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

Race day at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix (Sunday, March 29) is upon us and here is how you can catch all of the F1 action at the Suzuka International Circuit.

Following his maiden grand prix victory in Shanghai, Kimi Antonelli took pole position ahead of team-mate George Russell for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The championship leader had to settle for P2 and complained of 'weird vibrations from the rear' of his W17, revealing that his team made 'a small adjustment to the rear suspension' going into qualifying.

McLaren returned to the top three with Oscar Piastri occupying the third slot of the grid and will share the second row with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

The third row will be occupied by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in fifth and sixth respectively, while Max Verstappen won't start the Japanese GP in the top 10 after his Q2 exit. He will line up in P11, while team-mate Isack Hadjar starts eighth behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

Can Red Bull recover in the race? Will Ferrari be able to launch ahead of McLaren on the race start? Can Antonelli steal the championship lead from his team-mate by the close of play in Japan?

Here's how to watch the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix in your region.

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READ MORE: Verstappen suffers Red Bull humiliation at Japanese GP

When is the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix?

Lights out for the F1 2026 Japanese GP takes place today (Sunday, March 29) at 14:00 local time (JST), which is 06:00 GMT. That is 07:00 CEST, 01:00 ET in the United States or 22:00 PT (Saturday March 28) on the West Coast.

The clocks go forward this weekend in the UK, on Sunday, March 29. This will happen at 2am UK time, and will mean that we are onto BST rather than GMT.

This means that although Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix is an hour earlier than qualifying local time at 2pm JST, both qualifying and the race will be on at 6am UK time.

Find the race start time converted to your local time zone below:

Japanese Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Race - Sunday, March 29, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix 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: FIA take action on out of sorts Hamilton at Japanese Grand Prix

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

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