French Grand Prix goes lights-out from the Paul Ricard Circuit at 3.10pm (UK time), following on from England's group game match against Panama, which kicks off at 1.00pm.