When is the next F1 race? Japanese Grand Prix schedule with full 2026 running order including UK and US times

Japanese Grand Prix

When is the next F1 race? Japanese Grand Prix schedule with full 2026 running order including UK and US times

The full schedule for race weekend at Suzuka

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 16 March 2026 17:30 Updated: 17:37

F1 heads to the iconic Suzuka circuit and the Japanese Grand Prix for the next race on the 2026 schedule before the sport takes an enforced rest for a month.

The current conflict in the Middle East means that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix - both planned for April - have been cancelled.

So the action in Japan will be the last for F1 fans until the paddock regroups in Miami on the first weekend in May.

Article continues under video

Mercedes head for Suzuka in dominant form after claiming victories and 1-2s in both races so far, while Ferrari have emerged as their closest rivals.

The countdown to the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix starts here, and we have full details on the key schedule information.

F1 session times and schedule

These are the confirmed Formula 1 sessions for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix:

Session	Date	Local time (JST)	UK time (GMT/BST)	US Eastern (ET)
Free Practice 1	Friday March 27	11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30 (Fri)	22:30-23:30 (Thu)
Free Practice 2	Friday March 27	15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00 (Fri)	02:00-03:00 (Fri)
Free Practice 3	Saturday March 28	11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30 (Sat)	22:30-23:30 (Fri)
Qualifying	Saturday March 28	15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00 (Sat)	02:00-03:00 (Sat)
Grand Prix (Race)	Sunday March 29	14:00 (race start)	06:00 (Sun)	01:00 (Sun)

Japanese GP schedule for Friday March 27

Friday at Suzuka is the first chance to see the new F1 cars on track in Japan, with two Free Practice sessions as well as a busy support package. Teams will focus on baseline set-up work in FP1 before shifting towards Qualifying and Race simulations later in the day.

JST (local)	UK (GMT/BST)	ET (US)	Category	Session
09:00-09:45	00:00-00:45 (Fri)	19:00-19:45 (Thu)	Ferrari Challenge Japan	Practice
10:00-11:00	01:00-02:00 (Fri)	20:00-21:00 (Thu)	Formula 1	Car presentation / activities
11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30 (Fri)	22:30-23:30 (Thu)	Formula 1	Free Practice 1
13:00-13:45	04:00-04:45 (Fri)	23:00-23:45 (Thu)	Porsche Carrera Cup Japan	Practice
13:30-14:30	04:30-05:30 (Fri)	00:30-01:30 (Fri)	Formula 1	Teams’ press conference
15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00 (Fri)	02:00-03:00 (Fri)	Formula 1	Free Practice 2
16:30-17:00	07:30-08:00 (Fri)	03:30-04:00 (Fri)	Ferrari Challenge Japan	Qualifying

Japanese GP schedule for Saturday March 28

F1 qualifying takes centre stage on Saturday as the final Free Practice session is preceded by all the excitement of Qualifying. We also have more action from Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup:

JST (local)	UK (GMT/BST)	ET (US)	Category	Session
09:55-10:30	00:55-01:30 (Sat)	19:55-20:30 (Fri)	Ferrari Challenge Japan	Race 1 (30 mins + 1 lap)
11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30 (Sat)	22:30-23:30 (Fri)	Formula 1	Free Practice 3
13:00-13:30	04:00-04:30 (Sat)	00:00-00:30 (Sat)	Porsche Carrera Cup Japan	Qualifying
15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00 (Sat)	02:00-03:00 (Sat)	Formula 1	Qualifying
16:00-17:00	07:00-08:00 (Sat)	03:00-04:00 (Sat)	Formula 1	Press conference
17:15-18:15	08:15-09:15 (Sat)	04:15-05:15 (Sat)	F1 Experiences	Champions Club / grid walk

Japanese GP schedule for Sunday March 29

The waiting is over as Suzuka stages the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix over 53 laps of the 5.807km circuit. Before lights out, fans are treated to more support-race action, the traditional drivers’ parade and the national anthem ceremony:

JST (local)	UK (GMT/BST)	ET (US)	Category	Session
09:40-10:15	00:40-01:15 (Sun)	19:40-20:15 (Sat)	Ferrari Challenge Japan	Race 2 (30 mins + 1 lap)
10:55-11:30	01:55-02:30 (Sun)	20:55-21:30 (Sat)	Porsche Carrera Cup Japan	Race (10 laps or 30 mins + 1 lap)
12:00-12:30	03:00-03:30 (Sun)	22:00-22:30 (Sat)	Formula 1	Drivers’ parade
13:44-13:46	04:44-04:46 (Sun)	23:44-23:46 (Sat)	Formula 1	National anthem
14:00 (race start)	06:00 (Sun)	01:00 (Sun)	Formula 1	2026 Japanese Grand Prix (53 laps or 120 mins)

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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F1 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka