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F1 Australian Grand Prix: Start Time & How to Watch Live

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6 hours ago

March 16, 2025

F1 is back! More than three months after the chequered flag fell in Abu Dhabi, we’re back for the first Grand Prix of the 2025 season.

And it’s fair to say that there have been plenty of changes in the off season. Just two of the 10 teams have the same driver lineup as in 2024 – McLaren and Aston Martin.

Of the dozens of changes, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is the headline news. Will the Briton finally be able to claim the elusive eighth title that he lost in such controversial circumstances in 2021? Reigning champion Max Verstappen, last season’s challenger Lando Norris, ex-teammate George Russell and new teammate Charles Leclerc will all have something to say about that.

With four teams potentially in the running for wins on a consistent basis, it could be one of the closest seasons ever. Here’s everything you need to know about the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia, including how to watch live from wherever you are.

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What time is the F1 Australian Grand Prix?

The F1 season begins at Albert Park in Melbourne this weekend. Here’s when the race will start:

Sunday 16 March, 3pm AEDT – 4am GMT, 12am EDT, 9pm (15 March) PDT

Before that, there’s qualifying:

Saturday 15 March, 4pm AEDT – 5am GMT, 1am EDT, 10pm (14 March) PDT

How to watch the F1 Australian Grand Prix online in the UK

Sky Sports has the full rights to F1 in the UK. It will show every practice, qualifying, sprint and race session of all 24 Grands Prix in the 2025 season.

To access Sky Sports, you have a few options. The first is by adding it to a regular Sky TV package, which offers offline access via a Sky Q box. This costs a total of £51 per month with £20 upfront on a 24-month contract.

If you don’t mind streaming, you might prefer to pair it with a Sky Stream dongle. You can get Sky TV, Netflix and Sky Sports for £35 per month on a 24-month contract.

Need a new TV? Sky Glass has Sky built-in, though it still relies on the internet for TV. However, it costs at least £14 per month with £20 upfront for 48 months, plus Sky Sports and Sky TV for an additional £35 per month.

If you don’t want to buy any new Sky hardware, it’s easier to stream via Now. This currently costs £26 per month, provided you’re happy to pay for it for at least 12 months. Otherwise, it’s £34.99 per month.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

However, it’s worth noting that the standard plan limits you to 720p resolution and streaming on only one device at a time. To get 1080p and two devices, it’s an extra £6 per month for Now Boost, while three devices and 4K requires an additional £9 per month for Ultra Boost.

How to watch the F1 Australian Grand Prix online in the US

In the US, ESPN+ is the only official F1 broadcaster. To access it, you’ll need to pay for a subscription. While it is available via cable TV, it’s much easier to pay for it on its own.

Paying $11.99 for a month’s access makes the most sense, but $119.99 gets you the channel for a full year. Alternatively, ESPN+ can be bundled with Hulu and Disney+ for $16.99 per month.

Alongside the F1, ESPN+ is also the place to watch many American football, hockey, golf and basketball matches, plus several top European football (soccer) leagues.

How to watch the F1 Australian Grand Prix for free

While ESPN+ doesn’t offer a free trial, US customers can still watch the Australian Grand Prix free of charge.

If you’ve never signed up before, you can get free trials of Fubo (seven days), DirecTV Stream (five days) or Hulu + Live TV (three days), all of which include ESPN+.

Just be sure to cancel before the free trial period ends to avoid being charged. The relevant Fubo plan costs $64.99 for the first month ($84.99 per month thereafter), while DirecTV Stream is $69.99 per month and Hulu + Live TV is $82.99 per month.

In the UK, the only way to watch F1 for free is on Channel 4, though this requires a TV license if you plan on watching live. That only applies to the British Grand Prix in 2025, with just highlights of the other races shown.

Sky

How to use a VPN to watch the F1 Australian Grand Prix

If you’re not in the same country as the TV broadcaster, you won’t be able to watch F1 online without a VPN.

Officially, neither Sky nor ESPN allow you to watch using a UK or US subscription while outside the country.

However, there is another way – using a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN makes it appear that you’re located in the same country as the broadcaster when you connect to a server in the appropriate country.

If you’re already paying, it’s worth trying to access the local site or app. We’re using NordVPN for this tutorial, but Surfshark is a popular alternative. See the full range of options in our guide to the best VPN services.