Watching F1 live from anywhere sounds easier in theory than in practice. In theory, you can just pay for an expensive sports-streaming channel and call it a day. However, not many people can afford such a luxury, which brings us to free channels that stream Formula 1 live.
Today’s guide will be detailed. If you’re an avid racing fan, consider yourself welcome. We’ll explain how to watch F1 live for free anywhere in the world. Moreover, we’ll review a few paid channels and see if paying for them makes any sense.
This is your Formula 1 livestream bible, so pay close attention to everything we say. Whether you’re reading this at the start of the season or near its end, it doesn’t matter. It’s never too late to sit back and enjoy the fiercest races across the world.
Free Channels for Formula 1 Live Streaming
In a very recent guide, our team explained how to watch Wimbledon for free anywhere. We said that you’ll easily find English-speaking channels like BBC or 9Now. Unfortunately, watching F1 races for free is a bit different in terms of language.
After examining dozens of channels, our team found that English-speaking ones aren’t free. They’re ludicrously expensive. However, we found two very free TV channels that stream Formula 1 live. They are:
- RTBF (Belgium)
- SRF / RTS (Switzerland)
These two are the official broadcasters of the entire season. As a result, you can use them to stream all F1 races for free online. We also found a few more, mostly European options, alas, with no complete coverage of all races and events. So, what’s the catch?
RTBF and SRF/RTS are available only in Belgium and Switzerland respectively. These two are also not in English, so expect Belgian or Swiss commentary while watching the races. The good news is that both offer Full HD footage of the Formula 1 live stream, so quality isn’t lacking.
Nevertheless, you can still watch F1 live for free on RTBF and SRF by unblocking them. Users online often use a VPN service, which works by changing the IP address, and by extension, the online location of a user. It now makes more sense.
Once people alter their IP address to the respective country, more content becomes available. We know most of you will argue that VPNs aren’t free and you’d be right. However, the trick we’ll show you can potentially be free with the right VPN service.
How to Watch Formula 1 for Free Online?
People online frequently use NordVPN to access blocked websites. This provider comes with unlimited traffic, servers in Belgium/Switzerland, fast speeds, and apps for all devices. Using such a VPN service with these qualities, be it NordVPN or another one, turns out to be vital.
As explained briefly, a VPN like this can connect you to an intermediary server in another country and assign you another IP address. This makes RTBF, SRF, or any other channels accessible worldwide. NordVPN is a premium provider, making it hard to avoid payment at the start.
However, the service also offers a non-conditional 30-day money-back guarantee. This allows the user to get the VPN, use it to stream F1 live on a free channel, and get a full refund as soon as everything is done. This means the VPN costs nothing.
Try NordVPN Risk-Free for 30 days
Coupled with an already free channel you’re using, the entire trick doesn’t cost a dollar. In this guide, we’ll see how to enjoy Formula 1 live streaming with NordVPN but rest assured, all remotely good providers with Belgian/Swiss servers will work fine.
- Subscribe to a VPN service. NordVPN works well and offers a 59% to 70% discount for its 2-year plans.
- Download and install the VPN to your device. Every device will work, including Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Smart TVs, and so on.
- Open the VPN app and sign in with your email and password from Step 1.
- Connect to a server in Belgium to unblock RTBF or in Switzerland to unblock SRF.
- Go to RTBF (https://auvio.rtbf.be/) or SRF (https://www.srf.ch/play/tv) and make a free account – it takes 30 seconds. Note that this is only needed on RTBF Auvio.
- Watch Formula 1 live on a selected free channel.
We said that this workaround is free but to make it cost nothing, you’ll need to get a refund from NordVPN. That can be done by contacting its support team and requesting it in the first 30 days. It’s a no-quibble process, so you’ll get your refund promptly (the same day).
Are there any viable alternatives to NordVPN? If for any reason you’re not satisfied with this service, feel free to check out ExpressVPN, or even Private Internet Access.
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Paid Channels That Broadcast Formula 1 Online
RTBF and SRF are excellent because they offer amazing-quality F1 live streams, on top of which, they’re 100% free. However, they lack English commentary, which might put some people off. If this is a big deal, perhaps, consider paid channels instead.
Let’s go through them and see how much they’ll cost you.
Streaming F1 Live in the UK
Starting with the United Kingdom, there are a few channels we’d like to mention. The first is Channel 4 and its Channel 4+ video-on-demand service. It’s a great channel to have because of its extensive F1 coverage but it costs £3.99 a month or £39.99 for the first year.
The problem is that it offers a short 7-day free trial in both cases, which isn’t enough for F1 live streaming and watching multiple events. People in the UK can also use Sky Sports, which, like Channel 4, also works in Ireland. It’s more expensive, at £15 to £20 a month.
Be aware that these prices are in British Pounds, not in American Dollars. The most pressing issue with both is that they’re region-locked to the UK and Ireland. If you’re abroad, you’ll still need a VPN to access them (see our article on how to access Sky Sports in the US), which complicates things further.
Formula 1 Live Streaming in the USA
Okay, so Americans have the largest selection of platforms to choose from. All of them will stream F1 live in Full HD but come with a hefty price tag. The first is ESPN+, which comes at $10.99 a month. It’s, in fact, affordable compared to Hulu + Live TV at $76.99 a month.
Another platform we’d like to mention is YouTube TV, which is well-suited for watching Formula 1 live in Full HD. However, its whopping price of $72.99 a month won’t do your bank account any good. We then have fuboTV and Sling TV as well-known choices.
fuboTV costs $59.99 a month, while Sling TV and its Blue package come at $20 a month. The key factor to notice is that all these platforms cost way more than NordVPN whose price is around $3.5 a month. Hulu + Live TV costs TWENTY times more!
In addition, all of them are geo-restricted to the USA. Even if you’re abroad and you’re using a reputable VPN service, you must have a US-based payment method to pay for them. This means they’ll be non-functional overseas, making them great only for US residents.
Where to Watch F1 Live in Australia
Let’s talk about Australian channels. This country’s residents can enjoy this sports event on Foxtel. The great thing about Foxtel is that it broadcasts all F1 races live, including practices, qualifying races, and main races. Foxtel works only in Australia, so keep that in mind.
Users abroad can access it with a VPN but they’ll likely need an Australian payment method to subscribe. The subscription is a lot expensive too, starting at $70 a month for Foxtel Plus. Foxtel Sport, which streams Formula 1 live, costs a whopping $100 a month.
Kayo Sports is another option but bear in mind it streams only the Australian Grand Prix. Worse yet, Kayo Sports is a premium platform and costs $25 a month. Finally, there’s Network Ten which occasionally broadcasts some races, so it’s not the best choice.
Channels for F1 Streaming in Canada
Canadian residents don’t have many options. They surely don’t have a free channel that broadcasts Formula 1. Instead, they can rely on TSN, which costs $19.99 a month, and fuboTV we already mentioned, which costs the same – $59.99 a month.
Bear in mind that fuboTV also works in Spain. These channels, like all other paid options we discussed, don’t have long trial periods or a money-back guarantee. Again, their region-locked status is valid, so people abroad must connect to a VPN service to access them.
As you can see, paid channels don’t make much sense compared to a wallet-friendly VPN. VPNs aren’t too expensive either way, so even if you don’t get a refund from them, you’ll end up paying way less and still being able to watch all races of Formula 1 live.
At $3.5 (give or take) a month, NordVPN is 3 to 20+ times cheaper than paid and still geo-restricted channels for this purpose.
Other Free Channels for Streaming Formula 1 Live
If you’re looking for more options to watch these heart-pounding F1 races, we’ll go over a few more 100% free TV channels. Unlike RTBF and SRF, some of them don’t stream all races, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to get an entire season coverage.
- Network Ten. As mentioned, it’s a free TV channel from Australia that streams only the Australian Grand Prix.
- Play Sports and Telenet. These are alternatives to RTBF that will also broadcast F1.
- Fuji TV. This is a famous F1 broadcaster in Japan that you can use to watch all races. As it’s a Japanese TV channel, you’ll also need a Japanese IP address to access it.
- ServusTV and ORF. Two free TV channels from Austria for watching the 12 main races for free, as long as you’re in Austria or have an Austrian IP address with the help of a VPN.
- Tencent Sports/Video/News, CCTV, and QQ. All three are free Chinese TV channels that cover this sport completely, with all races during the year.
If none of these channels are in your country, you can still use a VPN, get an IP address from their respective countries, and start watching.
Watching F1 Live With a Free VPN: Will It Work?
The point of this guide wasn’t to shove the VPN down your throat. However, you clearly see that such a service is needed for accessing geo-blocked free channels that stream F1. When it comes to free providers, we must be honest and say they’ll work to an extent.
There are, however, many other issues you must count on. These providers usually limit your bandwidth and speed, making them unsuitable for watching content in HD, Full HD, or Ultra HD. Another problem is the lack of servers in specific countries.
We deem Proton VPN the #1 free VPN right now. While it’s unlimited bandwidth-wise, this provider has no servers in Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, Japan, and so on. This means you won’t be able to access the aforementioned free channels.
If you want more servers, you have to use TunnelBear which offers thousands of them in around 50 countries for free. Unfortunately, it’s limited to 2 GB of monthly bandwidth, which is hardly enough to start watching a warm-up race, let alone an entire Grand Prix.
The only way to go about it is to use a premium service for free. NordVPN has been proven to work, especially with its 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans. Alternatively, you can try ExpressVPN with the same advantage often praised by many racing fans online.
Formula 1 2024 Schedule Explained
Before we pack our bags and call it a day, let’s go over the full Formula 1 live stream schedule for 2024.
- Bahrain GP – March 2nd
- Saudi Arabia GP – March 9th
- Australia GP – March 24th
- Japan GP – April 7th
- China GP – April 21st
- Miami (US) GP – May 5th
- Emilia-Romagna (Italy) GP – May 19th
- Monaco GP – May 26th
- Canada GP – June 9th
- Spain GP – June 23th
- Austria GP – June 30th
- UK GP – July 7th
- Hungary GP – July 21st
- Belgium GP – July 28th
- Netherlands GP – August 25th
- Monza (Italy) GP – September 1st
- Azerbaijan GP – September 15th
- Singapore GP – September 22nd
- Austin (US) GP – October 20th
- Mexico GP – October 27th
- Brazil GP – November 3rd
- Las Vegas (US) GP – November 24th
- Qatar GP – December 1st
- Abu Dhabi GP – December 8th
Summary
Racing fans cherish the March-to-December period of the year because it’s filled with exciting F1 races. Thankfully, all of them are available on 100% free channels like RTBF and SRF, so you won’t have to worry about missing a single moment.
You can watch Formula 1 for free with a provider like NordVPN, which has hundreds of quality servers in Belgium and Switzerland. Such a provider also has hundreds more countries, helping you unblock other TV channels that broadcast this event.
If some of these free channels are in your country, you’re lucky because you don’t need a VPN or any IP-changing tools. However, even if you need to change your IP, it’s good to know it’s risk-free thanks to a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Oh, and besides, even if you don’t get a refund, NordVPN turned out to be way more affordable than paid channels. At the very least, we helped you save hundreds of dollars while also reaping other VPN-related benefits, such as online safety and security.