What Time Is the F1 Race This Weekend? Start Time in ET, CT and PT and How to Watch
The next F1 race is the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, Oct. 4, and it starts at 3 a.m. ET, which is midnight PT, on Apple TV. Qualifying comes a day earlier, on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT. No race left on the 2026 calendar starts earlier in the U.S. day; a week later, the Singapore Grand Prix is back at 8 a.m. ET.
| Race day | Grand Prix | Race ET | CT | MT | PT | Qualifying (ET) | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct. 4 | Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Sepang | 3 a.m. | 2 a.m. | 1 a.m. | 12 a.m. Sun | Sat, Oct. 3, 4 a.m. | Apple TV |
| Sun, Oct. 11 | Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay (sprint weekend) | 8 a.m. | 7 a.m. | 6 a.m. | 5 a.m. | Sat, Oct. 10, 9 a.m. | Apple TV |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | United States Grand Prix, Austin | 4 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 1 p.m. | Sat, Oct. 24, 5 p.m. | Apple TV |
| Sun, Nov. 1 | Mexico City Grand Prix | 3 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 1 p.m. | Noon | Sat, Oct. 31, 5 p.m. | Apple TV |
| Sun, Nov. 8 | São Paulo Grand Prix, Interlagos | Noon | 11 a.m. | 10 a.m. | 9 a.m. | Sat, Nov. 7, 1 p.m. | Apple TV |
| Sat, Nov. 21 | Las Vegas Grand Prix | 11 p.m. | 10 p.m. | 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. | Fri, Nov. 20, 11 p.m. | Apple TV |
Every time in that table is the same in two places: the Jolpica F1 timing data, which is kept in UTC, and Apple TV's own F1 schedule, which is written in Eastern time. We did the CT, MT and PT math ourselves.
What time does the F1 race start on Sunday, Oct. 4?
Lights out at Sepang is 3 a.m. ET. On the West Coast that's a Saturday-night watch that ends on Sunday. Two practice sessions land on the evening before in the western zones, so the table spells out the day.
| Session | ET | CT | MT | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Oct. 2, 12:30 a.m. | Thu 11:30 p.m. | Thu 10:30 p.m. | Thu 9:30 p.m. |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Oct. 2, 4 a.m. | Fri 3 a.m. | Fri 2 a.m. | Fri 1 a.m. |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Oct. 3, 12:30 a.m. | Fri 11:30 p.m. | Fri 10:30 p.m. | Fri 9:30 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Sat, Oct. 3, 4 a.m. | Sat 3 a.m. | Sat 2 a.m. | Sat 1 a.m. |
| Race | Sun, Oct. 4, 3 a.m. | Sun 2 a.m. | Sun 1 a.m. | Sun 12 a.m. |
Why is the race at 3 a.m. Eastern?
Malaysia is 12 hours ahead of Eastern time in early October. A 3 p.m. start at the track is 3 a.m. in New York.
The name needs a word too. This is the Bahrain Grand Prix, run at Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur after its April date at Sakhir was cancelled. F1 and Apple both list it as the "Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia," not as a Malaysian Grand Prix.
What time is F1 qualifying, and when is the next sprint?
Qualifying is the day before the race; the first table has each one. Sepang is a standard weekend with three practices. Singapore is a sprint weekend. Sprint qualifying is Friday, Oct. 9, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the sprint itself is Saturday, Oct. 10, at 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT, and Grand Prix qualifying follows at 9 a.m. ET the same morning. Las Vegas shifts everything a day forward: qualifying on Friday night, Nov. 20, and the race on Saturday night, Nov. 21, both at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT.
What channel is F1 on in the U.S.?
None. F1 has no cable or broadcast channel in the U.S. in 2026; it's on the Apple TV app. Apple calls itself the U.S. home of Formula 1 and says a subscription covers every practice, qualifying session, sprint and Grand Prix. ESPN's viewing guide for Sepang points U.S. readers there too.
| Option | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Apple TV subscription | Every F1 session live, plus full replays and highlights | $14.99 a month after a 7-day free trial for new subscribers |
| F1 TV Premium | F1's own app, opened by linking the same Apple Account | Included with Apple TV at no added cost |
| No subscription | Every practice session, plus a select number of race weekends | Free |
The price is from Apple's Apple TV page, read Oct. 1 at 2:24 a.m. ET. Apple's F1 page says some race weekends are free without a subscription, but it doesn't name them, so we haven't marked any race in the schedule as free.
Can I watch F1 without cable?
Yes, and cable wouldn't help anyway. Apple lists the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Android phones, smart TVs, streaming sticks and game consoles, plus the web at tv.apple.com. Commentary comes in English and Spanish.
Last race: George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on Saturday, Sept. 26, with Max Verstappen second and Isack Hadjar third.
Our two-source rule is why this page reads Jolpica against Apple each race week. The UFC start-time page works the same way, the start times section lists what we track, and the home page and about page explain the desk.
FAQ
Is F1 on ESPN in 2026? No. ESPN still covers the races as news, but the U.S. broadcast is on Apple TV.
Do U.S. start times change when the clocks go back? Clocks go back on Sunday, Nov. 1, the morning of the Mexico City Grand Prix. That race's 3 p.m. ET start is Eastern Standard Time, while qualifying the day before, at 5 p.m. ET, is still daylight time.
When does the 2026 F1 season end? After Las Vegas come the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 11 a.m. ET and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 8 a.m. ET. Abu Dhabi is the last race of the year.
Sources
- Apple TV, Where to Watch Formula 1: session times in ET and what a subscription includes, read Oct. 1, 2026.
- Jolpica F1 API (api.jolpi.ca/ergast/f1/2026.json): session times in UTC and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix classification, read Oct. 1, 2026.
- Formula1.com, Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026 full timetable.
- ESPN, Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026: race start time and how to watch.
- Sky Sports, Azerbaijan GP race report.
- Apple, Apple TV pricing (apple.com/apple-tv), read Oct. 1, 2026, 2:24 a.m. ET.