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New races are added to the Formula One calendar every year
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The 2021 F1 season runs from March through to just before Christmas
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Read below for the complete list of Formula One practice times this season
Keeping up with odds on F1 is a more complicated business than many other sports.
Travelling to all corners of the globe, Formula One fans have to battle with changing time zones throughout the year, which means F1 practice times are often different from one week to the next.
With loyal fans on every continent, Formula One’s calendar has become more and more of a world tour. From marquee sports betting online events like Monaco to soon-to-be-introduced races like Miami, the sport is going from strength to strength.
Here are the F1 practice times for the 2021 season.
Friday 26th March 2021:
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11:30am – Bahrain Grand Prix FP1
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3:00pm – Bahrain Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 27th March 2021:
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12:00pm – Bahrain Grand Prix FP3
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3:00pm – Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 28th March 2021:
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4:00pm – Bahrain Grand Prix
Friday 16th April 2021:
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10:00am – Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix FP1
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1:30pm - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 17th April 2021:
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10:00am - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix FP3
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1:00pm - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 18th April 2021:
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2:00pm - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Friday 30th April 2021:
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11:30am – Portuguese Grand Prix FP1
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3:00pm - Portuguese Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 1st May 2021:
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12:00pm - Portuguese Grand Prix FP3
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3:00pm - Portuguese Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 2nd May 2021:
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3:00pm - Portuguese Grand Prix
Friday 7th May 2021:
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10:30am – Spanish Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Spanish Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 8th May 2021:
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11:00am - Spanish Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 9th May 2021:
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2:00pm - Spanish Grand Prix
Thursday 20th May 2021:
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10:30am – Monaco Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Monaco Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 22nd May 2021:
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11:00am - Monaco Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 23rd May 2021:
- 2:00pm - Monaco Grand Prix
Friday 4th June 2021:
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9:30am – Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP1
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1:00pm - Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 5th June 2021:
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10:00am - Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3
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1:00pm - Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 6th June 2021:
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1:00pm - Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Friday 18th June 2021:
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10:30am – French Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - French Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 19th June 2021:
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11:00am - French Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - French Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 20th June 2021:
- 2:00pm - French Grand Prix
Friday 25th June 2021:
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10:30am – Styrian Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Styrian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 26th June 2021:
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11:00am - Styrian Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Styrian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 27th June 2021:
- 2:00pm - Styrian Grand Prix
Friday 2nd July 2021:
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10:30am – Austrian Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Austrian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 3rd July 2021:
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11:00am - Austrian Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 4th July 2021:
- 2:00pm - Austrian Grand Prix
Friday 16th July 2021:
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2:30pm – British Grand Prix FP1
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6:00pm – British Grand Prix Qualifying
Saturday 17th July 2021:
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12:00pm – British Grand Prix FP2
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4:30pm – British Grand Prix Sprint Race
Sunday 18th July 2021:
- 3:00pm – British Grand Prix
Friday 30th July 2021:
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10:30am – Hungarian Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Hungarian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 31st July 2021:
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11:00am - Hungarian Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 1st August 2021:
- 2:00pm - Hungarian Grand Prix
Friday 27th August 2021:
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10:30am – Belgian Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Belgian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 28th August 2021:
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11:00am - Belgian Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 29th August 2021:
- 2:00pm - Belgian Grand Prix
Friday 3rd September 2021:
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10:30am – Dutch Grand Prix FP1
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2:00pm - Dutch Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 4th September 2021:
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11:00am - Dutch Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm - Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 5th September 2021:
- 2:00pm - Dutch Grand Prix
Friday 10th September 2021:
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1:30pm – Italian Grand Prix FP1
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5:00pm - Italian Grand Prix Qualifying
Saturday 11th September 2021:
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11:00am - Italian Grand Prix FP2
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3:30pm - Italian Grand Prix Sprint Race
Sunday 12th September 2021:
- 2:00pm - Italian Grand Prix
Friday 24th September 2021:
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9:30am – Russian Grand Prix FP1
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1:00pm - Russian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 25th September 2021:
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10:00am - Russian Grand Prix FP3
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1:00pm - Russian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 26th September 2021:
- 1:00pm - Russian Grand Prix
Friday 8th October 2021:
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10:00am – Turkish Grand Prix FP1
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1:30pm – Turkish Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 9th October 2021:
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11:00am – Turkish Grand Prix FP3
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2:00pm – Turkish Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 10th October 2021:
- 1:00pm – Turkish Grand Prix
Friday 22nd October 2021:
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5:30pm – United States Grand Prix FP1
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9:00pm - United States Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 23rd October 2021:
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7:00pm - United States Grand Prix FP3
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10:00pm - United States Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 24th October 2021:
- 8:00pm - United States Grand Prix
Friday 5th November 2021:
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5:30pm – Mexican Grand Prix FP1
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9:00pm - Mexican Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 6th November 2021:
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5:00pm - Mexican Grand Prix FP3
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8:00pm - Mexican Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 7th November 2021:
- 7:00pm - Mexican Grand Prix
Friday 12th November 2021:
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2:30pm – Brazilian Grand Prix FP1
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6:00pm - Brazilian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 13th November 2021:
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3:00pm - Brazilian Grand Prix FP3
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6:00pm - Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 14th November 2021:
- 5:00pm - Brazilian Grand Prix
Friday 19th November 2021:
- Grand Prix TBC
Saturday 20th November 2021:
- Grand Prix TBC
Sunday 21st November 2021:
- Grand Prix TBC
Friday 3rd December 2021:
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12:30pm – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP1
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4:00pm - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 4th December 2021:
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1:00pm - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP3
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4:00pm - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 5th December 2021:
- 4:00pm - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Friday 10th December 2021:
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9:30am – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP1
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1:00pm - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP2
Saturday 11th December 2021:
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10:00am - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP3
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1:00pm - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday 12th December 2021:
- 1:00pm - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Does Practice Matter In F1?
Practice doesn’t count directly towards point scoring for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, but it is a vital part of a Grand Prix weekend.
It’s an opportunity for teams to learn about each of the F1 circuits. When it comes to new tracks like Zandvoort in 2021, the few hours to experiment with car setup and different tyres is a necessity for teams.
Of course, penalties can be picked up in practice which impact the race. Crashes can cause chaos for a team’s weekend too, particularly if they happen in FP3, which is just a couple of hours before qualifying on a normal weekend.
How Do I Watch F1 Practice Sessions?
British Formula One fans are able to watch every practice session, qualifying, sprint race and Grand Prix on Sky Sports’ dedicated Formula One channel.
Sky Sports have exclusive rights to live F1 until 2024. They broadcast races without adverts and have an excellent team of commentators and analysts including the legendary Martin Brundle and universally liked Ted Kravitz.
For those not looking to splash out on a Sky subscription (or NOW TV), Channel Four provides terrestrial highlights of every Formula One race.
F1 Mandatory Practice
Stefano Domenicali, Formula One’s Chief Executive, has hinted at a new rule for F1 practice. The sport is considering making it compulsory for teams to give young drivers experience in Friday practice on standard weekends.
This obviously couldn’t be implemented when there’s a sprint race, but weekends in the traditional format could see inexperienced drivers given more running on Fridays.
This would be an ideal time to get to grips with Formula One tyres and perhaps allow them to stake a claim for a permanent drive.
Some teams have handed practice sessions to young drivers of late even without this rule. Mick Schumacher was a recent example of this, making his F1 debut for Haas in FP1 at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
While the most successful F1 teams are looking to squeeze every thousandth of a second out of the car as they prepare for the race, others are more willing to look to the future and award some laps to their promising young drivers.
