Japan F1 race weekend: Free live stream, how to watch and start time

Stephen Hurrell 25 Mar 2026 2:36 PM

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The third race of the F1 2026 season will take place this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Mercedes has finished in the top two places for the opening two races of the season with one race victory each for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Japanese Grand Prix 2026: How to watch

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Mercedes is some way ahead of a resurgent Ferrari and last year’s struggling champions McLaren and will be favourites to take pole position in Japan.

The weekend will not include a sprint race this time around and that means all eyes will be on three practice sessions, one qualifying and then the race itself on Sunday.

How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix

Fans in the UK can watch all the action using a Sky Sports F1 subscription. The F1 channel can be added to your existing Sky subscription here.

US fans can watch the race completely free by using an Apple TV free trial.

Apple TV has the rights to the F1 season for the first time and it is offering a free seven-day trial to anybody who has not yet signed up for a subscription.

If you have already used your free trial in the US you can watch the race by signing up to Apple TV here.

Japanese Grand Prix: Practice, qualifying and race times

The first practice takes place on Friday March 27 (UK time) at 2:30am, followed by second practice at a more reasonable 6am-7am. The third practice will be at 2:30am on March 28.

Qualifying will begin at 6am on Saturday March 28 and the race itself will be at 6am UK time on Sunday March 29.

In the US, first practice begins on March 27 at 19:30 PDT and 22:30 ET on the previous day (March 26).

Practice two will be held at 23:00 – 00:00 PDT on March 27 and 02:00 – 03:00 EDT, which will be March 26.

Third practice takes place on March 28 from 19:30 – 20:30 PDT and 22:30 – 23:30 ET on the previous day.

Qualifying will be 23:00 – 00:00 PDT on Saturday March 28 and 02:00 – 03:00 EDT on March 27.

Finally, the race will take place at 22:00 PDT on Sunday March 28, or 01:00 EDT on Saturday March 27.

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