How to watch the 2024 F1 Austrian Grand Prix: start time, live stream and TV schedule

F1 heads to Spielberg for an action-packed weekend, courtesy of a sprint race, giving you plenty to watch in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. The incresingly competitive battle at the front and the chance of rain, should all add to the unpredictability and spectacle of the 11th round of the year.

Set beneath the picturesque Styrian mountain range, the Red Bull Ring regularly serves up heated battles on its short 2.6-mile layout with the raucous support of Max Verstappen’s orange army creating a phenomenal atmosphere. UK viewers should be able to catch every minute of racing action via subscription with every session available to watch from as early as 11am each day. Channel 4 will also be broadcasting highlights of the weekend.

Given the form that we saw in two closely-fought races in Spain and Canada, all eight drivers from Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari will spy a chance of victory at the Austrian GP. But should the form book provide any sort of insight, the home team will be the one to beat.

Not only has Max Verstappen won three out of the last four races — despite not always having the fastest car — but he has also often been unmatched around Spielberg, with victories in 2018, 2019, twice in 2021 when the circuit hosted both the Austrian and Styrian GP, and 2023. But he’s not the only current frontrunner to have succeeded here: Charles Leclerc‘s Ferrari was the class of the field in 2022; Lewis Hamilton took victories in 2016 and 2020; and Lando Norris secured his first ever podium in 2020 — a feat he repeated again in 2021 and 2023. Could similar performances in 2024 put a dent in Red Bull’s winning-momentum?

With two qualifying sessions, two races and the prospect of a wet race, the Austrian GP won’t be one you want to miss.

Austrian Grand Prix live stream and TV schedule 

All times in BST

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

Each minute of every F1 session will be broadcast live in the UK, for paying subscribers only.

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 11.30am. 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 Sky Sports F1. 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 available through the F1 app.

Highlights: Channel 4 will show highlights of the weekend, with action from Friday’s sprint qualifying session, Saturday’s sprint race and grand prix qualifying session as well as Sunday’s 71-lap Grand Prix available to watch later on the following days of each event.

Red Bull Ring circuit and details

Fans still mourn the loss of the thrilling but perilous Österreichring, carved out of the Alpine scenery, which hosted its last race in 1987. Now shortened and — in the words of John Watson — emasculated, today’s Red Bull Ring can’t match the challenge of the majestic old layout, but still compares well to the circuits on the modern F1 calendar.

Since returning to the calendar in 1997, Jacques Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost have been victorious here but none have been more successful than Verstappen – who has stood on the top step of the podium five times in his last nine visits.

Three back-to-back DRS zones means racing is kept close through the first two sectors, with major overtaking opportunities at Turn 1, Turn 3 and Turn 4 — although attempting a pass at the latter is risky, as we saw from contact between George Russell and Sergio Perez in 2022; Lando Norris and Sergio Perez in 2021; and Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon in 2020.

The final sector is composed of high-speed corners, making it a common site for track-limit violations. Last year, Fernando Alonso and George Russell were the only drivers to escape from the Austrian GP without a track-limit infringement, with 11 receiving warnings and the remaining seven given time penalties. The final two turns will be ones to watch during the qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday afternoon, as drivers will often carry huge amounts of speed into the corners in a desperate attempt to find time — but can run off the track and lose their lap altogether as a result.

The current weekend forecast is mainly sunny — meaning both Friday and Saturday’s sessions should run in optimum conditions. But with a chance of thunderstorms on Sunday, who knows what the Grand Prix will bring?

2024 Austrian Grand Prix full session times

All times in BST