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

The battle for pole position takes centre stage at the F1 Italian Grand Prix later today (Saturday September 5) with Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari desperate to make up lost ground in the 2026 title race.

Hamilton goes into this afternoon's crucial session trailing young Italian Kimi Antonelli by 59 points, but he will never have a better opportunity to cut that gap.

The 20-year-old Antonelli will take a grid penalty in his Mercedes and will start Sunday's race from the back of the field.

Elsewhere the defending F1 champion Lando Norris is a real threat once again after back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, while Antonelli's team-mate George Russell also has a chance to make up ground.

The 'Temple of Speed' will be packed to the rafters with an expectant home crowd hoping for something special from Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc.

You can watch all of the action live (with free options as well) and we have all the details.

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F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton stuns at Monza as Leclerc confirms Ferrari exit talks

What time is F1 qualifying today?

Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix takes place today (Saturday September 5), starting at 4pm local time (3pm BST).

We've converted it to your local timezone where you are, all available in the table below:

Qualifying - Saturday August 22, 2026

How to watch 2026 Italian Grand Prix qualifying live on TV today

As ever, the UK options are Sky F1 for live coverage or Channel 4 for free-to-air highlights, while Apple TV now have the US rights (free trial available).

There is also great news for fans in Italy, who can watch all of today's action live and for free on local channel TV8.

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 the F1 Italian Grand Prix for free this weekend.

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

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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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