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

The 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix weekend gets underway today (Friday, May 1) at the Miami International Autodrome, so here's everything you need to know about the one and only practice session of the event.

After just three rounds of the F1 2026 campaign, the sport was forced to take a five-week spring break after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But F1 is back and soon, the stars of the grid will return to racing under the new and (hopefully) improved regulations, which have been tweaked slightly over the enforced break.

Another decision which has been taken by F1's governing body as a result of the large gap since the last round of the championship in March, Friday's one and only practice session has been extended to 90 minutes instead of the usual 60.

This is because after speaking to stakeholders, the FIA felt that in recognition of the five-week break, the recently announced regulatory and technical adjustments, and the fact that the Miami Grand Prix operates under the sprint format, it would only be fair to offer an extended practice session due to the absence of FP2 and FP3, which would usually give teams and drivers extra practice time to adjust to the changes outside of a sprint weekend.

Mercedes return as the leaders in the constructors' standings thanks to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who, at 19 years old, is currently the youngest pilot to ever lead the drivers' standings following the first three rounds of the calendar.

Will Toto Wolff's outfit continue their display of dominance in Miami this weekend or will Ferrari come back fighting after working hard over the April break?

A number of teams have released exclusive Miami GP merchandise, with the F1 Store offering 20 per cent off selected lines until 23:59 BST on Monday, May 4 using code: GRIDREADY. No luck finding a discount that works for you? GPFans have you covered with an exclusive reader discount. Use code: GPFANS17 to get up to 17 per cent off all lines.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA make Miami GP change as race threatened by thunderstorms

F1 Practice Times - 2026 Miami Grand Prix

The Miami International Autodrome will only host one practice session this weekend, but Friday's FP1 has been extended to 90 minutes by the FIA to make up for the five-week break since the Japanese GP last time out.

FP1 will kick off the Miami sprint weekend at 12:00 ET (17:00 BST) before sprint qualifying takes place later that day at 16:30 local time, or 21:30 BST.

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

Miami Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 1 (FP1) - Friday, May 1, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Miami 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.

Please note if you click on a product link on this page, we may earn a small affiliate commission.

READ MORE: Will Miami GP be cancelled? Lightning threat poses risk to F1 race

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.

View full biography

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