Tipped to be one of the tightest season Formula One seasons in recent times, the drivers get the 2025 campaign underway Down Under this weekend with the Australian GP.
While Max Verstappen won his third consecutive F1 Drivers’ Championship last year, Red Bull’s downturn in results during the second half of the 2024 season suggests a more open battle for the title this time out.
That view appears to have been backed up by how preseason testing panned out in Bahrain last month. McLaren showed it has the fastest car coming into the new season, and Lando Norris is backed by the bookies as the favorite to win this weekend’s race.
The main race takes place at Albert Park on Sunday, March 16, at 3 p.m. AEDT local time in Melbourne, which is 4 a.m. GMT in the UK. In the US and Canada, it’s a midnight ET and 9 p.m. PT start on Saturday night. The race will air in the US on ESPN and ESPN Plus.
The entire race weekend, including practice sessions and qualifying, will be shown in the US on ESPN’s family of TV and streaming networks. Folks looking to follow all of it will need access to the ABC and ESPN news channels on cable or live TV streaming services, or the ESPN Plus streaming service. We’ve broken down everything you need to know, including how to use a VPN, to stream today’s race, and all the other F1 races this season.
Sunday’s race sees Lewis Hamilton makes his GP debut as a Ferrari driver, with the British star hoping to win his eighth Drivers’ Championship.
Livestream the Australian GP in the US
Every Formula One race during the 2025 season is scheduled to be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. All practice and qualifying sessions and all F1 Sprint events will also be broadcast. This race will be broadcast on ESPN.
Selected races will stream on ESPN Plus, which will feature two alternate streams for all races (Driver Tracker and mixed onboard cameras).
How to watch the Australian GP online from anywhere with a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view Formula One action locally, you may need a different way to watch the games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
How to livestream the Australian GP in the UK
F1 in the UK is shown on Sky Sports and Channel 4. Sky Sports airs the races, practice rounds and qualifying, while free-to-air Channel 4 offers highlights that broadcast after the day’s action. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the race via its app, but cord-cutters can watch Sky TV with unlimited Sky Sports on a Now TV membership.
Livestream the Australian GP in Canada
Canadian F1 fans can watch every GP this season, including this race, on TSN and its streaming service, TSN Plus. Existing TSN cable subscribers can also watch at no extra charge using the details of their TV provider.
Livestream the Australian GP in Australia
Grands Prix can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for the streaming service Kayo Sports.
When, where and what time are the races?
Races are usually held on Sundays and are typically spaced two weeks apart. Here’s the entire schedule.
DateGrand PrixCircuitStart time (ET) March 16 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park Circuit12 a.m.March 23 Chinese Grand PrixShanghai International Circuit3 a.m.April 6 Japanese Grand PrixSuzuka International Racing Course1 a.m.April 13 Bahrain Grand PrixBahrain International Circuit11 a.m.April 20 Saudi Arabian Grand PrixJeddah Corniche Circuit1 p.m.May 4 Miami Grand PrixMiami International Autodrome4 p.m.May 18 Emilia-Romagna Grand PrixImola Circuit9 a.m.May 25 Monaco Grand PrixCircuit de Monaco9 a.m.June 1 Spanish Grand PrixCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya9 a.m.June 15 Canadian Grand PrixCircuit Gilles Villeneuve2 p.m.June 29 Austrian Grand PrixRed Bull Ring9 a.m.July 6 British Grand PrixSilverstone Circuit10 a.m.July 27 Belgian Grand PrixCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps9 a.m.Aug. 3 Hungarian Grand PrixHungaroring9 a.m.Aug. 31 Dutch Grand PrixCircuit Zandvoort9 a.m.Sept. 7 Italian Grand PrixMonza Circuit9 a.m.Sept. 21 Azerbaijan Grand PrixBaku City Circuit7 a.m.Oct. 5 Singapore Grand PrixMarina Bay Street Circuit8 a.m.Oct. 19 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas3 p.m.Oct. 26 Mexico City Grand PrixAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez4 p.m.Nov. 9 São Paulo Grand PrixInterlagos Circuit12 p.m.Nov. 22 Las Vegas Grand PrixLas Vegas Strip Circuit11 p.m.Nov. 30 Qatar Grand PrixLusail International Circuit11 a.m.Dec. 7 Abu Dhabi Grand PrixYas Marina Circuit8 a.m.
Quick tips for streaming the Australian GP using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming F1 races may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases, with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. Having a VPN on your router will also help since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
