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

The 2026 F1 Japanese Grand Prix weekend gets underway today (Friday, March 27) at the Suzuka circuit, so here's everything you need to know about the three practice sessions.

After the first sprint race of the season in Shanghai last time out, the F1 calendar continues with regular running, meaning there are three practice sessions split across the opening two days of the Japanese GP weekend.

The third round of the season will also see some slight changes to the energy management rules come into play during Saturday's qualifying, after ongoing discussions between the FIA, the F1 teams and the power unit manufacturers led to a tweak designed to require less lifting and coasting.

Championship leaders Mercedes have emerged as the ones to beat in both the constructors' and the drivers' standings after the first two rounds of the year, but the Silver Arrows have found themselves under scrutiny once again as the front wing of their competitive W17 has raised eyebrows among the paddock.

Will Toto Wolff's outfit continue their display of dominance in Suzuka this weekend or will Ferrari finally be able to prove they can hold onto the lead that their lightning fast start has given them so far this season?

You won't want to miss a minute of the Japanese GP given it will be the last race weekend until F1 heads to Miami in May, so here's all the details for the three practice sessions in Suzuka.

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F1 Practice Times - 2026 Japanese Grand Prix

Suzuka will host two practice sessions on Friday, with FP1 kicking off the weekend at 11:30 JST (02:30 GMT) before FP2 takes place later that day at 15:00 local time, or 06:00 GMT.

Saturday will then see the third and final free practice session of the Japanese GP take place at 11:30 local time (JST) which will again be 02:30 GMT on Saturday morning in the UK.

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

Japanese Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 1 (FP1) - Friday, March 27, 2026

Japanese Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 2 (FP2) - Friday, March 27, 2026

Japanese Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 3 (FP3) - Saturday, March 28, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Japanese 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.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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