F1 Canadian GP Schedule 2026: UK start times and full Montreal timetable

start, russell, verstappen, canada — Photo: © IMAGO

Canadian Grand Prix

F1 Canadian Grand Prix 2026 Schedule: Full Montreal timetable and start times

The full schedule for this weekend in Montreal

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 18 May 2026 15:15

F1 roars back across the Atlantic this weekend for a blockbuster Canadian Grand Prix, and to add even more spice to the mix we have another high-stakes Sprint weekend.

Montreal's iconic Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is always a fan favourite, famous for its blistering straights, heavy braking zones and the unforgiving Wall of Champions. Oh, and of course the obligatory groundhog/marmot appearances.

With the Sprint format in play, the pressure is dialled up to eleven. Teams get just one solitary hour of practice on Friday to nail their setups before diving straight into Sprint Qualifying.

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If you are tuning in from the UK or mainland Europe, you are in for a treat. The time difference means we get prime-time evening viewing across all three days, with Sunday's main event due to start at 9pm UK time.

Here is the complete schedule for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, including all the crucial F1 session times and the packed support series action across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

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F1 Canadian Grand Prix schedule and session times

Session	Day	Local Eastern	UK BST	CET
Practice 1	Friday, May 22	12:30 - 13:30	17:30 - 18:30	18:30 - 19:30
Sprint Qualifying	Friday, May 22	16:30 - 17:14	21:30 - 22:14	22:30 - 23:14
Sprint	Saturday, May 23	12:00 - 12:30	17:00 - 17:30	18:00 - 18:30
Qualifying	Saturday, May 23	16:00 - 17:00	21:00 - 22:00	22:00 - 23:00
Grand Prix	Sunday, May 24	16:00 - 18:00	21:00 - 23:00	22:00 - 00:00 (Mon)

Friday May 22

Series	Session	Local Eastern	UK BST	CET
F1 Academy	Practice Session	09:00 - 09:40	14:00 - 14:40	15:00 - 15:40
FIA Formula 2	First Practice Session	10:05 - 10:50	15:05 - 15:50	16:05 - 16:50
FIA	F1 Car Presentation	11:00 - 12:00	16:00 - 17:00	17:00 - 18:00
Formula 1	First Practice Session	12:30 - 13:30	17:30 - 18:30	18:30 - 19:30
FIA Formula 2	Qualifying Session	14:00 - 14:30	19:00 - 19:30	20:00 - 20:30
Formula 1	Teams' Press Conference	14:30 - 15:30	19:30 - 20:30	20:30 - 21:30
FIA Formula 2	Press Conference	15:30 - 16:00	20:30 - 21:00	21:30 - 22:00
Formula 1	Sprint Qualifying Session	16:30 - 17:14	21:30 - 22:14	22:30 - 23:14
F1 Academy	Qualifying	18:00 - 18:30	23:00 - 23:30	00:00 - 00:30 (Sat)
F1 Experiences	Champions Club Grid Walk & Trophy Photo	19:45 - 21:40	00:45 - 02:40 (Sat)	01:45 - 03:40 (Sat)

Saturday May 23

Series	Session	Local Eastern	UK BST	CET
F1 Academy	Opening Race (17 Laps, Max 30 Mins)	09:45 - 10:20	14:45 - 15:20	15:45 - 16:20
Formula 1	Sprint	12:00 - 12:30	17:00 - 17:30	18:00 - 18:30
Formula 1	Press Conference	12:30 - 13:00	17:30 - 18:00	18:30 - 19:00
FIA Formula 2	Sprint Race (28 Laps or 45 Mins)	14:10 - 15:00	19:10 - 20:00	20:10 - 21:00
FIA Formula 2	Press Conference	15:20 - 15:50	20:20 - 20:50	21:20 - 21:50
Formula 1	Qualifying Session	16:00 - 17:00	21:00 - 22:00	22:00 - 23:00
Formula 1	Press Conference	17:00 - 18:00	22:00 - 23:00	23:00 - 00:00 (Sun)
F1 Academy	Reverse Grid Race (17 Laps, Max 30 Mins)	18:05 - 18:35	23:05 - 23:35	00:05 - 00:35 (Sun)

Sunday May 24

Series	Session	Local Eastern	UK BST	CET
F1 Academy	Feature Race (17 Laps, Max 30 Mins)	10:45 - 11:20	15:45 - 16:20	16:45 - 17:20
FIA Formula 2	Feature Race (39 Laps or 60 Mins)	12:05 - 13:10	17:05 - 18:10	18:05 - 19:10
FIA Formula 2	Press Conference	13:30 - 13:55	18:30 - 18:55	19:30 - 19:55
Formula 1	Drivers' Parade	14:00 - 14:30	19:00 - 19:30	20:00 - 20:30
Formula 1	National Anthem	15:44 - 15:46	20:44 - 20:46	21:44 - 21:46
Formula 1	Grand Prix (70 Laps or 120 Mins)	16:00 - 18:00	21:00 - 23:00	22:00 - 00:00 (Mon)

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 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve