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F1 live streams are back for 2022, and if this year is even half as exciting as last, you’ll be in for a treat. And based on qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, we could be in for another classic.
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The 2021 battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will go down in legend as one of the best of all F1 title contests, even if the denouement left a bad taste in some people’s mouth.
Whether we get a repeat of that rivalry this year is starting to look a little unlikely, though, because Red Bull appear to be way ahead of Mercedes and in fact it’s Ferrari who could well be the strongest challengers.
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They’ll start first and third on the grid, with Charles Leclerc on pole and Verstappen alongside him. Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari will line up in third alongside the second Red Bull, Sergio Perez, in fourth.
So where are Mercedes? Down in fifth (Hamilton) and ninth (George Russell). It’s a result that confirms what we’d already seen in pre-season testing and the three practice sessions, namely that Mercedes could be in for a tough season.
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Whatever happens, there’s every reason to think that 2022 will be just as exciting as last. As is usually the case, there have been driver changes aplenty during the close season, although no new teams this year.
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George Russell was seemingly the biggest beneficiary of the annual driver merry-go-round, swapping lowly Williams for might Mercedes. But he ended up qualifying behind the man he replaced, Valtteri Bottas, who appears to have got lucky and joined Alfa Romeo just as they became competitive. He’s sixth on the grid.
Bottas is joined at Alfa by F1’s only new driver for 2022, Zhou Guanyu, while a couple of old faces return to new teams: Kevin Magnussen at Haas and Alexander Albon at Williams. Magnussen, in particular, was superb in qualifying — the Ferrari-powered Haas looks like a massively different proposition to last year’s car, and he’ll start seventh.
The grid is otherwise unchanged, but it’s a different matter with the cars. 2022 is being hailed as a new start for F1, with larger tires, longer noses and countless regulation changes to make for easier overtaking.
We’ll find out soon whether that translates into even more exciting on-track action, with the Bahrain Grand Prix set to get underway at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. GMT today.
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We’ve got full information about how to watch the race in our dedicated F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream article, but the really great news is you can watch it for FREE in certain countries; read on for info about how to do that.
FREE F1 live streams
How to watch F1 live streams for FREE in 2022
If you’re lucky enough to live in the Austria or Luxembourg then you can look forward to FREE F1 live streams throughout 2022.
That’s because the free-to-air RTL Zwee in Luxembourg will be showing every race, while ServusTV and ORF will share the rights in Austria.
But what if you’re usually based in one of those countries but aren’t at home for a particular F1 live stream? Maybe you’re on holiday and don’t want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you’d usually be able to watch for free at home?
Don’t worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We’ll show you how to do that below.
F1 live streams around the world
How to watch the 2022 F1 live streams from anywhere with a VPN
It’s natural that you might want to watch the 2022 F1 live streams from your home country, but what if you’re not there when the race is on?
Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you’re surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you’re in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.
For instance, an Austrian who’s currently in the U.S. could watch the F1 live streams on Servus or ORF even though they’re not in Austria.
They’re totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We’ve tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we’ve said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you’re in the U.S. and want to view an Austrian service, you’d select Austria from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Servus, ORF or another website and watch the race.
How to watch F1 live streams in the US
Every F1 live stream this season will be shown on ESPN, with coverage spread across the main ESPN channel and ESPN 2. Note, though, that there’ll also be FREE coverage on ABC of the United States Grands Prix in Miami and Austin, and the Mexican Grand Prix.
There are several ways you can access ESPN — and two of them are among our picks for the best streaming services.
ESPN is available through most cable packages as well as cable TV replacement services, including Sling TV, Fubo.TV, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.
As well as being available through your cable service, you can also stream the race via the ESPN app, or on the Watch section of ESPN’s website. However, you’ll need to authenticate with your satellite, cable or live TV provider credentials to watch any sessions.
If you don’t want to pay for live ESPN in some fashion or another, your best alternative is F1 TV Pro. This is F1’s own official F1 live stream service, and as with ESPN’s own coverage, it uses the feed from Sky Sports F1.
F1 TV Pro costs $10 per month or $80 for the season, which is much better value considering there are 22 races this year. Plus you also get Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup races, and F1’s archive of classic Grands Prix.
And remember, if you’re usually based in the U.S. but aren’t there at the moment, you can still watch the services you already subscribe to via a VPN such as ExpressVPN — meaning you can view an F1 live stream from anywhere in the world.
Looking for something else to watch? There’s a new Hulu show with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes that looks awfully tempting. We’ve also picked the one Apple TV Plus show that you should binge-watch right now. In other news, a new Netflix reality show is so maddening it makes one of our writers wish he could cancel Netflix.
How to watch F1 live streams in the UK
As usual, Sky Sports F1 will show all of the F1 live stream action in 2022, and in up to 4K resolution.
You’ll need to be a Sky Sports subscriber to watch the F1 live streams: the Sky Sports F1 channel is available for £18 per month, and there are packages available that give you lots more channels for only a bit extra.
To follow it in ultra high-definition 4K, you’ll need to pay a little more: you’ll need a Sky Q set-top box or Sky Glass and a package that includes both Ultra HD and Sky Sports F1. In total, that’d come to at least £45 a month, plus a £20 one-off payment if you’re not an existing subscriber.
A far cheaper option is to buy a Now Sports Pass. This will give you all 11 of the Sky Sports channels for a limited time, with pricing starting at £9.99 for a Day Pass and £33.99 for one month. There’s no 4K available here, though.
Again, if you’re usually based in the U.K. but are elsewhere at the moment, you can still watch the services you subscribe to by using one of the best VPN services.
How to watch F1 live streams in Canada
TSN airs all F1 live streams in Canada in English, while RDS has coverage in French. F1 TV Pro also remains an option for fans looking for an F1 live stream.
All sessions are broadcast on TSN, and if you receive the network through your cable or satellite provider, you can use TSN Go by signing in with your TV service credentials. Cord-cutters will want to check out TSN Direct, which comes in day- and month-long passes for $8 or $20 CAD, respectively. The TSN app will allow you to live stream the race from your phone, streaming box or supported device.
Not actually in Canada at the moment? ExpressVPN and other VPN services can help you access the services you already subscribe to.
How to watch F1 live streams in Australia
Fox Sports has the rights to the F1 live streams in Australia, which means you can watch all the action online via Foxtel.
Kayo Sports is another option. This service offers new subscribers a 14-day free trial, while one-month subscriptions start at $25.
You can also use one of the best VPN services to follow the action from your home country even when you’re elsewhere.
Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid
|
POS |
DRIVER |
CAR |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
|
2 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull |
|
3 |
Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari |
|
4 |
Sergio Perez |
Red Bull |
|
5 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
|
6 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Alfa Romeo |
|
7 |
Kevin Magnussen |
Haas |
|
8 |
Fernando Alonso |
Alpine |
|
9 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
|
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alphatauri |
|
11 |
Esteban Ocon |
Alpine |
|
12 |
Mick Schumacher |
Haas |
|
13 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren |
|
14 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams |
|
15 |
Zhou Guanyu |
Alfa Romeo |
|
16 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
Alphatauri |
|
17 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Aston Martin |
|
18 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren |
|
19 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin |
|
20 |
Nicholas Latifi |
Williams |
F1 2022 car and driver line-ups
|
Team |
Driver 1 |
Driver 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
Mercedes |
Lewis Hamilton |
George Russell |
|
Alpine |
Esteban Ocon |
Fernando Alonso |
|
Haas |
Kevin Magnussen |
Mick Shumacher |
|
Red Bull |
Max Verstappen |
Sergio Perez |
|
McLaren |
Lando Norris |
Daniel Ricciardo |
|
Aston Martin |
Lance Stroll |
Sebastian Vettel |
|
Ferrari |
Charles Leclerc |
Carlos Sainz |
|
AlfaTauri |
Pierre Gasly |
Yuki Tsunoda |
|
Alfa Romeo |
Valtteri Bottas |
Zhou Guanyu |
|
Williams |
Alex Albon |
Nicholas Latifi |
Full F1 2022 schedule
|
Round |
Grand Prix |
Dates |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Bahrain |
March 18-20 |
|
2 |
Saudi Arabia |
March 25-27 |
|
3 |
Australia |
April 8-10 |
|
4 |
Emilia Romagna |
April 22-24 |
|
5 |
United States (Miami) |
May 6-8 |
|
6 |
Spain |
May 20-22 |
|
7 |
Monaco |
May 27-29 |
|
8 |
Azerbaijan |
June 10-12 |
|
9 |
Canada |
June 17-19 |
|
10 |
Great Britain |
July 1-3 |
|
11 |
Austria |
July 8-10 |
|
12 |
France |
July 22-24 |
|
13 |
Hungary |
July 29-31 |
|
14 |
Belgium |
August 26-28 |
|
15 |
Netherlands |
September 2-4 |
|
16 |
Italy (Monza) |
September 9-11 |
|
17 |
Singapore |
September 30-Oct 2 |
|
18 |
Japan |
October 7-9 |
|
19 |
United States (Austin) |
October 21-23 |
|
20 |
Mexico |
October 28-30 |
|
21 |
Brazil |
November 11-13 |
|
22 |
Abu Dhabi |
November 18-20 |
