How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025: Weekend schedule, channels & more

Asia’s love affair with F1 continues unabated as the driving stars and their breathtaking cars zoom from China to Japan and the Suzuka Circuit for the third grand prix of the 2025 F1 season on Sunday, April 6.

Watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 on Sky Sports F1

Sign up now

Max Verstappen has been the dominant force at Suzuka in recent times and the Red Bull Racing legend will be attempting to become the first driver to win four successive Japanese GPs this time around. The dynamic Dutchman has recorded dominant victories from pole position in each of the last three years, winning by 27 seconds in 2022, by 19 seconds in 2023, and 12 seconds last year. Despite his recent domination, Verstappen still finds himself behind the likes of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilto,n and Sebastian Vettel on the all-time Japanese GP winners’ list. Michael Schumacher tops the table with six wins at Suzuka between 1995-2004.

Before last year’s race, the Japanese GP had always been one of the season-ending events in the calendar, since being incorporated into the F1 schedule in the late 1970s. Therefore, over the years, the Suzuka spectators have been treated to some scintillating and memorable grand prix races, the results of which have often decided the outcome of the F1 drivers’ championship title. There were several enthralling and nail-biting clashes between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the late 1980’s, which helped boost attendance at the track as well as TV viewing figures.

Japan’s staging of a race weekend (including the Pacific GP) was of great importance, as up until 1999 when Malaysia joined the F1 party, it was the only Asian nation to host an F1 grand prix. The first two Japanese GPs, in 1976 and 1977, were held at the Fuji Speedway in Oyama, and it proved to be an epic occasion from the off. The 1976 race became famous for the title decider between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, which was held in monsoon conditions.

Getty Images

Lauda, who had survived a near-fatal crash earlier in the season had withdrawn from the race, but Hunt’s battling qualities came to the fore as he weaved his way through the field to grab third place and claim the 4 points he needed to win the title. Due to travelling, financial and safety concerns, the following year’s race (1977) would be the last Japanese GP to appear on the F1 schedule until it returned at Suzuka in 1987. Suzuka has held the GP every year since, apart from a two-year stint back at Fuji (2007 & 2008) and the two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 & 2021).

Lewis Hamilton is the most decorated British driver in Japanese Grand Prix history, having triumphed at Suzuka on five occasions between 2007 and 2018. Other British drivers to top the podium in Japan since it became a fixture on the F1 calendar, are James Hunt (1977), Damon Hill (1994 & 1996) and Jenson Button (2011).

Below, GOAL guides you through all you need to know for the Japanese Grand Prix 2025, including the full weekend schedule and where you can watch the race and all the sessions live, including practice, sprint qualifying, sprint and qualifying.

How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025

Getty Images

The Japanese Grand Prix will be available to watch live and exclusively on Sky Sports F1 (and Main Event) in the UK, like all F1 race weekends will be this year. Sky Sports coverage includes not only the main race itself, which gets underway from 6 am (BST) on Sunday, April 6 but also additional coverage of practice sessions and qualifying across the entire weekend, offering round-the-clock coverage from Friday through to Sunday.

If you're an existing Sky customer you can add Sky Sports online, or through the My Sky app at any time. The package starts from £20 per month with Sky Stream. Sky Sports+ is included at no extra cost, which allows the viewer the opportunity to watch many more live events across a range of sports. The Sky Sports app allows subscribers to download and watch live sports on the go and is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

NOW TV offers a variety of sign-ups for the avid sports watcher, including the ‘Sports Day Membership, which allows access to all 12 Sky Sports channels for 24 hours for £14.99. NOW’s ‘Fully Flexible Sports Month Membership’ again gives unlimited Sky Sports access but over 30 days instead. That costs £29.99 a month and auto-renews unless cancelled before the end of the month.

There’s also a ‘6-month Saver’ package, where you are charged £25% less and only pay £26 a month, but you need to sign up for a 6-month minimum term. After the 6-month minimum term, it auto-renews at £34.99 a month, unless cancelled.

Watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 on Sky Sports F1

Sign up now

Where is the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 held?

Getty Images

The F1 Japanese Grand Prix is held at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka and has been staged there every year since 1987, aside from a two-year stint back at the Fuji Speedway (2007 & 2008) and the two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 & 2021).

Suzuka is the only figure-eight race track to appear on the F1 calendar. The demanding and fast Japanese circuit has become very popular among drivers and fans and numerous dramatic and memorable moments in Formula One history have occurred there, including the duels between Senna and Prost.

Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Weekend Schedule

The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix runs over the full weekend, from Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, with practice, qualifying, and the race itself spread out over three days.

Below, you can find the timings for each practice session, qualifying, and the Grand Prix, as well as which channel to watch them on:

Watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 on Sky Sports F1

Sign up now

Can I watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 on F1 TV?

Getty Images

F1 TV is the over-the-top streaming package operated by Formula One Management (FOM), the provider of the world feed for F1 broadcasts throughout each season. The service offers commercial-free coverage of all races as part of a single package. Due to rights deals, F1 TV is limited to the countries it is allowed to operate in. The service is not available in the United Kingdom, meaning fans hoping to use it would need a VPN to access it and watch the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.

However, you can still purchase F1 TV in the UK to access bonus content, such as live timing, map and leaderboard features, as well as access to team radios and other statistics. You can also view pre and post-race shows with in-depth analysis and behind-the-scenes facts.

Can I watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 on demand?

Getty Images

If you have a Sky Sports F1 subscription, you can watch a re-run of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix on demand after the race has finished through the channel’s digital and online options. The Sky Go app, for mobile devices and personal tablets, will allow viewers to watch the race in full, while those with a Sky+ subscription will also be able to record the game and catch it retroactively. Additionally, those with NOW TV will be able to effectively draw upon the Sky Sports F1 coverage, too, though their ability to access on-demand replay broadcasts will be limited due to the nature of the package.

How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 from anywhere with a VPN

You may need a different way to watch the race if you cannot view the Japanese Grand Prix locally. That's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on race day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're travelling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network. You want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to Grand Prix.

We highly recommend using NordVPN, but you can also check out our detailed VPN guide for other options.

Stream live anywhere in the world with Nord VPN

Get NordVPN