F1 2025: Japanese Grand Prix start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

Verstappen during Friday practice at Suzuka — Photo: © IMAGO

Japanese Grand Prix

F1 2025: Japanese Grand Prix start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

Formula 1 hits Suzuka Circuit for round three of the 2025 season this weekend

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

Thursday 3 April 2025 16:00

Formula 1 hits Suzuka Circuit this weekend for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix and we've got all of the details you need to know ahead of the event.

Last time out at the Chinese Grand Prix, McLaren star Oscar Piastri tasted victory after what was a very strong weekend for the Aussie, securing pole position in qualifying and leading home a papaya one-two in Sunday's race.

Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend, from the highs of winning the Chinese GP sprint race and his first race in red for Ferrari on Saturday to being disqualified from Sunday's main event, along with team-mate Charles Leclerc.

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However, despite Hamilton's dramatic outing, and McLaren's dominance so far this season, all eyes are firmly on Red Bull Racing heading to Japan.

After another tough weekend in China, the team swung their brutal axe once more, demoting Liam Lawson back to their junior team after just two grands prix, with Yuki Tsunoda now making the step up from Racing Bulls in the opposite direction.

With that said, this weekend's event is a must-see, and we've got all the details below on session start times and how you can watch it all unfold live.

F1 2025: Japanese Grand Prix start times

The 53-lap race starts on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at 2 pm local time (JST), which means a start time of 1 am (ET). Here's the full Chinese Grand Prix weekend schedule for the weekend converted to your time zone.

Date	Session	New York, United States (ET)	Chicago, United States (CT)	Denver, United States (MT)	Los Angeles, United States (PT)
Friday, April 4	FP1	10:30 PM (Thursday)	9:30 PM (Thursday)	8:30 PM (Thursday)	7:30 PM (Thursday)
Friday, April 4	FP2	2 AM	1 AM	12 AM	11 PM (Thursday)
Saturday, April 5	FP3	10:30 PM (Friday)	9:30 PM (Friday)	8:30 PM (Friday)	7:30 PM (Friday)
Saturday, April 5	Qualifying	2 AM	1 AM	12 AM	11 PM (Friday)
Sunday, April 6	Grand Prix	1 AM	12 AM	11 PM (Saturday)	10 PM (Saturday)

How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix live on TV

Action from the Japanese Grand Prix is set to be shown live on ESPN in the United States. However, different sessions are set to be shown in different places.

FP1 will be shown on ESPN+, for example, whilst FP2 will be shown live on ESPN2. On Saturday, F1 action returns to ESPN+ for FP3, whilst qualifying will be shown on ESPN2.

Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix will be shown live on ESPN.

With that said, broadcast details do vary depending on your location. Please check the information below to see how to watch F1 in your respective country this season.

Country	Broadcaster(s)
United States	ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Mexico	Fox Sports Mexico, Televisa
Australia	Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
Italy	Sky Italia
Belgium	RTBF, Play Sports
Netherlands	Viaplay, Viaplay Xtra
Spain	DAZN F1
Canada	RDS, RDS 2, TSN, Noovo
Germany	Sky Deutschland, RTL
France	Canal+
Singapore	beIN SPORTS
China	CCTV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong Television Channel, Tencent
Japan	Fuji TV, DAZN
Hungary	M4 (MTVA Sports Channel)
Brazil	Bandeirantes, Bandsports
Austria	Servus TV, ORF
Middle East & Turkey	beIN SPORTS
Africa	SuperSport
India	FanCode
Latin America	ESPN