RTL Confirms 2026 Free-to-Air F1 Schedule

RTL has finalized its 2026 Formula 1 free-to-air schedule in Germany, confirming a five-race package built around Monaco, Belgium, Zandvoort, Madrid and Las Vegas after its takeover of Sky Deutschland.

For the rest of the season, RTL will show four more Grands Prix live on free-to-air television with both qualifying and the race: Spa-Francorchamps on July 18-19, the Zandvoort weekend on August 22-23, the Madrid city-circuit debut on the Madring on September 12-13, and Las Vegas on November 21-22. Monaco had already been shown earlier in the year, making five free-to-air grands prix in total.

That leaves RTL with a smaller free-to-air Formula 1 slate than last season. The 2026 plan adds up to five races, down from seven in the previous year, even after RTL completed its acquisition of Sky Deutschland on June 1.

The broadcaster’s package goes beyond those five race weekends. RTL will also air qualifying sessions from Silverstone on July 4, Hungary on July 25, Monza on September 5 and Austin on October 24, plus the Singapore sprint on October 10. On all other weekends, either qualifying or the sprint will be available on RTL+, carried as Sky Deutschland’s original stream, while Sky continues to show every race live in full on pay TV.

RTL’s Formula 1 season had started late amid legal and technical uncertainty involving Austrian TV providers. Since the Sky deal closed, RTL has already shown qualifying and the race from Monaco, along with qualifying from Barcelona, as it began to define how its free-to-air offering would sit alongside Sky’s full live coverage.

RTL managing director Inga Leschek said after Monaco that the first joint coverage gave fans a direct sense of what the merger was meant to deliver. “With our first shared super sports weekend, we are making it immediately tangible for fans what the merger of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland means,” she said. “It is a preview of the sports experiences that we will create together for fans in the future.”

For German viewers, the immediate result is now clear: a fully defined but reduced free-to-air F1 schedule, with RTL using five grands prix and selected extra sessions to establish its post-merger role while Sky remains the home of complete live weekend coverage.