F1 News

F1 Japanese GP: How to watch, ESPN Formula 1 TV start times

Published

4w ago

Apr 04, 2024 / 8345 Views

When is the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix?

This year’s race takes place on 7 April at 1:00am ET at Suzuka, and the time difference means some late nights and early starts for the American audience across the weekend.

There are three free practice sessions, with FP1 occurring on Thursday night. FP2 is in the early hours of Friday, with FP3 taking place on Friday night.

Qualifying is at 2am on Saturday, with race coverage starting at midnight Sunday.

Japanese GP F1 schedule

Thursday 4 April

Session	Time
Practice 1	10:30pm-11:30pm ET

Friday 5 April

Session	Time
Practice 2	2:00am-3:00am ET
Practice 3	10.30pm-11:30pm ET

Saturday 6 April

Session	Time
Qualifying	2:00am-3:00am ET

Sunday 7 April

Session	Time
Race	1:00am ET

Which TV channel shows F1 in the USA?

All Formula 1 races will be shown live on U.S. TV by either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC this year, as well as being streamed live or on-demand via its digital platform.

To make sure you don’t miss any of the action across practice, qualifying or racing – which will vary across its channels during the season – here’s how to tune in this weekend.

Japanese GP ESPN TV schedule

Thursday 4 April

Session/show	Time	Channel
Practice 1	10:25pm ET	ESPNU

Friday 5 April

Session/show	Time	Channel
Practice 2	1:55am ET	ESPN2
F1 Show	3:15am ET	ESPN3
Practice 3	10.25pm ET	ESPNews

Saturday 6 April

Session/show	Time	Channel
Qualifying	1:55am ET	ESPN2
Ted’s qualifying Notebook	4:00am ET	ESPN3

Sunday 7 April

Session/show	Time	Channel
Grand Prix Sunday	Midnight ET	ESPN2
Race	12.55am ET	ESPN
Checkered Flag	3:00am ET	ESPN3
Ted’s Notebook	4:00am ET	ESPN3
Race re-air	Noon ET	ESPNews

What happened in last year’s Japanese GP?

Max Verstappen leads 2023 Japanese GP

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Max Verstappen dominated from pole position for Red Bull, beating the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by almost 20s.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez suffered an awful race after an early clash with Hamilton and a latter collision with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, which eventually forced him to retire.

Can I stream live F1 races in America?

Viewers in the United States can subscribe to F1 TV (f1tv.formula1.com) to stream the race on a device of their choice or via ESPN’s digital platform (espn.com/watch) with subscriptions.

All sessions will be streamed on the ESPN app and be available on demand, while ESPN’s TV broadcasts are available via YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling (depending on subscription plans).