Austrian Grand Prix qualifying – Start time, how to watch, channel & more

Following the coronavirus-induced hiatus, F1 will finally return to action at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg this weekend.

This would mark F1’s first championship race since last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after plans to start the new campaign in Australia in March were scuppered at the last minute.

With the reversed grid proposal rejected by Mercedes, F1 will rely on the traditional qualifying system to determine the grid for what would be the first of two races to be held at the Austrian circuit on back-to-back weekends.

All 20 cars will head on track for the 18-minute Q1 session from which the 15 fastest drivers will progress to the second leg of qualifying. Five more drivers will be eliminated in the 15-minute Q2 session, leaving 10 drivers to battle it out for pole position in Q3, which will be run over 12 minutes.

What time does qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix start?

Qualifying will kick off at 3pm local time in Austria and conclude at 4pm local time. 

• Date: Saturday 4th July 2020 
• Start time: 3pm CEST / 2pm BST / 9am ET / 6am PT / 11pm AEST / 6:30pm IST

Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.

How can I watch qualifying?

Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world. 

Europe: Viewers in the UK can tune into Sky Sports F1 to watch qualifying, while Sky TV will also broadcast the session in Italy. RTL will show the race in Germany, Movistar will telecast it in Spain and Canal+ will carry the coverage in France.

North America: Qualifying will be broadcast in the US on ESPN, in Mexico on Tudn and in Canada on TSN/RDS.

Asia: Most of Asia is covered by Fox Sports, including India where F1 is broadcast by sister channel Star Sports Select 2. Fuji TV Next will carry live qualifying coverage in Japan. 

Oceanica: Fox Sports 506 will bring live coverage of qualifying to viewers in Australia. Spark Sport will show qualifying in New Zealand.

Can I stream qualifying?

Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. Some local broadcasters such as Sky TV also offer their own on-demand service.