F1 Qualifying Today: Japanese Grand Prix 2025 start time, TV channel and live stream

Formula 1 qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix gets underway today (Saturday April 5) at Suzuka, where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri look set to battle for pole position.

Drivers have taken to the track already, with FP1 and FP2 taking place on Friday morning. The first session went out without a hitch, with home driver Ryo Hirakawa taking over from Jack Doohan for the hour's running. The second session, however...

Doohan, back in his Alpine, made it four laps before losing control at 185mph into the first corner, demolishing his car and pausing the session for about 20 minutes as his car was retrieved and the barrier fixed.

Fernando Alonso then beached his car in the gravel, bringing out a second red flag and wrecking several teams' run plans, before the final 15 minutes were broken up by two more red flags for fires around the track.

Teams will be hoping that the fire issues are resolved by qualifying, or else risk being caught out by inconveniently timed stoppages.

McLaren are still the team to beat with Norris and Piastri demonstrating their pace across the weekend so far.

Show your support for McLaren’s rising stars! Gear up like a true fan with the latest Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri merchandise – shop now and represent your favourite driver in style!

What time is qualifying on today?

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix kicks off today Saturday April 5 at 3pm local time (JST).

Find the session start times and day converted to your local time zone below:

Local time (JST): 3pm Saturday
United Kingdom (BST): 7am Saturday
Central European Summer Time (CEST): 8am Saturday
United States (EDT): 2am Saturday
United States (CDT): 1am Saturday
United States (PDT): 11pm Friday
Australia (AEDT): 5pm Saturday
Australia (AWST): 2pm Saturday
Australia (ACDT): 4:30pm Saturday
Mexico (CST): 12am Saturday
South Africa (SAST): 8am Saturday
Egypt (EET): 8am Saturday
China (CST): 2pm Saturday
India (IST): 11:30am Saturday
Brazil (BST): 3am Saturday
Singapore (SST): 2pm Saturday
Saudi Arabia (AST): 9am Saturday
Turkey (EEST): 9am Saturday

How to watch the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying live on TV today

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Check below to see how to tune in for some major countries:

United Kingdom: Sky Sports
United States: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Italy: Sky Italia
Netherlands: Viaplay, Viaplay Xtra
China: CCTV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong Television Channel, Tencent
Japan: Fuji TV, DAZN
Australia: Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo, Network Ten
Spain: DAZN F1
Canada: RDS, RDS 2, TSN, Noovo
Germany: Sky Deutschland
France: Canal+
Belgium: RTBF, Telenet, Play Sports
Mexico: Fox Sports Mexico
Singapore: beIN SPORTS
Hungary: M4 (MTVA Sports Channel)
Brazil: Bandeirantes, Bandsports
Austria: Servus TV, ORF
Middle East & Turkey: beIN SPORTS
Africa: SuperSport
Latin America: ESPN

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA penalise team as Red Bull inspection takes place at Japanese Grand Prix

Related

Latest F1 News

F1 launch 'investigation' over issue that sparked weekend chaos

• April 27, 2025 18:56

Japanese Grand Prix

Jeremy Clarkson proposes GENIUS idea to solve boring F1 races

• April 9, 2025 22:56