# How to Watch the 2026 Formula 1 Season: TV Channels, Live Streams, and Broadcasting Rights **By Luca Bertolini** \nPublished July 31, 2026 \nUpdated September 9, 2026 > Navigate the 2026 Formula 1 broadcast landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Learn how to catch every session via Sky, RTL, ORF, ServusTV, SRF, and legal streaming platforms amid a high-stakes championship battle. The 2026 Formula 1 season ushers in a brand-new era featuring entirely new regulations, chassis designs, power units, teams like Audi and Cadillac, and a reshuffled driver market. For fans tuning in across German-speaking Europe, however, the real race often begins before the lights go out: figuring out precisely which broadcaster holds the rights to each session. With broadcasting rights fragmented across pay-TV networks, free-to-air channels, and dedicated streaming services, navigating the calendar requires precision. Here is how the television and streaming landscape breaks down across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as the championship battle intensifies. ## Germany: Sky's Pay-TV Monopoly and RTL's Free-to-Air Sublicence In Germany, the pay-TV network Sky Sport remains the exclusive home for the entire 2026 season. Sky broadcasts every single practice session, qualifying, sprint, and grand prix live with German commentary through its television packages and the streaming service WOW. Sky's F1 broadcasting contract runs through the end of 2027, anchored by commentators Sascha Roos alongside rotating expert analysts such as Ralf Schumacher and Timo Glock, with reporting from Peter Hardenacke and Sandra Baumgartner. For viewers relying on free-to-air television, RTL continues its sublicence partnership with Sky for the 2026 campaign, covering a selected package of events: - **Full Free-TV Races (Rents & Streams):** Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps), Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort), Spanish Grand Prix (Madrid), and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. - **Qualifying and Sprint Free-TV Broadcasts:** British Grand Prix (Qualifying), Hungarian Grand Prix (Qualifying), Italian Grand Prix (Qualifying), Singapore Grand Prix (Sprint), and the United States Grand Prix at Austin (Qualifying).When RTL does not broadcast an event on free-to-air TV, qualifying or sprint sessions are offered via the RTL+ streaming platform using the original Sky Deutschland feed. The RTL broadcast team features long-time commentators Heiko Wasser and Christian Danner, pit lane reporters Kai Ebel and Alessa-Luisa Naujoks, moderators Florian König and Laura Papendick, and former team boss Günther Steiner as expert analyst. ## Austria: The Dual-Broadcaster Split Between ORF and ServusTV Austria maintains its unique equal-split broadcasting partnership between public broadcaster ORF and commercial network ServusTV, which extends through 2026. ServusTV acts as the official primary licensee, while ORF operates via a sublicence, resulting in both channels splitting the season's grands prix evenly live. ServusTV holds live rights for events including Melbourne, Suzuka, Jeddah, Montreal, Spielberg, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Monza, Baku, Austin, São Paulo, and Lusail, featuring commentary from Andreas Gröbl, moderation by Andrea Schlager, and analysis from experts like Philipp Eng, Christian Klien, Mathias Lauda, and Philipp Brändle. ORF covers Shanghai, Sakhir, Miami, Monaco, Barcelona, Silverstone, Budapest, Madrid, Singapore, Mexico City, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi, with Ernst Hausleitner and former F1 driver Alexander Wurz in the commentary box. ## Switzerland: SRF's Targeted Free-to-Air Coverage In Switzerland, Swiss television (SRF) typically focuses its live coverage strictly on qualifying sessions and grand prix races. Viewers can follow the action with commentary from Oliver Sittler, joined by former F1 driver Marc Surer and former DTM driver Nico Müller. ## Legal Streaming Options and F1 TV Pro Restrictions Official digital streaming varies significantly by territory: - **Germany:** Sky's streaming service *WOW* delivers all sessions live alongside over 25 exclusive extra feeds, including onboard cameras, an onboard mix, the pit lane channel, driver tracker, data channel, and battle channel. - **Austria:** ORF provides free legal live streams via its TVthek app (geo-restricted to Austria), while ServusTV offers equivalent mobile and smart TV streaming options. - **Switzerland:** SRF provides localized streaming coverage for its broadcast windows. - **F1 TV Pro:** While Formula 1's official standalone streaming platform offers comprehensive live coverage, historical archives, and support series like F2, F3, and the Porsche Supercup, new subscriptions are blocked in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland due to legacy broadcasting agreements. Only existing subscribers retain active access to live feeds in those markets.**Viewing Insight:** Fans without access to traditional TV packages can utilize alternative official resources such as minute-by-minute text live-tickers on motorsport portals or post-session tactical breakdowns hosted on official YouTube channels. ## Sources - [von Stefan Ehlen](https://www.motorsport-total.com/formel-1/news/livestream) — original - [wowtv.de](https://www.wowtv.de/live-sport/formel1) — original - [von  Stefan Ehlen](https://www.formel1.de/news/news/2026-07-14/live-im-tv-und-stream-alle-infos-zur-uebertragung-der-formel-1-in-spa) — original - [rtl.de](https://www.rtl.de/sport/formel-1/) — original - [sport.de](https://www.sport.de/news/ne16925500/hier-laeuft-die-formel-1-live-im-tv-und-im-stream/) — original