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

After a glorious first grand prix win with Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton, the 2026 F1 campaign continues today (Friday, June 26) at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The eighth round of the season will take place at the Red Bull Ring and as was the case at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP last time out, a classic F1 race weekend format will be followed.

No sprint schedule in Spielberg, just the usual two practice sessions on Friday before the third and final hour of practice takes place on Saturday ahead of qualifying.

And you won't want to miss a moment of on-track action in the Styrian mountains.

Having won the race in Barcelona, Ferrari star Hamilton is now just 41 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

The Mercedes star suffered a DNF in Spain and will be hoping to claw back some points to make up for it in Austria, as will team-mate George Russell, who is P3 in the drivers' standings.

Things are getting tight for Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc down in fourth after he also failed to finish the Barcelona GP, meaning he is now just two points ahead of Lando Norris who sits in fifth. It's all to play for in Austria as Red Bull are also bringing a major upgrade to their home track. Make sure you know how to tune into practice as the first hour kicks off today (Friday, June 26).

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READ MORE: Severe weather warning issued for F1 stars at Austrian Grand Prix

F1 Practice Times - 2026 Austrian Grand Prix

Just like last time out in Barcelona, the Austrian GP will host two practice sessions on Friday, with FP1 kicking off the weekend at 1:30pm local time (CEST) and 12:30 BST before FP2 takes place later that day at 5pm local time, or 4pm BST.

Saturday will then see the third and final free practice session of the weekend take place at 12:30 CEST which will be 11:30 BST on Saturday morning for those tuning in from the UK.

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

Austrian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 1 (FP1) - Friday, June 26, 2026

Austrian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 2 (FP2) - Friday, June 26, 2026

Austrian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times

Free Practice 3 (FP3) - Saturday, June 27, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Austrian 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

*Apple TV currently offers a free seven-day trial for American fans, but for the Austrian GP, the streaming service is opening up their coverage of the race to non-subscribers, meaning fans in the US can watch all the action entirely free of charge.

To sign up to Apple TV, click here.

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

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READ MORE: Sky Sports F1 star announces immediate exit ahead of Austrian GP

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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