F1 returns this week with the first race of the 2026 season as Lando Norris defends his title – here’s how to watch every grand prix live on TV
McLaren and Ferrari are direct rivals on the F1 grid (Image: Getty Images)
F1 returns this week for the start of the 2026 season, with all the action live on one channel. Lando Norris will defend his championship for the first time against Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.
This is the first of 24 races this season, which will run from December 4th to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 6th. This year there are some big changes, including the introduction of an entirely new circuit to the race calendar.
Drivers will race around the streets of Madrid in September after Imola was removed from the schedule. Meanwhile, America’s Cadillac also joined, bringing the total number of teams to 11 for the first time in 10 years.
F1 fans can watch all 24 race weekends of the season live on Sky Sports. Sky Sports will broadcast all practice sessions, qualifying rounds and races on the dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel. Those who don’t subscribe to Sky can access it through the provider’s flagship sports package, the £35 Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle.
This will give you nine dedicated sports channels, including F1 and Premier League coverage, plus around 100 standard channels, Netflix and Discovery+. Customers who opt for the £42 Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle will also receive 35 extra channels at no extra charge from March, including access to Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu.
Sky’s discounted F1 packages
£49
£35
sky
Click here for Sky Sports
F1 fans can watch every practice, qualifying and race live with a trial deal that will save you £336 on Sky’s Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle.
This includes access to Sky Sports, plus around 100 TV channels and free subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+.
Current Sky customers can add Sky Sports F1 to their package for less as the monthly subscription for the channel has dropped from £20 to £15 per month. This is a 31-day rolling agreement and can be canceled at any time with 31 days’ notice.
Meanwhile, Virgin Media also offers access to Sky Sports in its Sport bundle for £52.99. It’s more expensive than Sky, but includes over 200 channels and 362Mbps of fiber broadband.
However, customers should keep in mind that Sky and Virgin increase their prices every year, meaning their bill will at least double over the course of a 24-month contract.
Here’s the full 2026 F1 schedule:
F1 2026 race schedule
Australia: March 6-8 China: March 13-15 Japan: March 27-29 Bahrain: April 10-12 Saudi Arabia: April 17-19 Miami: 5 Canada: May 22-24 Monaco: June 5-7 Barcelona: June 12-14 Austria: June 26-28 United Kingdom: July 3-5 Belgium: July 17-19 Hungary: July 24-26 Netherlands: August 21-23 Italy: September 4-6 Madrid: September 11-13 Azerbaijan: September 24-26 Singapore: October 9-11 USA: October 23-25 Mexico: October 30-November 1 Brazil: November 6-8 Las Vegas: November 19-21 Qatar: November 27-29 Abu Dhabi: December 4-6
