US Grand Prix 2026: Austin Race Times and Where to Watch Live

The US Grand Prix 2026 starts on Sunday, October 25, at 3:00 p.m. local time at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. That’s 4:00 p.m. ET, 1:00 p.m. PT and 8:00 p.m. in the UK. Every session streams live on Apple TV in the US, and unlike last year, there’s no sprint.

Following from Europe? Mind the clocks. The UK and the EU turn theirs back early on race day, while the US waits until November 1, so the gap to New York shrinks by an hour on Sunday.

The catch: Apple TV, Sky Sports and Kayo check where you connect from, so the stream you pay for at home may not play on a trip abroad. Below you’ll find who shows the race, what’s free and how to get your own coverage back.

Where to watch the US Grand Prix 2026 live

Round 18 of 23 is the second of three American races this season, after Miami and before Las Vegas. Here’s who carries it in the main English-speaking markets.

In the US, Formula 1 streams exclusively on Apple TV. The subscription costs $12.99 a month and covers every practice, qualifying session and race, with F1 TV Premium included at no extra cost. Our guide to streaming services in the US shows what else you can watch at home.

In the UK, Sky Sports has the race live on its F1 channel, and the Sky Sports F1 schedule lists every session. F1’s official broadcast list names Sky Sports and Channel 4 for the Republic of Ireland too, so Irish fans can check the Sky Sports F1 schedule in Ireland.

Canadians watch on TSN in English or on RDS and RDS 2 in French, and F1’s list adds Noovo. In Australia, Foxtel shows every qualifying session and race live with no ad breaks during racing, and F1 also lists Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.

Can you watch the US Grand Prix for free?

Not on the main live services. Apple TV, Sky Sports, TSN, Foxtel and Kayo all need a paid plan, so plan on paying for live coverage in the US, UK, Ireland and Australia. In Canada, ask your TV provider which package carries RDS and Noovo.

The closest thing to free in the US is Apple TV’s seven-day free trial for new subscribers. Start it on Friday, October 23, and it covers the whole weekend, from Practice 1 to the checkered flag.

In the UK, Channel 4 streams F1 highlights at no cost, so you can catch up after the race. The Channel 4 TV guide shows when they air.

Both options are tied to your location, though. Leave the country and the free highlights or your paid stream may stop playing. That’s where a VPN comes in.

How to watch the US Grand Prix from abroad with a VPN

Streaming services check your IP address before they play anything. Take Apple TV on vacation in Europe, or Sky Sports on a business trip to Texas, and the race may not load, even though you pay for it every month.

A VPN from our table solves that. Connect to a server in your home country, open your usual app and sign in. The service sees a home connection and plays the race. You keep paying for your own subscription; the VPN only changes your virtual location.

The same goes for F1 TV. Plans are tied to your country of residence, and in the US the top tier, F1 TV Premium, comes only through Apple TV. Keep your home plan and connect through a server in that country.

The ranking in the table is based on StreamFix data, and our VPN and streaming methodology explains how we score each provider. Need a broader setup? See how to watch US TV abroad or how to watch British TV abroad.

Four steps to stream the race from anywhere

1. Pick a VPN from the table

   Choose a service that currently works with F1 streams according to StreamFix data.

2. Install the app

   Download it on the phone, laptop or TV you plan to watch on.

3. Connect to a server at home

   Pick the US for Apple TV, the UK for Sky Sports or Channel 4, Canada for TSN, Australia for Kayo or Foxtel.

4. Sign in and watch

   Open your service, log in with your own account and start the stream before lights out.

What time is every session this weekend?

Austin runs on Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC-5) all weekend. It’s a standard format with three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Here’s the schedule in Eastern Time:

Local time at the track (CT) is one hour earlier: Practice 1 at 12:30 p.m. and Practice 2 at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Practice 3 at 12:30 p.m. and Qualifying at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, then the race at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. On the West Coast (PT), Friday and Saturday sessions start at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and the race at 1:00 p.m.

In Sydney (AEDT), Practice 1 starts Saturday at 4:30 a.m. and Practice 2 at 8:00 a.m., Practice 3 Sunday at 4:30 a.m. and Qualifying at 8:00 a.m., and the race on Monday at 7:00 a.m.

Apple TV streams all five sessions in the US, and Foxtel shows qualifying and the race live in Australia.

Why the UK gap shrinks on race day

Europe turns its clocks back in the early hours of Sunday, October 25, but the US stays on daylight time until November 1. For that one weekend, London is only four hours ahead of New York at race time instead of five.

UK fans get Practice 1 at 6:30 p.m. and Practice 2 at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Practice 3 at 6:30 p.m. and Qualifying at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, all in BST. The race then starts at 8:00 p.m. GMT on Sunday. Ireland is on the same clock, and Berlin and Paris see lights out at 9:00 p.m.

Who are the favorites this weekend?

These are editorial picks based on the standings and past results, not betting tips. The numbers are as of October 8, after Round 16, the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang. Singapore, Round 17, runs October 9 to 11.

Kimi Antonelli has won eight of the 16 Grands Prix so far, and his Mercedes teammate George Russell three more. Mercedes leads the Teams’ Championship with 556 points to Ferrari’s 405, while Lando Norris and Max Verstappen sit level in the drivers’ table. A win is worth 25 points, so Antonelli’s 84-point cushion is bigger than three Grand Prix victories. There are 183 points left: seven Grands Prix and the Singapore sprint, worth 8 to the winner.

Our pick: Kimi Antonelli

Eight wins in 16 races make the championship leader the obvious call. He is still chasing his first win in Austin, but his team knows the way: Mercedes has won here five times, as often as any constructor.

The dark horse: Max Verstappen

Verstappen took his first win of 2026 at Sepang, and COTA is one of his strongest tracks. He won here in 2022, 2023 and 2025, four Austin wins in all, and Red Bull matches Mercedes on five.

History adds two more names. Lewis Hamilton holds the record with five wins at COTA and six US Grand Prix wins overall, and Charles Leclerc won the 2024 race for Ferrari.

American teams and British drivers to follow

Two teams race on home soil. Cadillac joined in 2026 as the grid’s 11th team, with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, Ferrari engines and its own GM power unit planned from 2029. Austin is its second home race after Miami. The team is based at Silverstone in the UK and led by Marcin Budkowski.

TGR Haas F1 Team has been the American entry since 2016. It works out of Kannapolis, North Carolina, runs Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, and answers to team chief Ayao Komatsu.

British fans have five drivers on the grid: George Russell (Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Lando Norris (McLaren), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Bearman.

Track facts worth knowing

• 1978 world champion Mario Andretti opened the circuit on October 21, 2012. Hermann Tilke designed it with the American architecture firm HKS.

• The first race here drew over 100,000 spectators, brought the US Grand Prix back for the first time since Indianapolis in 2007 and gave Hamilton his last win with McLaren.

• The lap measures 5.513 km (3.41 miles), and the race covers 56 laps, or 308.405 km. There are 20 turns, 11 left and 9 right, and 130 feet of elevation change.

• The start is an uphill run of 250 meters from pole to the Turn 1 braking point. Turns 3 to 6 echo Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone or the Esses at Suzuka, and Turns 12 to 15 mimic the Hockenheim stadium.

• Charles Leclerc holds the race lap record, 1:36.169, set for Ferrari in 2019.

• Austin set an F1 attendance record in 2022 with around 440,000 fans over three days, and the race stays at COTA through the 2034 season.

• Race tickets include the concerts: Maroon 5 on Friday, October 23, and Post Malone on Saturday, October 24, on the Germania Insurance Super Stage, plus Alesso after the race on Sunday at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater.

Stream not working? What to do

• Check the server country. It’s usually geoblocking, so connect to a server in the country of your stream: the US for Apple TV, the UK for Sky Sports or Channel 4.

• Switch servers. Still blocked? Pick another server in the same country and reload.

• Clear the cache. Your browser or app may remember your real location. Clear cookies, open a private window or restart the app.

• Check your subscription. A VPN doesn’t replace a paid plan. Apple TV, Sky Sports, TSN and Kayo still need your own active account.

• Test before the race. Try your setup during Practice 1 on Friday, not five minutes before lights out on Sunday.

Ready for lights out?

Away from home that weekend? Set up a VPN before Friday’s Practice 1, connect to a server in your home country and watch the race on the service you already pay for. This VPN tops our F1 TV table right now:

One week later, on November 1, the season moves on to Mexico City. Start times and broadcasters are in our guide on how to watch the Mexico City Grand Prix 2026.

Our F1 TV guide covers plans and availability by country, the best VPN comparison goes deeper into every provider, and the streaming platforms overview lists the services in your country. Catch up on the previous round with our guide on how to watch the Singapore Grand Prix 2026. Following more than F1? We also cover where to watch the European Table Tennis Championships 2026.