Lewis Hamilton hasn’t topped the podium in four races now – and while that sentence might show that we’ve been slightly spoiled by the Brit in recent years, Max Verstappen has stepped his game up a notch and is now seriously challenging the seven-time champ. We’ve still got plenty of time for the season’s outcome to be decided, though, as this year we’ve got a full house of 23 events, a welcome relief from last year’s truncated calendar. Read on as our guide explains how to watch an F1 live stream online from all over the world – and where you can watch absolutely free!
After the thrills and spills of Azerbaijan, a slightly less dramatic outing to France, and the first of two runs round the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the standings are looking a little more interesting. Verstappen is leading by 18 points, followed by Hamilton. After a well-deserved but ultimately surprising win in Azerbaijan, Perez leapfrogged Norris into third – although Hamilton is still well ahead of the trailing pack by over 40 points.
So, it’s still looking like a two-horse race, but as we stick around in Austria, absolutely anything could happen.
In other news, Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari nightmare is finally over thanks to Aston Martin, formerly Racing Point. Replacing him in that iconic red car is Carlos Sainz, who’s been replaced at McLaren by Daniel Ricciardo, who’d been on fire for Renault (now Alpine) in the latter stages of last season. Having come within a whisker of not having a seat at all, Sergio Perez’s switch to Red Bull looks like a good move for both parties.
There are plenty of new kids on the block too, with some proving more popular than others. Alpha Tauri have brought in the impressive 20-year-old Yuki Tsunoda to partner one of the standout performers of 2020, Pierre Gasly. Meanwhile, F2 champion Mick Schumacher – the son of legendary seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher – has been called up to Team Haas alongside the extremely controversial (to put it politely) Nikita Mazepin.
Read on as we explain where to find an F1 live stream and watch every 2021 Formula 1 race online wherever you are right now.
How to watch F1 from outside your country
If you find yourself abroad at all during the 2021 F1 season, you’ll likely find you’re unable to access your usual Formula 1 coverage like you would at home. This isn’t necessarily cause for alarm, but rather the result of geo-blocking – best understood as digital borders that restrict certain services and content to certain parts of the world.
Fortunately, there’s a convenient way around this in the form of a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. This is a nifty bit of software that lets you whizz around these digital borders, thereby allowing you to globe trot and still access your preferred F1 live stream. It’s a completely legal workaround, very affordable, and super easy to use – allow us to explain more.
Use a VPN to watch a 2021 F1 live stream from anywhere
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Next Grand Prix – dates and times
- Practice 1 – Friday, July 2 at 10.30am BST / 11.30am CEST / 5.30am ET / 2.30am PT
- Practice 2 – Friday, July 2 at 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 9am ET / 6am PT
- Practice 3 – Saturday, July 3 at 11am BST / 12am CEST / 6am ET /3am PT
- Qualifying – Saturday, July 3 at 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 9am ET / 6am PT
- Austrian GP 2021 – Sunday, July 4 at 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 9am ET / 6am PT
F1 race schedule: 2021 Grand Prix dates
The F1 2021 season kicked off in Bahrain this March, marking a shift from the recent norm. The Australia GP has served as the traditional season-opener for a few years, but the race has been pushed back to November because of Covid-19.
Note that the Grand Prix will will take place on the last day listed for each event – the opening days host practice and qualifying sessions.
- March 26-28: Bahrain Grand Prix – Won by Lewis Hamilton
- April 16-18: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Won by Max Verstappen
- April 30-May 2: Portuguese Grand Prix – Won by Lewis Hamilton
- May 7-9: Spanish Grand Prix – Won by Lewis Hamilton
- May 21-23: Monaco Grand Prix, Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo – Won by Max Verstappen
- June 4-6: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku City Circuit, Baku Won by Sergio Perez
- June 18-20: French Grand Prix, Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet Won by Max Verstappen
- June 25-27: Styrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg Won by Max Verstappen
- July 2-4: Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
- July 16-18: British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
- July 30-August 1: Hungarian Grand Prix, Hungaroring, Mogyoród
- August 27-29: Belgian Grand Prix, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
- September 3-5: Dutch Grand Prix, Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
- September 10-12: Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza
- September 24-26: Russian Grand Prix, Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
- October 1-3: TBC
- October 8-10: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka
- October 22-24: United States Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
- October 29-31: Mexico City Grand Prix, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
- November 5-7: São Paulo Grand Prix, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
- November 19-21: Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne
- December 3-5: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah Street Circuit, Jeddah
- December 10-12: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
Watch on F1 TV
If you’re an F1 devotee, then you likely already know about F1 TV – it’s the streaming service to subscribe to for all the best live action, highlights, replays of classics races and a whole lot more besides – you can sign up on its website.
Most people will want to go for F1 TV Pro, which is the way to live stream every F1 Grand Prix in full – along with F2, F3 and Porsche Supercup as well. Prices differ from country-to-country – it’s $79.99 in the US, for example – and some even let you give it a try with a free 7-day trial!
Just note that not all regions have an F1 TV package with live Grand Prix coverage, with the UK and Australia being notable exceptions.
Free F1 live streams: watch Grand Prix for free
Formula 1 is such a popular sport worldwide, it’s no surprise that TV companies put a premium on F1 live streams. But there are some countries where the F1 is still shown on free TV. That may be the odd race or, for some lucky Grand Prix fans, every single one:
Albania: every race on RTSH
Austria: 12 races on ORF Eins and Servus TV
Australia: Australian GP only on Network Ten
Azerbaijan: every race on Idman TV
Brazil: every race on Band
France: Bahrain GP, Monaco GP, French GP, 2 other races on C8
UK and Ireland: British GP only on Channel 4
Iran: every race on MBC Persia
Luxembourg: every race on RTL Zwee
Mexico: Mexican GP only on Canal 5
Middle East and North Africa: every race on MBC Action
Russia: every race on Match TV
United States: USA GP, Mexico GP on ABC
How to watch an F1 live stream in the UK
You can watch every 2021 F1 GP via Sky Sports and its dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel. Subscribers also get to watch on the move using the Sky Go app, which is available on nearly all modern phones, tablets, laptops, PCs and consoles.
For those without Sky, the best option is to nab a Now TV Sky Sports Monthly Pass, which includes all 11 channels. As well as F1 action, Sky also hosts live football, PGA Tour golf, cricket, NBA basketball, and loads more.
The British Grand Prix on the weekend of July 18 will be shown for FREE on Channel 4 and its All4 streaming service, as well as on Sky.
To access your usual streaming service from outside the UK, you’ll need to download a good VPN as detailed above.
How to watch F1: live stream Formula 1 racing in the US
For the 2021 F1 season, it’s ESPN that will be providing comprehensive coverage in the US. Cord-cutters are in luck, too, as you can get ESPN without having an expensive cable package.
Of the many and varied options, the best for Formula 1 fans wanting to watch an F1 live stream is Sling TV, whose Sling Orange package features ESPN channels for just $35 a month – check out Sling and save $10 on your first month.
ABC is also providing live coverage of the Canadian, United States and Mexico City GPs. If you have it on cable, great – just head to the ABC website, log-in with your credentials, and stream away.
Alternatively, fuboTV is an even more complete end-to-end cable replacement services, which offers ESPN, ABC and over 120 other channels on plans starting from $64.99 a month.
New or existing subscribers to US streaming services can still access the platform of their choice from abroad, too – all you need is the help of a good VPN.
Live stream F1 and watch Grand Prix racing in Canada
In Canada, you can watch 2021 F1 races on English-language TSN or French-language RDS – but they’re premium channels that typically come with a pay TV package.
If you get them as part of your cable deal, then you’ll just be able to log in with the details of your provider and get access to an F1 live stream.
If you don’t have cable, then you can subscribe to TSN or RDS on a streaming-only basis from just CA$4.99 a day or (much better value) $19.99 a month.
If you decide to subscribe or already have, remember you can take your favorite sports streaming service with you wherever you go – just try our No. 1 overall rated VPN 100% risk-free for 30-days and follow the instructions above.
How to get an F1 live stream in Australia
The Australian TV broadcaster for the 2021 F1 season is Fox Sports, but if you don’t have Fox as part of pay TV package, your best option may be to sign up for the fast-emerging Kayo Sports streaming service.
It features no lock-in contracts and gives you access to over 50 other sports including the cricket, NRL, football… the list goes on! Handy if you don’t want to go all out on Fox.
Better still, Kayo offer a FREE two-week trial!
After that, the Kayo Sports Basic Package costs $25 per month and allows users to stream across two devices simultaneously. The service also offers a Kayo Sports Premium Package, which provides three concurrent streams for $35 per month.
Network Ten will be offering free live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix on the weekend of November 21, which you can also watch online via the 10 Play website.
Don’t forget, you can take your coverage abroad with you as well. For those wanting to watch home coverage of sports from overseas, a good VPN is the solution.
How to watch F1 online: live stream in New Zealand
Formula 1 fans based in New Zealand get the 2021 F1 races broadcast by Spark Sport, which costs $19.99 per month. But if you just want to catch one race for free, you’re in luck, as there’s a 7-day free trial.
Once that’s expired, you’ll get coverage for the reasonable price of $24.99 a month. As well as the F1 action, you also get a bevvy of Black Caps and England cricket matches, NBA basketball action from the US, and EPL football.
Spark Sport is available via web browsers on your PC or Mac, plus Apple and Android mobile devices, Chromecast, Apple TV, selected Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and LG TVs, and select Freeview streamers.
If you’re abroad and want to sign-in to watch your subscription you can, using one of our best VPN recommendations.