What time is the Austin F1 race in Romania?
The United States Grand Prix in Austin is scheduled for Sunday, 25 October 2026 at 22:00 in Romania. That corresponds to the 20:00 UTC start in the official Formula 1 timetable. The Circuit of the Americas weekend runs from 23 to 25 October and returns to three practice sessions, qualifying and the Grand Prix. The 2026 edition does not include a Sprint, following three Sprint editions in 2023–2025.
Full timetable, including each session’s local date
The table converts the official UTC times into Europe/Bucharest. Use the date in the Romania column when adding a session to your calendar. Austin’s evening sessions cross into the following day for Romanian viewers. The times below are scheduled starts; a delay at the circuit can change the actual start.
| Session | UTC | Romania · Europe/Bucharest |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | 23 October · 17:30 | Friday, 23 October · 20:30 |
| Practice 2 | 23 October · 21:00 | Saturday, 24 October · 00:00 |
| Practice 3 | 24 October · 17:30 | Saturday, 24 October · 20:30 |
| Qualifying | 24 October · 21:00 | Sunday, 25 October · 00:00 |
| Race | 25 October · 20:00 | Sunday, 25 October · 22:00 |
Why the race is at 22:00 rather than 23:00
Romania moves back to standard time on the morning of 25 October: at 04:00, clocks return to 03:00. Before the change, the offset from UTC is three hours; afterwards it is two. Qualifying starts before that transition, while the race starts after it. Applying one offset throughout the weekend would therefore introduce a one-hour error. Each session needs a conversion for its own date and time.
What the absence of a Sprint changes
Teams once again have three practice sessions before qualifying. For viewers, the distinction is straightforward: qualifying determines the Grand Prix order, subject to any penalty-related adjustments; there is no Sprint race or Sprint Qualifying to add to the Austin timetable. APEX perspective: three practice sessions offer more opportunities to compare car behaviour, although an isolated fast lap still needs to be read alongside tyres, traffic and the running programme.
The circuit and what to follow
COTA measures 5.513 kilometres and the Grand Prix is scheduled for 56 laps. Its fast sequence of corners and slower stadium section ask for different car compromises. The APEX Race Hub and Romania-time calendar provide the session timetable and a subscription option. Recheck the official source before the weekend for any amendments. The photograph shows the circuit in 2016 and provides context rather than documenting a 2026 session.
