The Cheapest Way to Watch Formula 1 in 2026 (Country by Country)

The 2026 Formula 1 season runs from March to December across 24 Grands Prix on five continents. F1 sells exclusive live rights in nearly every major market, but the structure of what is on free-to-air vs paid varies significantly by country. Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have free coverage through public broadcasters. Australia and the United Kingdom carry the British Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix free on BBC and Channel 9 respectively. Most other countries require a paid subscription to either F1 TV Pro or a regional broadcaster. The cheapest legal way to watch every race in 2026 is F1 TV Pro at $11.99/month or $94.99/year (about $7.92/month annualised) — the official Formula 1 product that streams every practice, qualifying, sprint and race live, plus on-board cameras and team radio. F1 TV Pro is available in around 130 countries but explicitly NOT in the UK, France, Belgium or the Netherlands, where domestic broadcasters hold exclusive rights.

In the UK, Sky Sports F1 holds exclusive live rights to every session of every weekend. Access is via the Sky Sports package on satellite or via NOW Sports Membership at £14.99/month — the cheapest legal route to live F1 in Britain. Channel 4 broadcasts the British Grand Prix live and free every July, plus race highlights of every other Grand Prix on Sunday or Monday evening. For viewers who only care about the British GP and are happy with highlights for the rest of the season, Channel 4 is sufficient and costs nothing. F1 TV Pro is geo-blocked in the UK because Sky has paid for exclusive rights, so this option is not available even for British fans willing to pay for it directly. A NOW Sports Mobile Membership (£8.99/month) limits viewing to phones and tablets but is the absolute cheapest legal way to follow F1 live in the UK.

In the United States, ESPN broadcasts every race live and provides linear cable coverage. ESPN+ at $11.99/month carries the same coverage on streaming, with on-demand replays and full session archives. F1 TV Pro at $11.99/month is the official Formula 1 streaming product, available in the US, and offers more than ESPN: every practice session, qualifying, sprint, the race, plus 25+ on-board cameras, full team radio, driver tracker and timing data. For serious F1 fans, F1 TV Pro is the better value at the same price. For casual fans who already have a cable package or YouTube TV ($82.99/month) or fuboTV ($84.99/month), ESPN cable channels carry the race live at no additional cost beyond the base subscription. The F1 TV Pro annual plan at $94.99/year works out to $7.92/month — the cheapest "watch every session" F1 option in the US.

Germany: RTL broadcasts a selection of races free including the German and Austrian Grands Prix. ServusTV and ORF carry races for free in Austria. Sky Deutschland holds the rights to most other races, accessible via WOW for €19.99/month. Belgium: RTBF and VTM broadcast every race free for Belgian audiences via terrestrial TV and online streaming. Netherlands: Viaplay holds the streaming rights at €13.99/month after the introductory offer. There is no fully free option in 2026. Luxembourg: RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg carries selected races free. For viewers in these countries, free-to-air is the cheapest option for the races that are carried — but they do not all carry every race, so a F1 TV Pro subscription in addition is sometimes worthwhile.

Australia: Channel 9 broadcasts the Australian Grand Prix every March live and free. Fox Sports carries every race live on cable, and Kayo Sports streams every session for A$25/month. Kayo is the cheapest "watch every race" option in Australia. India: F1 TV Pro is available at ₹599/month for the Premium plan. There is no consistent free-to-air F1 in India. Canada: TSN+ at C$8/month (or C$80/year) carries every session — by far the cheapest "watch every race" F1 product globally. France: Canal+ at €34.99/month is the only option. F1 TV Pro is geo-blocked. Most of the Middle East and North Africa: beIN Sports carries every race. F1 TV Pro is also available.

F1 TV Pro is the official Formula 1 product. It includes every practice, qualifying and race session live, full archives of every race since 1981, on-board camera feeds for every driver, team radio, and live timing. National broadcasters typically only show the qualifying and race, with practice sessions sometimes available on a streaming sibling service (NOW for Sky, ESPN+ for ESPN). For serious fans, F1 TV Pro is significantly better value than any national broadcaster — but it is geo-blocked in the UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and a handful of other markets where exclusive rights have been sold. The Access tier of F1 TV ($26.99/year) does not include live race streaming but does give you access to all archive content and live timing. Useful as a low-cost companion to a national broadcaster.