FIA announce update to F1 race start times for rest of 2026 season

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026

FIA announce update to F1 race start times for rest of 2026 season

It's now been confirmed when each F1 race will start for the remainder of 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 5 August 2026 09:42

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An updated F1 2026 calendar has now been released showing all of the session start times, after the adding to the schedule of another race weekend.

Two grand prix weekends were cancelled in April due to the conflict in the Middle East, with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia falling off the schedule.

That left the 2026 season as a 22-race season, with doubt over the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix at the end of the season still in place due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

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But last month, it was announced that F1 had struck a deal to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix onto the 2026 calendar, although it will now be taking place at the Sepang Circuit, the former home of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

This race in Malaysia is scheduled for the weekend of October 2-4, creating a triple header with the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix either side.

The Bahrain Grand Prix is usually a night race, but the latest FIA schedule announcement has made it clear that it will not be played out in the dark at the Sepang Circuit, instead taking place at 3pm local time (8am BST).

F1 SCHEDULE: Every race date for 2026 plus TV details

Bahrain (Malaysia) Grand Prix schedule

The reinstated Bahrain GP in Malaysia will not be a sprint race weekend, and there are only two of those remaining in 2026, set to take place at the Dutch GP and the Singapore GP.

Bahrain will see the usual three practice sessions, qualifying and the grand prix taking place on the Sunday.

The action gets underway on Friday October 2, with FP1 starting at 12:30pm local time (5am BST) and FP2 at 4pm (9am BST).

Saturday October 3 then has the same session times compared to Friday for FP3 and qualifying respectively, before the Bahrain Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday October 4 at 3pm local time (8am BST).

F1 2026 calendar quirks

While none of the other timings for the remainder of the 2026 season have changed, there does remain some doubt as to whether the final two race weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi can take place.

F1 have admitted that there are contingency plans in place, and have given themselves until the middle of September to decide once and for all whether the season-ending races will be in those countries.

Alternatively, the season finale could be held in the middle of the European winter instead, Stefano Domenicali has revealed, with Imola, Portimao in Portugal and Turkey all being cited as potential venues in that scenario.

The latest calendar announcement has also confirmed that the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be on a Saturday.

It was decided before the season that this would be the case, making it the first Saturday F1 grand prix since the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The reason for this is because the Sunday clashes with Azerbaijan's national remembrance day.

It means that FP1 and FP2 will be on Thursday, with FP3 and qualifying on the Friday, and the Azerbaijan GP being on Saturday, September 26 at 3pm local time (12pm UK time).

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