We’ve reached the 4th round of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship and the F1 frenzy has shifted from the Far East to the Middle East. It’s the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 13 followed by the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on April 20.
History was made when Bahrain staged its first grand prix in 2004, as an F1 race had never been held in the Middle East before that. Bahrain had fought off stiff competition from neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and the UAE to host a grand prix and that decision was given a seal of approval as Bahrain received the ‘Best Organised Grand Prix’ award from the FIA in the same year. It had made an instant positive impact on spectators, drivers and F1 head honchos alike.
Bahrain always filled one of the early slots in the F1 calendar, but it was given a further boost in 2006 when it swapped places with the traditional season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, which had to be pushed down the order to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games. Despite being fourth in the rotation this time around, it has staged the curtain-raising weekend during several other F1 campaigns, including 2010 and for four years between 2021 and 2024.
Getty ImagesWe are only three races in and the F1 Drivers’ Championship is already hotting up nicely. Just one point separates the top 2, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, following the Dutchman’s first victory of 2025 in Suzuka on Sunday. It promises to be an open and exciting season with each race producing a different winner so far.
British driving legend, Lewis Hamilton, has recorded the most wins in Bahrain, having taken the chequered flag on five occasions in the past (2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 & 2021) and he’ll be confident of another strong performance, having recorded his best result of 2025, when finishing 7th in Japan at the weekend. However, the 4-time (and reigning) F1 champion, Max Verstappen, is sure to be grabbing the headlines following his recent race success. Having won in Sakhir in both 2023 & 2024, the Red Bull star is aiming to become the first driver to claim three successive wins from pole position. He was at his dominant best last year when cruising to victory by 22.4 seconds, which is the biggest winning margin ever in Bahrain.
Let GOAL give you all the information you need to know for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025, including the full weekend schedule and where you can watch the race and all the sessions live; practice, qualifying and Sunday’s live race.
Where is the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 held?
Getty ImagesThe Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, which emerged from the sand after 16 months of work, was opened in 2004 and the first F1 grand prix was staged in April of that year. Apart from the 2011 edition, which was cancelled due to protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix has been staged at the circuit every year since. In 2014, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first staging of the event, the race was held at night under floodlights. In so doing it became the second F1 night race after the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. All subsequent Bahrain GPs have also been night races.
Where can I watch the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025?
Getty ImagesThe Bahrain 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 4 pm (BST) on Sunday, April 13 but also additional coverage of practice and qualifying sessions 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.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 Weekend Schedule
The Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 runs across the whole weekend, from Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13, with practice, qualifying, and the race 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:
Date | Phase | Time (BST) | Channel | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, April 11 | Practice 1 | 12:30 pm | NOW TV | |
Practice 2 | 4 pm | NOW TV | ||
Saturday, April 12 | Practice 3 | 1:30 pm | NOW TV | |
Qualifying | 5 pm | NOW TV | ||
Sunday, April 13 | Grand Prix | 4 pm | NOW TV |
Can I watch the Bahrain 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 Bahrain 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 Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 on demand?
Getty ImagesIf you have a Sky Sports F1 subscription, you can watch a re-run of the 2025 Bahrain 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 Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 from anywhere with a VPN
You may need a different way to watch the race if you cannot view the Bahrain 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.
