It is a shame to loose it from the BBC, because it is something that they have provided good coverage of- far better than when it was on ITV. Looking at the sports coverage that ky have provided, I dont doubt that they will do a good job of it. Personally, I can only hope that there will be the option of paying only for the F1, on a reasonable pay per view basis. I have no interest in football- the full sports package is probably reasonable value if you do, but literally all I would watch on it would be the F1.
Somebody mentioned the number of viewers vs the cost, and I agree- it is probably not justifiable. The shame here is not the cost of broadcasting the sport, but the competition to have the rights- the BBC will never be able to compete with the commercial stations that can make a profit from selling the advertising space. As for the argument about F1 or BBC4- well does BBC4 have any viewers?
The sad thing is that F1 wont go to make room for some up and coming sports, that can be given coverage. The space wont be filled with anything original, instead it will be more tired repeats of repeats. With a bit of commercial sense, the BBC could secure contracts to the TV rights of up and coming sport (for instance), develop the interest in them, and then sell the remaining years worth of rights on.