F1 United States GP 2026 in Malaysia time: Austin practice, qualifying and race schedule
The US Grand Prix at COTA runs 23-25 October. In Malaysia, qualifying is at 5am on Sunday and the race at 4am on Monday 26 October.
Formula 1 heads to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, for the United States Grand Prix from 23 to 25 October. For Malaysian viewers, every session falls in the middle of the night. Qualifying starts at 5am on Sunday and the 56-lap race at 4am on Monday 26 October. This is round 18 of 23, and the championship leader Kimi Antonelli can clinch the 2026 title here.
Session times in Malaysia (UTC+8)
Austin is five hours behind UTC this weekend and 13 hours behind Malaysia. Here are the F1 sessions converted from the official timetable:
- Practice 1: Saturday 24 October, 1.30am – 2.30am
- Practice 2: Saturday 24 October, 5am – 6am
- Practice 3: Sunday 25 October, 1.30am – 2.30am
- Qualifying: Sunday 25 October, 5am – 6am
- Race (56 laps): Monday 26 October, 4am
This is a normal weekend with no sprint. The last sprint of 2026 was held in Singapore. The timetable may still change, so check again closer to the weekend.
Where to watch in Malaysia
beIN SPORTS has the F1 rights in Malaysia. You can watch on its beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service or through pay-TV packages that carry the beIN channels, such as Astro's One Sports Pack, the Sooka Sports & Entertainment Plan and the Unifi TV Sports Pack. Some pay-TV subscribers also get beIN SPORTS CONNECT at no extra cost, so check with your provider.
What is at stake
Antonelli has 340 points and leads Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 102. He becomes champion in Austin if he wins the race, Russell finishes ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. If that happens, the 20-year-old would be the youngest world champion in F1 history.
Max Verstappen is the man in form. He comes to Texas after two wins in a row, the second of which was a dominant drive in Singapore from pole. He also has a strong record at COTA, with victories there in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025. Charles Leclerc won the 2024 race for Ferrari, and he finished second behind Verstappen in Singapore.
Lower down, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad are fighting for Racing Bulls. The team has 100 points and is trying to keep fifth in the constructors' championship.
A software fix arrives in Austin
Austin should also see the end of a technical problem that has bothered F1 recently. At the previous round at Sepang, a fault in the wet-weather power unit settings made cars lose power on the formation lap. The FIA had to issue an emergency workaround. A permanent update to the standard ECU's wet-weather settings is due for Austin. In Singapore there were also timing-screen failures and a brief error that wrongly switched on overtake mode for part of the field.
Former driver Martin Brundle has blamed part of this on how busy the calendar is. He said F1 is showing signs of fatigue after a run of six races in seven weekends.
Key takeaways
- The United States GP race starts at 4am Malaysia time on Monday 26 October. Qualifying is at 5am on Sunday.
- It is a standard weekend with three practice sessions and no sprint.
- Antonelli can clinch the title with a win if Russell and Hamilton both finish low enough.
- Verstappen arrives with two straight wins and has four previous victories at COTA.
FAQ
What time is US GP qualifying in Malaysia? Qualifying is on Sunday 25 October from 5am to 6am Malaysia time. That is 4pm on Saturday in Austin.
Is there a sprint race at the 2026 United States Grand Prix? No. Austin has the standard format this year. Singapore hosted the last sprint of the season.
How many laps is the United States Grand Prix? The race is 56 laps of the 5.513km Circuit of The Americas, with a two-hour time limit.
Sources: Formula1.com, beIN SPORTS, RacingNews365, Sky Sports, The Star, PlanetF1