F1 Practice Today: Qatar Grand Prix start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

The penultimate round of the 2025 Formula 1 season kicks off today, with the Qatar Grand Prix weekend getting underway with free practice action.

Given that there is a sprint race taking place this weekend, Friday afternoon's FP1 session will be the sole practice session in Qatar, with sprint qualifying following on Friday evening.

Every session is going to count at The Lusail International Circuit, with the battle for the F1 drivers' championship as exciting as it has been all season.

After Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last time out, Norris remains top of the drivers' standings, but Piastri and Max Verstappen now trail the Brit by just 24 points. Had there been no disqualifications, the lead would have been 30 over Piastri, and 42 over Verstappen.

Still, despite all of that, there is a scenario in which Norris could be crowned champion this weekend. That can only happen if the Brit outscores Piastri and Verstappen by more than two points across the entire weekend in Doha.

What time is F1 practice today?

With just one practice session taking place at the Qatar Grand Prix ahead of sprint qualifying, FP1 gets underway at 4:30pm local time (AST).

This means that the session gets underway at 8:30am (ET) in the United States.

Please see below for the start times converted to your local time zone:

FP1 start times - Thursday, November 20

Local Time (PT): 4:30pm
United States Eastern (ET):10:30am
United States Central (CT):9:30am
United States Mountain (MT):8:30am
United States Pacific (PT):7:30am

TV and live streaming options

In the United States, this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix practice will be shown live on ESPN.

FP1 is set to be shown live on ESPNU, with coverage getting underway at 8:25am ET.

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Check below to see how to tune in for some major countries.

F1 international broadcasters

United States: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Mexico: Fox Sports Mexico, Televisa
Australia: Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo
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+
Mexico: beIN SPORTS
China: CCTV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong TV, 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

F1 action in 2025 is also available to watch via F1TV Pro in selected countries.

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