F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream 2022 — watch the full race for FREE

The 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream gets underway soon, and if qualifying is anything to go by then the old order has been royally shaken up.

That's because Ferrari look to be true title contenders in 2022 after a couple of disappointing years, taking first and third on the grid and backing up their impressive testing performance. 

Charles Leclerc will start on pole position, with Carlos Sainz behind him on the second row and World Champion Max Verstappen sandwiched between them in second. We could have a real fight on our hands here. 

What's more, Mercedes continued to struggle, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth and George Russell in ninth. Add to that the fact that several unfancied teams, including Haas and Alfa Romeo, qualified high up and the grid has a distinctly unfamiliar look about it.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton admitted that the Mercedes performance so far has not been as good as the team would like. "It has been a bit of a nightmare to drive, but we kept working and I'm proud of everyone," he said.

"The guys ahead of us are in another league. In general I'm happy where we are, it's not the front row but we will make improvements as well as we can.

"These guys (Red Bull and Ferrari) will be going ahead, we are not in the fight with them, my battle is with the guys behind us. Their performance was quite a bit ahead of us."

Indeed, Hamilton may well be looking over his shoulder at the likes of Alfa Romeo and Haas — two Ferrari-powered cars that also did very well in qualifying. Valtteri Bottas starts sixth in the first Alfa, with Kevin Magnussen a superb seventh on the grid for Haas.

Mercedes power units fared less well. Neither Aston Martin made it through the first qualifying session and only one McLaren, Lando Norris in 13th, scraped into Q2. The midfield could be seriously congested this season. 

Last year's title fight went all the way of course, with Verstappen ultimately crowned champion for the first time after the farcical scenes in the final Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. If you want a reminder of what happened over a topsy-turvy season, then we recommend you watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 4. 

But that's all in the past now, and based on the first two days in Bahrain it could be Red Bull and Ferrari, rather than Red Bull and Mercedes, who go head to head this year.

We'll find out soon how that qualifying pace translates in a full race — lights are out at the Bahrain Grand Prix today (March 20) at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. GMT. Make sure you don't miss a second of it by watching a Bahrain Grand Prix live stream — potentially for FREE. 

Read on for details of how to watch, and don't forget to check out our full 2022 F1 live streams hub for more information including the full schedule for the season.

FREE Bahrain Grand Prix live streams

How to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream for FREE

If you're lucky enough to live in the Austria or Luxembourg then you can enjoy every second of the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream for FREE.

That's because the free-to-air RTL Zwee in Luxembourg will be showing every session of the Grand Prix, as will ORF in Austria. 

But what if you're usually based in one of those countries but aren't at home for the Bahrain Grand Prix live stream? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix live streams around the world

How to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream from anywhere with a VPN

It's natural that you might want to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the race is on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

For instance, an Austrian who's currently in the U.S. could watch the Bahrain Grand Prix live stream on ORF, even though they're not in Austria. 

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Safety, speed and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. It's also compatible with loads of devices and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you want to try it out.

View Deal

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Austrian service, you'd select Austria from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to ORF or another website and watch the race.

How to watch the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in the US

As with every F1 race this season, the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream will be shown on ESPN. Coverage will be spread across the main ESPN channel, ESPN 2 and ESPNEWS, with the race itself on ESPN.

• Practice 1 - Friday, March 18 - 7.55AM - ESPN2
• Practice 2 - Friday, March 18 - 10.55AM - ESPNEWS/ESPN3
• Practice 3 - Saturday, March 19 - 7.55AM - ESPN2
• Qualifying - Saturday, March 19 - 10.55AM - ESPNEWS/ESPN3
• Pre-race show - Sunday, March 20 - 9.30AM - ESPN
• Bahrain Grand Prix - Sunday, March 20 - 10.55AM - ESPN

There are several ways you can access ESPN — and two of them are among our picks for the best streaming services. 

ESPN is available through most cable packages as well as cable TV replacement services, including Sling TV, Fubo.TV, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.  

As well as being available through your cable service, you can also stream the race via the ESPN app, or on the Watch section of ESPN's website. However, you'll need to authenticate with your satellite, cable or live TV provider credentials to watch any sessions. 

If you don't want to pay for live ESPN in some fashion or another, your best alternative is F1 TV Pro. This is F1's own official F1 live stream service, and as with ESPN's own coverage, it uses the feed from Sky Sports F1. 

F1 TV Pro costs $10 per month or $80 for the season, which is much better value considering there are 22 races this year. Plus you also get Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup races, and F1's archive of classic Grands Prix.

And remember, if you're usually based in the U.S. but aren't there at the moment, you can still watch the services you already subscribe to via a VPN such as ExpressVPN — meaning you can view the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream from anywhere in the world. 

If you're not already a Sling TV subscriber, you'll want Sling Orange in order to watch ESPN. This costs $35/month and includes dozens of other great channels. Sling also currently offers a free 3-day trial.

View Deal

Love sports? Then check out Fubo.TV. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front. The channel lineup includes ESPN2, plus other top networks including Bravo, FX and MTV.

View Deal

How to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in the UK

As usual, Sky Sports F1 will show the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream, and in up to 4K resolution. 

You'll need to be a Sky Sports subscriber to watch it: the Sky Sports F1 channel is available for £18 per month, and there are packages available that give you lots more channels for only a bit extra. 

To follow it in ultra high-definition 4K, you'll need to pay a little more: you'll need a Sky Q set-top box or Sky Glass and a package that includes both Ultra HD and Sky Sports F1. In total, that'd come to at least £45 a month, plus a £20 one-off payment if you're not an existing subscriber.

A far cheaper option is to buy a Now Sports Pass. This will give you all 11 of the Sky Sports channels for a limited time, with pricing starting at £9.99 for a Day Pass and £33.99 for one month. There's no 4K available here, though.

Again, if you're usually based in the U.K. but are elsewhere at the moment, you can still watch the services you subscribe to by using one of the best VPN services.

How to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in Canada

TSN has the Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in Canada in English, while RDS has coverage in French. F1 TV Pro also remains an option for fans. 

All sessions are broadcast on TSN, and if you receive the network through your cable or satellite provider, you can use TSN Go by signing in with your TV service credentials. Cord-cutters will want to check out TSN Direct, which comes in day- and month-long passes for $8 or $20 CAD, respectively. The TSN app will allow you to live stream the race from your phone, streaming box or supported device.

Not actually in Canada at the moment? ExpressVPN and other VPN services can help you access the services you already subscribe to.

How to watch the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in Australia

Fox Sports has the rights to the Bahrain Grand Prix live stream in Australia, which means you can watch all the action online via Foxtel. 

Kayo Sports is another option. This service offers new subscribers a 14-day free trial, while one-month subscriptions start at $25. 

You can also use one of the best VPN services to follow the action from your home country even when you're elsewhere.

Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix schedule

2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix live stream: Practice, qualifying and race weekend schedule

The Bahrain Grand Prix weekend started yesterday, Friday March 18, with practice 1 and 2. Third practice and qualifying are today, and the race is tomorrow (Sunday, March 20).

Friday, March 18

Practice 1

• 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET
• 5 a.m. – 6 a.m PT 
• 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. GMT

Practice 2

• 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
• 5 a.m. – 6 a.m PT
• 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. GMT

Saturday, March 19

Practice 3

• 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET
• 5 a.m. – 6 a.m PT 
• 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. GMT

Qualifying

• 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
• 5 a.m. – 6 a.m PT
• 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. GMT

Sunday, March 20

Bahrain Grand Prix

• 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET
• 5 a.m. – 7 a.m PT
• 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. GMT

F1 2022 car and driver line-ups