F1 is here: How to watch and stream the 2024 Bahrain GP

F1 returns for the first race of the 2024 season. And even though the season hasn’t officially started yet, the drama is already heating up. There have been changes to the driver line-up, most notably Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari for 2025 after 11 years with the team.

Last season, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, with Red Bull winning by a huge margin of 451 points and Verstappen winning by a margin of 290 points. After the pre-season test in which each team takes their 2024 contenders to the track for the first time, all eyes will be on whether the championship winning team will return to the podium this year.

Red Bull will be in the spotlight this weekend for a different reason. Earlier this month, allegations of inappropriate behavior against one of Red Bull’s employees were made against team principal Christian Horner. He has denied the charges, and an internal investigation cleared him this week. Other leaders in the sport, including Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, have questioned the findings.

Fans of the sport will be keeping an eye on what has been dubbed the “Curse of Bahrain”, where the team that wins the first race of the season is destined for second place in the constructors’ championship. (Indeed, Red Bull proved this wrong in 2023.) After each team debuted their cars on track for the first time last weekend, this weekend’s race marks the first of each team’s 2024 model year. It will be a real test.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will follow the traditional weekend race format, with three practice sessions on Thursday and Friday, qualifying on Friday and the race on Saturday. It is important to note that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs will be held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday, in honor of the holy month of Ramadan.

The main race to be held is Saturday, March 2 at 9:55 a.m. ET (6:55 a.m. PT) It will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The race will be broadcast on ESPN.

In the United States, the entire race weekend, including practice sessions and qualifying, will be shown on ESPN’s television and streaming network. Those who want to follow it all should visit his ABC and ESPN News channels on cable or live TV streaming services, or the ESPN Plus streaming service. We’ve put together everything you need to know to stream today’s race and every other F1 race this season.

When, where and what time does the race take place?

Races are held on Sundays and are usually held two weeks apart. The entire schedule is as follows.

Best option for streaming in the US

How to watch F1 online from anywhere with a VPN

If you can’t watch the race locally, you may need to find another way to watch it. In that case, using a VPN comes in handy. A VPN is also the best way to prevent your ISP from throttling your speed on race day by encrypting your traffic. It’s also great if you find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network while traveling and want to add extra functionality. Get even more privacy for your devices and logins.

A VPN allows you to virtually change location and access games on your phone, tablet, or laptop. Most VPNs, such as our Editor’s Choice ExpressVPN, make this very easy.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in countries where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK, and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming from. You need to make sure your VPN is configured correctly to prevent leaks. Even if the VPN is legal, streaming services may suspend the accounts of users deemed to be circumventing properly applied blackout restrictions.

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Live stream of F1 races in the UK

British F1 will be broadcast on Sky Sports and Channel 4 — Sky Sports will broadcast races, practice rounds and qualifying, while free-to-air Channel 4 will provide post-match highlights of the day. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the race through that app, while cord cutters can watch Sky TV with unlimited Sky Sports with a Now TV membership.

UK residents will need Sky Sports to watch the 2024 F1 race. If you subscribe to Sky, you can get a complete sports package for £22 to watch the race.

Cord cutters can also choose Now TV’s £35 per month package to watch unlimited Sky Sports.

More options for streaming without cable in the US

In addition to ESPN Plus, a number of live TV streaming services carry F1 channels. Race weekends typically begin with multiple practice runs on Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday. The race itself will be held on Sunday. ESPN typically broadcasts practices and qualifying on a combination of ESPN 2 and ESPNews, and races tend to be broadcast on ESPN. His F1 events in North America are often held on ABC.

Here are some of the best ways to watch the entire race weekend without cable.