Formula 1 returned to its 'spiritual home' of the BBC for the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne at the weekend, popularly welcoming the top flight back to Auntie to the traditional opening chords of The Chain - but how did Auntie's coverage stack up against that of ITV?

F1 switched to ITV back in 1997 after decades at the Beeb, and the independent broadcaster immediatelᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚౠy set about ramping up the content of the programme, with more interviews, more on-board camera angles and more in-depth pre and post-race analysis.

In regaining the rights to host the world's most glamorous sport from the 2009 campaign onwards, the BBC promised to improve on t🌄hat again, and pleased thousands of fans with the announcement that it was re-instating Fleetwood Mac's iconic 1970s anthem as the theme tune to the programme.

Moreover, it brought in a high-profile presenting team of Radio 5 Live stalwart Jonathan Legard and awa📖rd-winning ex-grand prix ace Martin Brundle in the commentary box, together with recently-retired Red Bull Racing star David Coulthard, outspoken former team owner Eddie Jordan and erstwhile children's pr🍸esenter Jake Humphrey in the 'studio' and Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz reporting from the pit-lane.

With advert breaks now a thing of the past once again, the BBC's coverage ⛎was certainly extensive, but - and here was the big 'but' for some - to take full advantage of that and all the post-race interviews and analysis, viewers had to have access to the interactive 'Red Button', with those not yet🧸 connected to digital missing out.

That was𓆉 mitigated to some degree by significant coverage of the season build-up and opening race of 2009 across all of the corporation's platforms, from the internet to Radio 1 and Radio 2 - though some have suggested the extent of the plugging was a little over-the-top.

All-in-all, opinions thus far seem to be mixed on whether the return to BBC from ITV has been a beneficial⛎ move for the sport - and in fairness only time will tell. To have your say, follow the link just below to share your views...