RTL has finalized its plans for the current Formula 1 season and announced which races will be shown on free-to-air TV in 2026
Formula 1 fans in Germany had to wait a long time for news about what free-to-air broadcasts of the premier class would look like for the 2026 season. The green light was finally given in Monaco, and it’s now clear how Formula 1 coverage will continue this year on the commercial broadcaster RTL.
The Cologne-based network will broadcast four more Grands Prix, including qualifying, free-to-air for the remainder of the year: Next up is the popular classic at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) on July 19, followed by what will be the last Formula 1 race at Zandvoort (Netherlands) for the time being on August 23.
Anyone eagerly awaiting the new race on the brand-new street circuit in Madrid—the Madring—has reason to celebrate: The debut in Spain on September 13 will also be broadcast live on RTL. To wrap things up, the U.S. showstopper from Las Vegas will air at breakfast time on November 22, where—as in 2024—the world championship could potentially be decided.
In the UK (July 4) and Singapore (October 10), the Sprint race will be shown on free-to-air TV; for the three events in Hungary (July 25), Italy (September 5), and Austin (October 24), at least the qualifying session will be broadcast on RTL.
For all other race weekends, either qualifying or the sprint race will be available on the RTL+ streaming platform, but as a rebroadcast of the original stream from Sky Deutschland. As usual, all races will be shown on the pay-TV channel.
RTL acquired Sky on June 1 and broadcast the qualifying and race in Monaco on free-to-air TV, bringing together the familiar faces from both networks for a joint broadcast.
“With our first joint Super Sport weekend, we’re giving fans a firsthand experience of what the merger of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland means,” said RTL Managing Director Inga Leschek. “This is a preview of the sports experiences we’ll be creating together for fans in the future.”
However, the schedule also shows that this year, only a total of five Formula 1 races—not seven, as in the previous year—will be shown on free-to-air TV.
RTL generally relies on its regular team of host Florian König, commentator Heiko Waßer, pit reporters Kai Ebel and Alessa-Luisa Naujoks, and experts Christian Danner and Günther Steiner.