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The third race of the F1 2026 season will take place this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.<\/p>\n
Mercedes has finished in the top two places for the opening two races of the season with one race victory each for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n
Japanese Grand Prix 2026: How to watch<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Mercedes is some way ahead of a resurgent Ferrari and last year\u2019s struggling champions McLaren and will be favourites to take pole position in Japan.<\/p>\n The weekend will not include a sprint race this time around and that means all eyes will be on three practice sessions, one qualifying and then the race itself on Sunday.<\/p>\n How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix<\/p>\n Fans in the UK can watch all the action using a Sky Sports F1 subscription. The F1 channel can be added to your existing Sky subscription here.<\/a><\/p>\n US fans can watch the race completely free by using an Apple TV free trial.<\/a><\/p>\n Apple TV has the rights to the F1 season for the first time and it is offering a free seven-day trial to anybody who has not yet signed up for a subscription.<\/p>\n If you have already used your free trial in the US you can watch the race by signing up to Apple TV here.<\/a><\/p>\n Japanese Grand Prix: Practice, qualifying and race times<\/p>\n The first practice takes place on Friday March 27 (UK time) at 2:30am, followed by second practice at a more reasonable 6am-7am. The third practice will be at 2:30am on March 28.<\/p>\n Qualifying will begin at 6am on Saturday March 28 and the race itself will be at 6am UK time on Sunday March 29.<\/p>\n In the US, first practice begins on March 27 at 19:30 PDT and 22:30 ET on the previous day (March 26).<\/p>\n Practice two will be held at 23:00 \u2013 00:00 PDT on March 27 and 02:00 \u2013 03:00 EDT, which will be March 26.<\/p>\n Third practice takes place on March 28 from 19:30 \u2013 20:30 PDT and 22:30 \u2013 23:30 ET on the previous day.<\/p>\n Qualifying will be 23:00 \u2013 00:00 PDT on Saturday March 28 and 02:00 \u2013 03:00 EDT on March 27.<\/p>\n Finally, the race will take place at 22:00 PDT on Sunday March 28, or 01:00 EDT on Saturday March 27.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n