Formula 1 moved to Sky Sports exclusive coverage in the UK in 2019. Since then, the only free-to-air races have been the British Grand Prix highlights and the occasional race Channel 4 picks up as part of a reduced deal. If you want every session — every practice, qualifying, and race — you’re looking at Sky or something that replaces it.
The F1 calendar runs 24 races in 2026, across every time zone imaginable. Some start at 6am UK time (Singapore, Japan, Australia). Others run live on Sunday afternoon. Paying £34.99/month just for those 24 Sundays — and the practice sessions you probably fast-forward through anyway — is a lot. Let’s look at what actually makes sense.
Option 1: Sky Sports via Now TV
The official route: Sky Sports on Now TV at £34.99/month. No contract, cancel anytime. This gets you every F1 session — practice, qualifying, sprint races, grands prix — with Sky’s full production team including pit lane reporters, technical analysis, and Ted’s Notebook. The quality is genuinely excellent. The price is genuinely high for one sport.
If you also watch Premier League on Sky, the package makes more sense. If F1 is the only reason you’d subscribe to Sky Sports, that £34.99 is hard to justify across 24 race weekends.
Option 2: F1 TV Pro (The Official App)
F1 TV Pro is Formula 1’s own streaming platform, starting at €7.99/month (prices vary by country). It offers every session, every race, every driver’s onboard camera feed, and full team radio. The multi-feed feature — where you can watch the race from any driver’s perspective simultaneously — is genuinely brilliant for hardcore fans.
The catch: F1 TV Pro is blocked in the UK, Germany, Italy, and several other markets where Sky or local broadcasters hold exclusive rights. If you’re outside those markets, it’s the best value official option. If you’re in the UK, you hit a geo-block.
Option 3: Channel 4 (Free, Limited)
Channel 4 has a deal to broadcast a handful of races live per season and highlights of all others. In 2025, that meant 4 live races and same-day highlights for the rest. Free, legal, and useless if you want to watch qualifying on Saturday or the race as it happens in a foreign time zone.
Option 4: Premium Live TV Streaming
A streaming subscription that includes Sky Sports F1 as part of its channel lineup gives you full F1 coverage without a Sky account. This is the cord-cutter route: one subscription, one monthly fee, Sky Sports F1 included alongside every other sports channel you might want.
MazzTV’s Standard plan at €12/month includes Sky Sports F1 in the channel lineup. That’s less than a third of the Now TV Sports Pass — and the subscription also covers Premier League, Champions League, Wimbledon, and the rest. Check the full channels list for F1-specific channel availability.
Race Calendar and Time Zones
The 2026 F1 calendar starts in March (Bahrain) and runs through November (Abu Dhabi). European races (Spain, Monaco, Austria, Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands) have the most viewer-friendly times for UK and EU audiences. Asian and American flyaway races are the ones worth planning for — Japan starts at 6am UK time, Miami at 9pm.
Having a streaming subscription that works on mobile means you catch those early starts on your phone before the rest of the house wakes up. Our setup guide covers mobile installation for iOS and Android.
How MazzTV Solves This
Sky Sports F1 coverage, one plan, €12/month. No contract. Cancel before any race month if you want. The €2.99 24-hour trial is timed perfectly before a race weekend — test the stream quality on qualifying Saturday, and if it’s good, lock in a full plan before the Sunday race. Visit our pricing page to compare plans.