F1 Practice Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2026 start times, schedule, TV channel and FREE live stream

The second race weekend of the 2026 F1 season gets underway today (Friday March 13), with the drivers getting out onto the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time this year.

F1's second race of the year at the Chinese Grand Prix is also the first sprint race weekend of the season, with five more set to follow.

With the two added competitive sessions of sprint qualifying and the sprint race added into the weekend's schedule at a sprint event, we get rid of two practice sessions compared with a normal race weekend structure.

That means that there is just one hour available to teams, not ideal for outfits who have struggled in the early season, such as Aston Martin, who admitted to using the season-opening Australian GP as an extra pre-season test after reliability issues plagued the start of their season.

The one and only practice session of the weekend is likely to be crucial for drivers to get honed into the circuit, and stars including Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and last weekend's race winner George Russell will all be hoping for a good start to their weekends. Keep reading to find out how to watch!

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F1 HEADLINES: Aston Martin short on parts as Alonso preps for Chinese GP nightmare

F1 Practice Times - 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Friday sees the one and only practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix get underway, at 11:30am local time (CST).

Find the session start times converted to your local time zone below:

Chinese Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 1 (FP1) - Friday, March 13, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix practice live on TV today

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Check below to see how to tune in for some major countries:

Where to watch: F1 2026 broadcasters by region

* - A free seven-day trial of Apple TV is available for fans in the US, allowing them to watch F1 for free this weekend.

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

READ MORE: F1 fans fume over TV broadcast change for 2026 season

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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