The 2026 Belgian Grand Prix marks the return of the F1 championship this weekend as the first race of the final double header before the annual summer shutdown commences at Spa-Francorchamps.
After a dramatic end to the British GP last time out, Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell still head the championship standings, but Russell has edged closer to his teenage team-mate, with only 25 points separating the driver duo.
Ferrari remain their closest challengers, both in the constructors' championship and in the drivers' standings as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc cling onto P3 and P4 respectively.
After a jam-packed sprint weekend in Silverstone, regular running returns with three practice sessions and one qualifying before the main event on Sunday at Spa.
The action will get underway today (Friday, July 17) with Free Practice 1 kicking off at 1:30pm CEST.
Check out all the details of all three practice sessions across Friday and Saturday below.
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F1 Practice Times - 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian 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:
Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times
Free Practice 1 (FP1) - Friday, July 17, 2026
| Location | Time |
|---|---|
| Local time (CEST) | 13:30 Friday |
| British Summer Time (BST) | 12:30 Friday |
| United States (ET) | 07:30 Friday |
| United States (CT) | 06:30 Friday |
| United States (PT) | 04:30 Friday | Brazil (BRT) | 08:30 Friday |
| Australia (AWST) | 19:30 Friday |
| Australia (ACT) | 21:00 Friday |
| Australia (AET) | 21:30 Friday |
| Mexico (CST) | 05:30 Friday |
| Japan (JST) | 20:30 Friday |
| China (CST) | 19:30 Friday |
| South Africa (SAST) | 13:30 Friday |
| Egypt (EEST) | 14:30 Friday |
| India (IST) | 17:00 Friday |
| Singapore (SGT) | 19:30 Friday |
| Turkey (TRT) | 14:30 Friday |
| United Arab Emirates (GST) | 15:30 Friday | Saudi Arabia (AST) | 14:30 Friday |
Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times
Free Practice 2 (FP2) - Friday, July 17, 2026
| Location | Time |
|---|---|
| Local time (CEST) | 17:00 Friday |
| British Summer Time (BST) | 16:00 Friday |
| United States (ET) | 11:00 Friday |
| United States (CT) | 10:00 Friday |
| United States (PT) | 08:00 Friday | Brazil (BRT) | 12:00 Friday |
| Australia (AWST) | 23:00 Friday |
| Australia (ACT) | 00:30 Saturday |
| Australia (AET) | 01:00 Saturday |
| Mexico (CST) | 09:00 Friday |
| Japan (JST) | 00:00 Saturday |
| China (CST) | 23:00 Friday |
| South Africa (SAST) | 17:00 Friday |
| Egypt (EEST) | 18:00 Friday |
| India (IST) | 20:30 Friday |
| Singapore (SGT) | 23:00 Friday |
| Turkey (TRT) | 18:00 Friday |
| United Arab Emirates (GST) | 19:00 Friday | Saudi Arabia (AST) | 18:00 Friday |
Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Session Times
Free Practice 3 (FP3) - Saturday, July 18, 2026
| Location | Time |
|---|---|
| Local time (CEST) | 12:30 Saturday |
| British Summer Time (BST) | 11:30 Saturday |
| United States (ET) | 06:30 Saturday |
| United States (CT) | 05:30 Saturday |
| United States (PT) | 03:30 Saturday | Brazil (BRT) | 07:30 Saturday |
| Australia (AWST) | 18:30 Saturday |
| Australia (ACT) | 20:00 Saturday |
| Australia (AET) | 20:30 Saturday |
| Mexico (CST) | 04:30 Saturday |
| Japan (JST) | 19:30 Saturday |
| China (CST) | 18:30 Saturday |
| South Africa (SAST) | 12:30 Saturday |
| Egypt (EEST) | 13:30 Saturday |
| India (IST) | 16:00 Saturday |
| Singapore (SGT) | 18:30 Saturday |
| Turkey (TRT) | 13:30 Saturday |
| United Arab Emirates (GST) | 14:30 Saturday | Saudi Arabia (AST) | 13:30 Friday |
How to watch the 2026 Belgian GP practice live on TV today
Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Check below to see how to tune in:
| Region/Country | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports, Channel 4 |
| *United States | Apple TV |
| China | Shanghai TV, Guandong Television Channel, Tencent |
| Italy | Sky Italia |
| Netherlands | Viaplay, Viaplay Xtra |
| Japan | Fuji TV, DAZN |
| Australia | Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo, Network Ten |
| Spain | DAZN |
| Canada | RDS, TSN |
| Germany | Sky Deutschland, RTL |
| France | Canal+ |
| Belgium | RTBF, Telenet |
| Luxembourg | RTL Lux, Sky DE |
| Mexico | Fox Sports Mexico |
| Singapore | beIN SPORTS |
| Hungary | M4 Sport |
| Brazil | Bandeirantes |
| Austria | Servus TV, ORF |
| Middle East & Turkey | beIN SPORTS |
| Africa | SuperSport |
| Latin America | ESPN |
*Apple TV currently offers a free seven-day trial for American fans. 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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