Race Start
Sunday, November 29 at 11:00 AM EST
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Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
Round 21 of 22 · Lusail International Circuit · November 27–29, 2026
Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
| Session | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Nov 27, 8:30 AM EST | Fri, Nov 27, 7:30 AM CST | Fri, Nov 27, 6:30 AM MST | Fri, Nov 27, 5:30 AM PST |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Nov 27, 12:00 PM EST | Fri, Nov 27, 11:00 AM CST | Fri, Nov 27, 10:00 AM MST | Fri, Nov 27, 9:00 AM PST |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Nov 28, 9:30 AM EST | Sat, Nov 28, 8:30 AM CST | Sat, Nov 28, 7:30 AM MST | Sat, Nov 28, 6:30 AM PST |
| Qualifying | Sat, Nov 28, 1:00 PM EST | Sat, Nov 28, 12:00 PM CST | Sat, Nov 28, 11:00 AM MST | Sat, Nov 28, 10:00 AM PST |
| Race | Sun, Nov 29, 11:00 AM EST | Sun, Nov 29, 10:00 AM CST | Sun, Nov 29, 9:00 AM MST | Sun, Nov 29, 8:00 AM PST |
Lusail is a floodlit, flowing circuit originally built for MotoGP, which shows in its fast, cambered medium-speed corners that punish tires harder than almost any other track. The penultimate round of 2026 runs at night in the desert, and the relentless corner sequence makes it one of the most physical races of the year — drivers regularly call it tougher than Singapore. If the title fight is alive, the high-degradation racing here can flip it.
Lusail was built in 2004 as a motorcycle Grand Prix venue, and its DNA shows: long, fast, cambered corners that flow into one another with barely a straight to rest on, originally drawn for bikes that need sweeping lines. In an F1 car that translates into sustained high-G loading, lap after lap, with the fast triple-apex section before the main straight punishing tires more severely than almost any sequence on the calendar.
The desert night race conditions — cooler air, floodlights, occasional sand on the surface off-line — combine with the layout's relentless corner speeds to make this the season's biggest physical test alongside Singapore. Tire degradation dominates strategy; mandatory stint limits have even been imposed here in past seasons on safety grounds. Watch the gap between drivers who manage the rubber and those who burn it: three-stop races are genuinely live at Lusail.
Lusail hosted its first F1 race in 2021 as a late calendar addition, with Lewis Hamilton winning from pole. Its short history is already eventful: Max Verstappen clinched his third world title here during the 2023 sprint, and that same weekend's extreme heat and humidity pushed drivers to physical collapse, prompting rule changes around cockpit cooling. Moved to a cooler November-December slot, the penultimate round of 2026 could easily host a title decider.
The night race in Qatar translates to morning viewing in the US — lights out Sunday morning Eastern, very early Pacific. Tire life is the story to follow: watch the gap between cars that nurse the rubber and those that burn it, because three-stop strategies are live here.
The floodlit race translates to Sunday morning US viewing: 11 AM Eastern / 8 AM Pacific — one of the friendlier 'flyaway' starts of the year. As the penultimate round, the stakes tend to be arithmetic: watch with the championship permutations handy, because a title can be clinched here. The onboard shots through Lusail's fast sweeps at night are some of the most spectacular footage of the season.
The race starts Sunday, November 29 at 11:00 AM EST. That's 10:00 AM CST Central, 9:00 AM MST Mountain, and 8:00 AM PST Pacific.
No, it uses the standard format: three practice sessions, qualifying (Saturday, November 28 at 1:00 PM EST), and the Grand Prix.
57 laps of the 5.419 km Lusail International Circuit, a race distance of about 309 km.
Lusail's MotoGP-derived layout strings together fast, high-G corners with almost no straights to recover on, and desert heat lingers even at night. Drivers have rated it the toughest race of the year physically, alongside Singapore.
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.