Formula 1's next season has officially kicked off, and this weekend the action moves to Japan. Will Ferrari come close to challenging Mercedes or is Oscar Piastri for McLaren the driver to watch after setting a blistering pace in TP2? It's all very exciting, and I'm showing you how to watch the Japan Grand Prix from anywhere in the world right here.
It's another weekend of high-octane action as the Grand Prix takes place in Japan at the Shanghai International Circuit. Shaped after the Chinese symbol for "shang", which means upwards, Formula1.com says it's just as pleasing for the drivers to drive as it is to look at from the air. In particular turns 7 and 8 deliver "super-high g force", while the track features one of the longest straights in the F1 calendar on the 1.2km stretch between turns 13 and 14.
There are several ways to watch the Japan Grand Prix including F1's own F1 TV, which will be streaming live. It's a subscription service with both monthly and annual payment options: $3.49/month and $29.99 a year in the US; £2.29 a month or £19.99 a year in the UK; and AU$4.49/month or AU$34.99 per year in Australia.
Formula 1 sells the broadcasting and streaming rights to different broadcasters and streamers around the world, so for example in the US the sole streamer is Apple, while in the UK the races will be broadcast by Sky/Now with highlights on Channel 4. In Australia the key broadcaster is Fox Sports via Kayo, with 10 Play offering free highlights.
How to watch the Japan Grand Prix from anywhere
One of the downsides of travelling away from home is that you can find yourself locked out of the channels you normally stream. That's because in many cases the streaming and broadcasting rights vary from country to country or territory to territory.
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How to watch the 2026 Japan Grand Prix in the US
Apple has the exclusive rights to stream the Japan Grand Prix in the US. There's a dedicated F1 channel in the Apple TV app, and while Apple would naturally prefer it if you watched on an Apple device the Apple TV app is also available for Android via the Google Play Store.
F1 is included as part of the standard Apple TV subscription, and Apple offers a 7-day free trial to new users and three months free to anyone who buys a new Apple device.
Travelling right now? Try NordVPN for 30 days risk free and watch the Japan Grand Prix as if you were at home.
How to watch the 2026 Japan Grand Prix in the UK
Sky Sports is the official F1 broadcaster and streamer for the UK, and that means all the Grand Prix events will be available on Sky Sports F1, on the Sky Go app and on the Sky Sports app too. If you don't have or want Sky, highlights will be shown on Channel 4.
In addition to Sky's own branded apps, you can also use Now. If you subscribe to the Sports bundle it's a 12-month contract and costs £27.99 per month.
If you don't want to make a long-term commitment to a sports subscription the Now app also offers per-day billing, although at £14.99 per day it soon becomes more cost-effective to take out a regular subscription. At the moment Now's free trials don't include sporting content.
If you're an Apple TV subscriber in the UK and got excited about Apple's F1 channel we're sorry to say that you can't stream F1 as part of your subscription: the F1 channel on Apple TV is currently US-only.
If you're outside the UK you can use NordVPN to stream the race via your usual channels.
How to watch the 2026 Japan Grand Prix in Australia
In Australia the broadcast rights for the Japan Grand Prix are with Fox Sports via Kayo, which has a free trial. There are two Kayo subscription plans and the cheapest is Standard, which starts at AU$29.99 per month (AU$9.99 for the first month). You'll also be able to tune in via Foxtel, which offers a 10-day trial for new customers.
You won't need a subscription to catch the highlights: they're going to be streamed for free on 10 Play. Unfortunately there's no free option to watch the races live.
You can still catch 10 Play's free streams if you're out of the country, with NordVPN.
When are the race times for the 2026 Japan Grand Prix?
The Japan Grand Prix final race is on Sunday 29 at 2pm local time.
You don't need to work out the time zones in your head: Formula1.com has created a handy race time calculator that switches between track time, which is the local time in Japan, and "My Time", which is the time where you are. So for example an 11.30am track time means watching at 02.30am in the UK.
What's the weather forecast for the 2026 Japan Grand Prix?
The weekend weather's looking pretty good so far: cool in the morning and moderate in the afternoons with light to moderate winds and 0% chance of rain on the Friday and Saturday. There's a moderate chance of rain on the Sunday: 25%.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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* This article was originally published here
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