The Formula 1 paddock might be bleary-eyed this weekend after an 8000 mile journey from Las Vegas to Losail, but European viewers will watch the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix well-rested with the return of afternoon sessions, after a 6am start for the Las Vegas GP.

It’s a sprint weekend too, so the competitive action starts on Friday with sprint qualifying at 5.30pm GMT — following the only practice session of the weekend at 1.30pm GMT.

Saturday then hosts the sprint at 2pm, ahead of another qualifying session at 6pm, which sets the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap Grand Prix at 4pm.

While the race for the drivers’ title is now done and dusted, with Max Verstappen clinching his fourth world championship in Las Vegas, the fight for the constructors’ title is still on, with Ferrari and McLaren separated by just 39 points. Further back, the squabble for sixth continues between RB, Haas and Alpine: just four points separates all three constructors.

Here’s how you can watch every minute of wheel-to-wheel action at the Qatar Grand Prix, including highlights:

F1 live stream and TV schedule 

All times in GMT

How to watch F1: live stream and TV details for 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

Each minute of every F1 session over the Qatar GP weekend will be broadcast live in the UK for paying subscribers.

Live TV: All on-track sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting with the only free practice session of the weekend on Friday at 1.30pm. Subscribers also have access to onboard streams from each of the 20 cars, including radio messages, allowing them to follow a favourite driver on their phone while watching the main feed on TV. The onboard streams are also available on TV, as is a ‘Battle Channel’ offering split-screen coverage of the best fights for position.

Live stream: Sky Sports F1 subscribers in the UK can watch all the running live on the Sky Go app. Now TV subscribers can also see live coverage of every session via the Sky Sports F1 channel. It also offers onboard views of each driver through in-app bonus streams for monthly subscribers. These can be viewed concurrently with the main stream on a separate screen.

Live timings are also available through the F1 app.

Highlights: Channel 4 will show highlights of the weekend, with action from each session being broadcast on the morning after the event.

Qatar GP circuit and details

Originally built as a MotoGP venue in 2004, the Losail International Circuit is quite obviously intended for racing on two wheels instead of four. The series of 16 high-speed corners require only a few moments of heavy braking and leave very little room for overtaking — forcing the emphasis upon a great qualifying session.

In 2023, the sprint pole-sitter Oscar Piastri and Grand Prix pole-sitter Max Verstappen were both able to convert their prime grid positions into victories — the latter helped by the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, which crashed into each other during the run down to Turn 1.

As Piastri and Verstappen proved, once a driver gets out in front at Losail it can be very difficult pull them back. As we’ve seen in the past, the majority of lap time can be made up in Sector 3, which begins with three top-speed left-hand corners taken flat out at over 170mph.

Overtaking opportunities are few in number, but  the greatest opportunity comes down the DRS-assisted main straight into Turn 1. With the rear wing open, cars will reach speeds approaching 200mph before slamming on the brakes and aiming to dive up the inside of the long right-handed hairpin.

If drivers can’t get their move done there, the Turn 6 hairpin provides an obvious final chance before the cars re-enter another slalom of rapid turns.

What’s the weather like in Qatar this weekend? 

Set in the desert, the Qatar Grand Prix should be free of any wet weather, with drivers and teams instead concerned with the often overwhelming heat and humidity.

In 2023, numerous drivers suffered with symptoms of heat exhaustion — Logan Sargeant was even forced to retire from Sunday’s Grand Prix. Conditions are set to be similarly harsh in 2024, with on-track temperatures set to spike to 30C even under the cover of night.

2024 Qatar GP full session times

All times in GMT