Sky Sports F1 2026: Major broadcast upgrades announced ahead of Chinese Grand Prix

The Formula 1 2026 season is well underway, with major changes to Sky Sports' television coverage. Last week saw Mercedes' George Russell secure pole position in Melbourne, and the drivers are now in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Sky Sports revealed plans before the season to launch what it describes as 'cutting-edge broadcast innovations' for its F1 coverage.

Fans will shortly gain access to an immersive sidebar during each race weekend, featuring Race Control, in-race standings, and a Recap – or replay – function.

Other key elements of the sidebar include dedicated driver and team pages, enhanced data, explainers, and improved homepage navigation. Viewers will also be able to stream onboard cameras from every driver, complete with team radio messages, throughout each race weekend.

These new features will be rolled out later this year at no extra cost to Sky Sports customers on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, and Sky Q devices, with a launch date yet to be announced.

F1 fans who don't currently have Sky can subscribe from £35 per month for the broadcaster's flagship Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle.

This package includes live coverage of every practice, qualifying session, and race from every race weekend this season. The bundle comprises nine Sky Sports channels, roughly 100 regular TV channels, and subscriptions to Netflix and Disney+.

There's also the £42 Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle available, which provides 35 extra channels and will shortly include Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu at no additional charge from March.

Sky subscribers can add Sky Sports F1 to their existing package, with a rolling monthly subscription cut from £20 to £15 through a special promotion.

Virgin Media subscribers can get Sky Sports channels via the provider's £52.99 Sport bundle, which features over 200 channels, 362Mbps fibre broadband and Netflix. A catch with both Sky and Virgin's offers is that prices could change at least twice throughout the 24-month contracts, including the standard April price rise.

Sky bills itself as the 'ultimate destination' for F1, with the new additions enhancing existing programming such as Pit Wall Live, The Grid Walk, The F1 Show and the returning The Notebook. The latter broadcasts post-qualifying and post-race on Saturdays and Sundays respectively, offering analysis and the freshest updates from the paddock with reporter Ted Kravitz.

Revealing the changes, Sky stated: "Sky Sports is preparing for one of the most highly anticipated F1 seasons in recent years.

With viewership increasing year-on-year, 2026 promises to be even bigger with new cars and rule changes coming into play.

"Featuring an expert line-up, cutting-edge broadcast innovations, and the only place to watch live coverage of all 24 races, Sky Sports remains the ultimate destination for Formula 1 fans in the UK and Ireland."