F1 fans, start your engines. The 2024 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix. The 16th Grand Prix of the 2024 F1 season will take place at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The official race starts at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 1, but the action on the track kicks off with practices as early as Friday, Aug. 30. Whether you’ve already got some miles on you as a Formula 1 fan, or the Grand Prix in Italy will be your first time tuning into the action on the track, watching or streaming this wildly popular international sport from the US can be a challenge. If you don’t want to have to race to find the Italian Grand Prix on TV, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to watch the F1 races this weekend.
How to watch the F1 Italian Grand Prix:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024
Time: 8:55 a.m. ET
Location: Autodromo Nazionale Monza
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+, F1 TV Pro, DirecTV Stream
What channel is the F1 Italian Grand Prix on?
Italy’s Grand Prix will air live on ESPN and stream on ESPN+. ESPN is the home of F1 this season with 18 out of 24 races airing on either ESPN or ABC, and the remainder airing on ESPN2. 16 races will stream on ESPN+ in 2024 (including this weekend’s race).
For cord-cutters who want to watch F1 racing, including this weekend’s grand prix, we recommend a live TV streaming service such as Hulu’s live TV bundle, which includes ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. If you’re looking for a lower-cost subscription, a direct subscription to ESPN+ is an affordable option for fans of all kinds of sports. If you’re only interested in watching F1 racing and don’t care about the ability to watch other sports, an F1 TV Pro subscription is a simple way to stream every race, practice and qualifier.
How to watch F1 in the USA without cable:
(F1 TV)
An F1 TV Pro subscription lets you stream every F1 race live, plus all the practices, qualifying races and pre-race shows. F1 TV is also home to F1’s post-race live shows, analysis, Tech Talks, documentaries and the official F1 archive. You can subscribe to F1 TV Pro for $10.99/month or pay $85 for the entire season.
(ESPN+)
The Austrian Grand Prix will stream on ESPN+. An ESPN+ subscription grants you access to exclusive ESPN+ content including live events, fantasy sports tools and premium ESPN+ articles. You can stream ESPN+ through an app on your smart TV, phone, tablet, computer and on ESPN.com.
How to stream F1 for free from the US
Don’t want to deal with racing to find F1 coverage across ESPN platforms for every Grand Prix? We’ve got a hack for you. Some residents in Europe are able to watch free F1 livestreams of every Grand Prix in 2024 on the free-to-stream platform Servus TV. If you live in America, you can still tune into this free livestream with the help of a VPN.
A VPN (virtual private network) helps protect your data, can mask your IP address and is perhaps most popular for being especially useful in the age of streaming. Whether you’re looking to watch Friends on Netflix (which left the U.S. version of the streamer back in 2019) or tune in to the F1 race this weekend without a cable package, a VPN can help you out. Looking to try a VPN for the first time? This guide breaks down the best VPN options for every kind of user.
(ExpressVPN)
ExpressVPN offers “internet without borders,” meaning you can tune into an Austrian livestream of the race as opposed to paying for ESPN or ESPN+ for US coverage of F1. All you’ll need to do is sign up for ExpressVPN, change your server location and then find the free F1 livestream.
ExpressVPN’s added protection, speed and range of location options make it an excellent choice for first-time VPN users looking to stretch their streaming abilities, plus, it’s Engadget’s top pick for the best streaming VPN. New users can save 49% when they sign up for ExpressVPN’s 12-month subscription. Plus, the service offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you’re nervous about trying a VPN.
More ways to watch F1 for free this weekend:
Italian Grand Prix schedule:
All times Eastern
Friday, Aug. 30
Practice 1: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Practice 2: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 31
Practice 3: 6:30 – 7:30 a.m.
Qualifying: 10-11 a.m.
Sunday, Sept. 1
Italian Grand Prix race: 9 a.m. (ESPN, ESPN+, F1 TV)