F1 US Grand Prix 2026: Austin Session Times and How to Watch

This weekend’s Formula 1 race is the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October 2026. It is a standard weekend with no sprint. The race starts on Sunday at 15:00 local time (CDT), which is 16:00 ET, 13:00 PT and 20:00 GMT in the UK.

Official coverage by country:

US: every session streams on Apple TV.
UK and Ireland: Sky Sports F1 and NOW.
Canada: TSN and RDS.
Australia: Kayo Sports and Foxtel.

The full schedule, the broadcaster details and how to watch on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV are below.

United States Grand Prix 2026 at a glance

Official name: Formula 1 MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix 2026
Circuit: Circuit of the Americas, Austin
Distance: 56 laps of the 5.513 km circuit, 308.405 km in total
Format: FP1, FP2, FP3, qualifying and the race. Singapore hosted the last sprint of 2026.
Season context: Austin opens the final six-race stretch of the season.
Weather: the forecast is warm and mostly dry. Forecasts differ slightly on the chance of rain, so check again closer to Sunday.

Session times

The Austin, ET, PT, UK and India times come from published schedules. The UTC, Central Europe and Sydney times are converted from Austin time. Keep these clock settings in mind:

The UK and the rest of Europe go back an hour early on Sunday 25 October.
The US stays on daylight time until 1 November.
Sydney is on daylight time (AEDT).

Session	Austin (CDT)	ET	PT	UK	UTC	Central Europe	India (IST)	Sydney (AEDT)
FP1 (Fri 23 Oct)	12:30	13:30	10:30	18:30 BST	17:30	19:30 CEST	23:00	Sat 04:30
FP2 (Fri 23 Oct)	16:00	17:00	14:00	22:00 BST	21:00	23:00 CEST	Sat 02:30	Sat 08:00
FP3 (Sat 24 Oct)	12:30	13:30	10:30	18:30 BST	17:30	19:30 CEST	23:00	Sun 04:30
Qualifying (Sat 24 Oct)	16:00	17:00	14:00	22:00 BST	21:00	23:00 CEST	Sun 02:30	Sun 08:00
Race (Sun 25 Oct)	15:00	16:00	13:00	20:00 GMT	20:00	21:00 CET	Mon 01:30	Mon 07:00

In UTC the race starts one hour earlier in the day than Saturday’s qualifying. On a European clock the gap is two hours (22:00 BST qualifying, 20:00 GMT race in the UK), because the clocks go back overnight. If you set a phone alarm on Saturday, double-check it for Sunday.

Where the race is on, by country

United States: Apple TV

Apple is the exclusive US broadcaster of Formula 1 from 2026. Every practice, qualifying and race session is on Apple TV for subscribers, both live and on demand.

Where it plays: the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Mac and Vision Pro. It is also available on smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, games consoles and tv.apple.com.
Commentary: English and Spanish.
Extra feeds: up to 30, including Driver Tracker, timing data, onboards and a Podium feed.
Dolby Atmos: Apple says this is the first F1 race broadcast in Dolby Atmos.

When it announced the deal, Apple said all practice sessions and select races would be free in the Apple TV app. Check the app to see whether that applies to this race.

F1 TV Premium is included with an Apple TV subscription at no extra cost. Subscribers can also use the F1 TV app on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV for support series such as F2, F3, F1 Academy and Porsche Supercup.

UK and Ireland: Sky Sports F1 and NOW

Sky Sports F1 shows every practice, qualifying session and race live, and NOW streams the same coverage. Sky’s exclusive deal now runs to 2034. Channel 4 shows highlights of every race.

Because Sky holds the live rights, F1 TV Pro cannot show live races in the UK. F1 TV Access is available for replays and other non-live content.

Canada: TSN and RDS

TSN and RDS are the exclusive home of F1 in Canada in 2026. They cover every race, practice session and qualifying session, with RDS broadcasting in French.

Streaming: coverage is on TSN.ca and the TSN app.
Extra feeds: TSN+ adds companion feeds such as onboards, Driver Tracker and Pit Lane.
F1 TV Pro: listed as a live streaming option in Canada.

Australia: Kayo Sports and Foxtel

Kayo Sports shows every race, qualifying session and practice session, with races live in 4K. Foxtel subscribers also get the coverage, and the F1 TV app is built into Foxtel set-top boxes. Network 10’s free-to-air role covers only the Australian Grand Prix.

Everywhere else

Rights vary country by country. Formula 1 keeps an official broadcaster list on its website, and that is the best place to find the licensed channel where you live.

What is at stake in Austin

Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship on 340 points, 102 ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell on 238. The next three are close together:

Lewis Hamilton: 229
Max Verstappen: 221, after winning in Singapore for his second victory of the season
Charles Leclerc: 215

With 150 points left over the final six rounds, six drivers can still mathematically win the title. In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes leads on 578 from Ferrari on 444, with McLaren (339) and Red Bull (332) fighting over third.

Watching on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV

If you subscribe to one of the broadcasters above, watch through that service. In the US that means the Apple TV app, which runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. In Canada, coverage is also on TSN.ca and the TSN app.

If your F1 channels come through a legal IPTV subscription instead, with an M3U link or an Xtream Codes login from your provider, you can watch them in Stream Master. To be clear about what the app does and doesn’t do:

It plays the playlist you already pay for.
It does not include F1 or any other channels.
It cannot open broadcaster apps such as Apple TV, NOW or Kayo.

Set it up before Friday

Open Stream Master and go to the Playlists tab, then tap +.
Choose Xtream Login and enter the title, username, password and portal URL from your provider. You can also use Link m3u if you only have a playlist URL.
Wait while the app checks the connection and loads your Live TV, Movies and Series.
Find your provider’s sports channel under Live TV and add it to Favorites so it is one tap away on Sunday.

Use an Xtream login if your provider offers one. The TV guide, reminders and catch-up all depend on it, because plain M3U playlists do not get a guide in Stream Master. Our guide to Xtream Codes explains the difference.

Get an alert for qualifying and the race

Open the Live TV category with your F1 channel and tap the grid button in the toolbar to switch to the EPG grid. Find the qualifying or race listing and tap the bell. The bell only appears on programmes that haven’t started yet. The notification fires at the programme’s listed start time, not before.

Whether the alert lands at lights out depends on your provider’s guide:

If the listing starts at 15:00 Austin time, that is when you will hear it.
If your provider lists a pre-race show, the alert follows that earlier start time.

Reminders are free and work on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, and they show up under Upcoming Reminders on the Home screen. If notifications are turned off, the app asks you to enable them in iOS Settings. More detail is in our Smart EPG overview.

Missed qualifying? Replay it from the start

Qualifying is late on Saturday night in Europe and early on Sunday morning in India (02:30 IST). You may be able to replay it with catch-up on iPhone or iPad. This requires all of the following:

an Xtream playlist
a channel your provider archives
a session that is still inside the provider’s archive window

In the EPG grid, past programmes you can replay have a light-green background and a green rewind icon. Tap one to watch it from the beginning. If a programme is outside the archive window, it simply plays live, with no error message. Catch-up is not available on Apple TV or in the player’s schedule sheet.

Put the race on the big screen

With Stream Master Pro on iPhone or iPad, tap the AirPlay or Google Cast button in the player to send the stream to an Apple TV, an AirPlay-compatible TV or a Chromecast.

With Chromecast, the TV keeps showing the channel you sent even if you switch channels on your phone. Tap Play on TV when you want the TV to change too. If the TV can’t handle a particular stream, you will see a “Connection Failed” message. Our casting guide covers both methods.

If you own an Apple TV, you can skip casting and install Stream Master on it directly. Add the same playlist under Playlists > + (Link m3u or Xtream Login), or, with Pro, let iCloud Sync bring it across from your iPhone. There is more race-day advice in our article on watching live sports with IPTV.

Get ready for lights out

If you already have a legal IPTV subscription that carries F1, you can download Stream Master from the App Store and set your reminders before qualifying on Saturday.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time does the F1 United States Grand Prix start?

The race starts on Sunday 25 October 2026 at 15:00 CDT in Austin. That is 16:00 ET, 13:00 PT, 20:00 GMT in the UK and 21:00 CET in Central Europe.

Is the 2026 United States Grand Prix a sprint weekend?

No. Austin runs a standard format of three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Singapore hosted the last sprint of 2026.

How can I watch the Austin Grand Prix in the US?

Apple TV is the exclusive US broadcaster, with every session live and on demand in the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and other devices. F1 TV Premium is included with an Apple TV subscription.

Can I watch F1 live on F1 TV Pro in the UK?

No. Sky holds exclusive live rights in the UK, so live races are on Sky Sports F1 and NOW. F1 TV Access is available for replays and other non-live content.

Can Stream Master show the Grand Prix?

Only if your own legal IPTV provider carries the channel; Stream Master plays your M3U or Xtream playlist and does not supply any channels. With an Xtream login you can set EPG reminders, and on iPhone and iPad you can replay qualifying via catch-up if your provider archives that channel.

Formula 1 F1 US Grand Prix 2026: Austin Session Times and How to Watch