Race Start
Sunday, December 6 at 8:00 AM EST
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Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
Round 22 of 22 · Yas Marina Circuit · December 4–6, 2026
Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
| Session | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Dec 4, 4:30 AM EST | Fri, Dec 4, 3:30 AM CST | Fri, Dec 4, 2:30 AM MST | Fri, Dec 4, 1:30 AM PST |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Dec 4, 8:00 AM EST | Fri, Dec 4, 7:00 AM CST | Fri, Dec 4, 6:00 AM MST | Fri, Dec 4, 5:00 AM PST |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Dec 5, 5:30 AM EST | Sat, Dec 5, 4:30 AM CST | Sat, Dec 5, 3:30 AM MST | Sat, Dec 5, 2:30 AM PST |
| Qualifying | Sat, Dec 5, 9:00 AM EST | Sat, Dec 5, 8:00 AM CST | Sat, Dec 5, 7:00 AM MST | Sat, Dec 5, 6:00 AM PST |
| Race | Sun, Dec 6, 8:00 AM EST | Sun, Dec 6, 7:00 AM CST | Sun, Dec 6, 6:00 AM MST | Sun, Dec 6, 5:00 AM PST |
The season finale at Yas Marina is F1's twilight signature: the race starts in daylight and ends under floodlights, with the marina and the LED-skinned hotel as the backdrop. The 2021 layout revisions turned a processional track into a genuine racer's circuit with long DRS zones and a banked hairpin. As the last round of the first new-regulations season, expect every championship position — and millions in prize money — to be decided here.
Yas Marina was built as F1's showpiece finale venue: a twilight race that starts in desert daylight and finishes under floodlights, with the pit exit tunneling beneath the track and the LED-skinned W Hotel straddling the final sector. The 2021 layout revisions — replacing a fiddly chicane with a sweeping banked hairpin and opening up the marina section — transformed it from processional to genuinely raceable, with two long straights feeding heavy braking zones.
As the season finale, the sporting mechanics are unique: this is where every tiebreaker lands, from the drivers' title down to the constructors' midfield positions that swing tens of millions in prize money. Teams empty their upgrade cupboards and their fuel of caution. The setting sun also changes track temperature significantly mid-race, shifting tire behavior between the first stint and the last — a subtle variable that has flipped strategies here more than once.
The finale slot has made Yas Marina's short history disproportionately dramatic: the 2010 four-way title decider that crowned Sebastian Vettel, and above all the 2021 finale — Verstappen versus Hamilton, equal on points, decided on a final-lap restart that remains the most contested single lap in the sport's history. Since opening in 2009 it has grown into F1's traditional farewell weekend, where retiring drivers take their last laps and the champagne lasts until winter.
The 2026 season ends with a Sunday morning race for US fans — one final early-ish start before the long winter break. Even if the title is sewn up, the midfield fight for constructors' positions is usually frantic, and it's your last live F1 until March 2027. Savor it.
The season signs off with a Sunday 8 AM Eastern / 5 AM Pacific start — one last early alarm, then nothing until March 2027. Even in years when the drivers' title is settled, the finale rewards watching: constructors' positions worth serious prize money are usually live into the final laps, and the twilight transition makes for gorgeous television. Thanks for following along all season — see you at the 2027 opener.
The race starts Sunday, December 6 at 8:00 AM EST. That's 7:00 AM CST Central, 6:00 AM MST Mountain, and 5:00 AM PST Pacific.
No, it uses the standard format: three practice sessions, qualifying (Saturday, December 5 at 9:00 AM EST), and the Grand Prix.
58 laps of the 5.281 km Yas Marina Circuit, a race distance of about 306 km.
The 5 PM local start is timed so the race begins in daylight and ends under floodlights — a deliberate showcase for the Yas Marina setting, and a comfortable evening slot for the trackside crowd. For US viewers it means a Sunday morning start.
New to Formula 1 or planning your viewing weekend? Read our guides to watching F1 in the US, how a race weekend works, and why F1 start times vary.