Planning 23 race weekends spread across different time zones, when and where do the F1 races happen in 2026? The 2026 Formula 1 calendar has (so far) evolved to add a new street-and-permanent hybrid circuit in Madrid, and a last-minute replacement race in Malaysia.
2026 Formula 1 Schedule At A Glance
Key 2026 F1 Calendar Facts
The 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship was originally announced as a 24-race calendar, opening in Australia on March 6th to the 8th and closing in Abu Dhabi on the first days of December. The original plan changed when, in March 2026, F1 and the FIA cancelled the Bahrain Grand Prix (April 10-12) and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (April 17-19) due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Neither race was rescheduled at the time, and the decision opened up a five-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix (March 27-29) and the Miami Grand Prix (May 1-3).
Later in the year, the F1 and the FIA, along with the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia, reached an agreement to preserve one of the two lost races from April: the Bahrain Grand Prix will now be held in Malaysia from October 2nd to 4th (slotted between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix). Unfortunately, the Saudi Arabian round was not replaced. As a result, the final 2026 season runs to 23 Grands Prix rather than the original 24.
2026 Season standings
Round 11, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, July 26, 2026:
🔼 DRIVERS' TOP 6
1. 🇮🇹 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 219 pts
2. 🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 169
3. 🇬🇧 George Russell (Mercedes) 160
4. 🇲🇨 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 138
5. 🇬🇧 Lando Norris (McLaren) 128
6. 🇳🇱 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 109
⚙️ CONSTRUCTORS' TOP 6
1. Mercedes - 379 pts
2. Ferrari - 307 pts
3. McLaren - 220 pts
4. Red Bull - 177 pts
5. Racing Bulls - pts
6. Alpine - pts
12 rounds remain after Hungary, and 291 points are still available in the Drivers' Championship and 505 in the Constructors'.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total races | 23 |
| Countries visited | 20 |
| Continents/regions | 5 (Oceania, Asia, Europe, North America, South America — Middle East rounds grouped within Asia) |
| Sprint weekends | 6 |
Full 2026 Formula 1 Race Calendar
F1 Calendar Table with time zones
Below is the full order of the 2026 season, round by round:
| Round | Grand Prix | Date | Circuit/City | Country | Time Zone Note | Sprint Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | March 6-8 | Albert Park, Melbourne | Australia | AEDT (UTC+11) | No |
| 2 | Chinese Grand Prix | March 13-15 | Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai | China | CST (UTC+8) | Yes |
| 3 | Japanese Grand Prix | March 27-29 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | Japan | JST (UTC+9) | No |
| 4 | Miami Grand Prix | May 1-3 | Miami International Autodrome, Miami Gardens | United States | EDT (UTC-4) | Yes |
| 5 | Canadian Grand Prix | May 22-24 | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal | Canada | EDT (UTC-4) | Yes |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | June 5-7 | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | Monaco | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 7 | Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona-Catalunya) | June 12-14 | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | Spain | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 8 | Austrian Grand Prix | June 26-28 | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg | Austria | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | July 3-5 | Silverstone Circuit | United Kingdom | BST (UTC+1) | Yes |
| 10 | Belgian Grand Prix | July 17-19 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | Belgium | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | July 24-26 | Hungaroring, Budapest | Hungary | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 12 | Dutch Grand Prix | August 21-23 | Circuit Zandvoort | Netherlands | CEST (UTC+2) | Yes |
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix | September 4-6 | Autodromo Nazionale Monza | Italy | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 14 | Spanish Grand Prix (Madrid) | September 11-13 | MADRING Circuit, Madrid | Spain | CEST (UTC+2) | No |
| 15 | Azerbaijan Grand Prix | September 24-26 (Saturday race) | Baku City Circuit | Azerbaijan | AZT (UTC+4) | No |
| 16 | Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia | October 2-4 | Sepang International Circuit | Malaysia | MYT (UTC+8) | No |
| 17 | Singapore Grand Prix | October 9-11 | Marina Bay Street Circuit | Singapore | SGT (UTC+8) | Yes |
| 18 | United States Grand Prix | October 23-25 | Circuit of The Americas, Austin | United States | CDT (UTC-5) | No |
| 19 | Mexico City Grand Prix | October 30-November 1 | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Mexico | CST (UTC-6) | No |
| 20 | São Paulo Grand Prix | November 6-8 | Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos | Brazil | BRT (UTC-3) | No |
| 21 | Las Vegas Grand Prix | November 19-21 (Saturday race) | Las Vegas Strip Circuit | United States | PST (UTC-8) | No |
| 22 | Qatar Grand Prix | November 27-29 | Lusail International Circuit | Qatar | AST (UTC+3) | No |
| 23 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | December 4-6 | Yas Marina Circuit | United Arab Emirates | GST (UTC+4) | No |
How To Read This Schedule
Every round on the F1 calendar lists a three-day window (usually Friday to Sunday), not a single date, collectively forming a "race weekend" that covers practice sessions, qualifying, and the Grand Prix itself. The actual race, the one that awards championship points, is only the final day of that window, and it's almost always Sunday.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix (24-26 September) and the Las Vegas Grand Prix (November 21st) are both held on Saturday, so it's worth double-checking those dates if you're planning to watch live.
All times published by F1 and by broadcasters are local to the circuit; fans must convert the local start time listed for each Grand Prix into their own time zone. Most broadcasters and the official F1 app do this automatically once you set your location. Example: A Sunday afternoon race in Singapore can fall in the middle of the night for viewers in North America or Europe.
2026 Formula 1 Season Highlights
Opening Race Of The 2026 Season
The Australian Grand Prix opened the season in Melbourne in early March, the second year in a row that the country has hosted the first race. It also marked the first competitive weekend under F1's new technical regulations: revised hybrid power units that draw roughly half their output from a battery pack and half from an internal-combustion engine running on sustainable fuel, plus new active aerodynamics.
It was also the grid debut of Cadillac as an eleventh team (Checo Perez car past the checkered flag in 16th), alongside Audi's rebrand of the former Sauber squad and Ford's return as a power-unit partner with Red Bull.
Major European Races
The European leg of the F1 calendar is where the 2026 changes are most visible. Monaco moved the race to its earliest June date since 2003, so it no longer clashed with the Indianapolis 500. The F1 summer continued as planned with a run through Barcelona, Austria's Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, and the Hungaroring. The competition in Europe continues from the end of August, with rounds at Zandvoort, then Monza, and a new round in Madrid in September.
Formula 1 Abu Dhabi: Season Finale
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit will close the season on December 4th to 6th, as it has every year since 2014. Its twilight-to-night race, run under floodlights as the desert sun sets, is one of the calendar's most expected images.
As the final round, it's often where the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships are mathematically settled, sometimes with the title still open going into the final laps. With Antonelli holding a 50-point lead over Hamilton after Hungary and 12 rounds still to run, there's a real chance the 2026 title fight is still live in December.
Abu Dhabi has hosted the Formula 1 season finale every year since 2021, when the Yas Marina Circuit hosted one of the most contested title deciders in the sport's history. Its late-year slot, floodlit night-race format, and status as the final scoring opportunity of the season make it F1's traditional "winner-takes-all" stage, even when the championship has technically already been decided elsewhere.
Abu Dhabi has hosted the Formula 1 season finale every year since 2021, when the Yas Marina Circuit hosted one of the most contested title deciders in the sport's history. Its late-year slot, floodlit night-race format, and status as the final scoring opportunity of the season make it F1's traditional "winner-takes-all" stage, even when the championship has technically already been decided elsewhere.
Formula 1 Races By Month
March
Launch of the season, China sprint
April
No races. 5-week gap
May
Miami & Canada sprints
June-August
European core, back-to-back rounds
September-December
Flyaways decide the title.
March 2026 Races
March was the season-launch phase: Australia (March 6th- 8th), China (March 13th-15th), and Japan (March 27th-29th) opened the year in quick succession, after only a short pre-season test window in Bahrain (February 11 to 13th and 18th to 20th). China's round doubles as the first sprint weekend, so teams had almost no time to settle into the new regulations before qualifying performance starts mattering twice in one weekend.
April 2026 Races
There were no Grands Prix events during April 2026, as the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds, originally scheduled for April 10th to 12th and April 17th to 19th, respectively, were cancelled since March due to the Middle East conflict, leaving a five-week gap between the Japanese GP and the Miami GP.
May 2026 Races
The season resumed with the Miami Grand Prix (May 1st - 3rd), followed three weeks later by the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal (May 22nd -24th). Both are sprint weekends, so teams entered May needing race-ready set-ups immediately, with no sprint-free warm-up race after the long April layoff.
June To August 2026 Races
June to August held the heart of the European season and its most compact stretch: Monaco (June 5-7), Barcelona-Catalunya (June 12-14), Austria (June 26-28), Britain (July 3-5), Belgium (July 17-19), Hungary (July 24-26), and, after a longer August break, the Netherlands resumed the activities (August 21-23).
Several of these are near-consecutive weekends, so back-to-back European rounds, plus a sprint at Silverstone, put a premium on reliability and quick turnarounds.
September To December 2026 Races
The final third of the season will go global again. September opens with Monza (September 4th to 6th) and Madrid's debut (September 11th to 13th), the last European stops.
From this point, there is a run of long-haul flyaways. This stretch typically decides both championships, since there's little room left to recover from a costly weekend. Azerbaijan (September 24-26, on a Saturday), the new Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia (October 2-4), and Singapore (October 9-11, a sprint weekend), followed by a North and South American swing through the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, before Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi close the season on December 4-6.
Which Circuits Host The 2026 Formula 1 Races?
Street Circuits vs Permanent Circuits
Formula 1 circuits generally fall into two categories. Permanent circuits, like Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, and Monza, are purpose-built racetracks used year-round for multiple motorsport series.
Street circuits, like Monaco, Baku, Singapore, and Las Vegas, run on public roads that are closed and converted into a track for race weekend only, which usually means narrower lines, barriers close to the track, and a heavier reliance on safety cars.
The new Madrid circuit sits in between: built around the IFEMA exhibition centre, it combines street sections and permanent sections in a single 5.47km, roughly 20-turn layout, similar in concept to Miami's hybrid design.
Monaco's street circuit is so tight that F1 cars typically lap it more than 20 seconds slower than they would lap a similarly short permanent circuit; yet it remains one of the most prestigious races on the calendar precisely because of that challenge.
Return Of Classic Venues
The 2026 F1 calendar keeps most of the sport's historic anchor races. Monaco remains the most iconic street race, now run in its earliest-ever June slot, dating back to 2003.
Silverstone, site of the first-ever World Championship race in 1950, continues to host the British Grand Prix. Monza, nicknamed the "Temple of Speed," keeps its early-September date as Italy's sole round now that Imola has left the calendar.
New or Changed Venues for the 2026 F1 season
Madrid is the headline change; Spain has two Grands Prix in the same season for the first time: the Spanish Grand Prix, held in September, moved to the new MADRING circuit under a long-term deal running from 2026 to 2035, while Barcelona kept its own separate race in June.
As mentioned, Monaco's 2026 date was moved from late May to early June (5th-7th) to avoid clashing with the Indianapolis 500. And most unusually, the Bahrain Grand Prix relocated entirely: after the original April race in Sakhir was cancelled, F1, the FIA, and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia agreed to hold the event, rebranded as "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia" at Sepang on October 2nd-4th, making it the first F1 race there since 2017.
Important 2026 F1 Schedule Notes
Are All 2026 Formula 1 Race Dates Final?
This calendar is confirmed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council and published on Formula1.com, including the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the agreement finalised in July 2026.
This season has shown that F1 calendars can change on short notice when regional security situations shift, so fans planning travel to the remaining flyaway rounds should check the official F1 schedule page close to each event.
How Many Formula 1 Races Are In 2026?
The 2025 season ran to 24 rounds, so 2026 is, for the moment, one race shorter. The 2026 season features 23 Grands Prix, down from the 24 originally announced in December 2025, after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was cancelled without a replacement and the Bahrain Grand Prix was relocated to Malaysia rather than dropped entirely.
Are There Sprint Weekends In 2026?
Six sprint weekends were confirmed for the F1 2026 season: China, Miami, Canada, British, Dutch, and Singapore Grands Prix. A sprint weekend compresses the schedule: instead of two practice sessions before qualifying, there's one practice session, a separate sprint qualifying session, a short Saturday sprint race that awards its own points, and standard qualifying for the Grand Prix later that day.
The Sunday race and its points are unaffected by the sprint result, but a strong or poor sprint can shape tyre strategy heading into the main event.
| Round | Grand Prix | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Chinese Grand Prix | March 13-15 |
| 4 | Miami Grand Prix | May 1-3 |
| 5 | Canadian Grand Prix | May 22-24 |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | July 3-5 |
| 12 | Dutch Grand Prix | August 21-23 |
| 17 | Singapore Grand Prix | October 9-11 |
How The 2026 Formula 1 Schedule Compares To 2025
Calendar Changes Year-Over-Year
The most visible change between 2025 and 2026 is Madrid replacing Imola: the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was not extended beyond its 2025 contract, opening a slot that Madrid's new MADRING circuit filled from September 2026.
As mentioned, Monaco's slot also moved from late May to early June. The biggest and most sudden disruption in the in-season was the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, and Bahrain's relocation to Malaysia, making 2026 the first season in years to see a Grand Prix change host country entirely mid-cycle rather than drop off the schedule.
What Changed For Fans: 2025 vs. 2026 Schedule Highlights
| Aspect | 2025 Season | 2026 Season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Grands Prix | 24 | 23 | 2026 dropped from an originally planned 24 to 22 after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs were cancelled, then rose to 23 once Malaysia was confirmed as a substitute host for the Bahrain GP. |
| Opening race | Australian GP (Melbourne) | Australian GP (Melbourne) | Second consecutive season opening in Australia. |
| Season finale | Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina) | Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina) | Abu Dhabi has closed the season every year since 2021. |
| Imola (Emilia Romagna GP) | On calendar | Dropped | Not extended beyond its 2025 contract; replaced in the European slot by Madrid. |
| Spanish Grand Prix venue | Barcelona-Catalunya only | Barcelona-Catalunya AND Madrid (MADRING) | First season with two Spanish Grands Prix; Madrid debuts September 11-13 under a 2026-2035 deal. |
| Monaco Grand Prix date | Late May | Early June (June 5-7) | Moved to avoid clashing with the Indianapolis 500; earliest June date since 2003. |
| Bahrain Grand Prix | Sakhir | Bahrain (April) | Sepang, Malaysia (October). Original Sakhir race cancelled due to Middle East conflict; relocated to Sepang as the 'Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia,' the first F1 race there since 2017. |
| Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Jeddah (April) | Cancelled | not replaced. 2026 due to regional conflict; no substitute venue found. Cancelled in March 2026 due to regional conflict; no substitute venue found. |
| Sprint weekends | Six (varied venues) | Six: China, Miami, Canada, Britain, Netherlands, Singapore | Consistent number of sprint weekends year-over-year. |
| Notable schedule gap | No comparable mid-season gap | Five-week gap between Japan (Mar 27-29) and Miami (May 1-3) | |
| Dutch Grand Prix | On calendar | On calendar (final confirmed year) | 2026 is the last year confirmed for Zandvoort under its current agreement. |
References
- Formula 1 reveals calendar for 2026 season – Formula1.com. Available at: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/formula-1-reveals-calendar-for-2026-season.YctbMZWqBvrgyddrnauo8 (Accessed: August 2026).
- F1 confirms cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar reduced to 22 races – Sky Sports (2026, March). Available at: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13519453/f1-confirms-cancellation-of-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-reduced-to-22-races (Accessed: August 2026).
- FIA and FOM confirm that Malaysia will join the 2026 calendar, as host venue for the Bahrain Grand Prix – FIA.com (2026, July). Available at: https://www.fia.com/news/fia-and-fom-confirm-malaysia-will-join-2026-calendar-host-venue-bahrain-grand-prix (Accessed: August 2026).
- F1 Standings after the Hungarian Grand Prix — 2026 driver and team tables – Total Motorsport (2026, July). Available at: https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-2026-driver-team-standings-after-hungary/ (Accessed: August 2026).
- 2026 F1 Calendar | Schedule, start times & results – RacingNews365 (2026, February). Available at: https://racingnews365.com/f1/calendar/2026 (Accessed: August 2026).
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