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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Benjamin Lynch

F1 Spanish Grand Prix: When is it? UK times and how to watch

The Formula 1 circus wheels in to Spain this weekend with a hotly anticipated Spanish Grand Prix.

The 2022 season is turning into a fierce battle of Red Bull vs Ferrari as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton struggles in a Mercedes experiencing technical problems.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc currently leads the championship and the Monegasque driver will be hoping to take some good form into his home race with a win in Spain.

Reports suggest Ferrari is coming to Spain with a raft of upgrades for the car after a slightly underwhelming performance in Miami.

Leclerc's nearest challenger is currently titleholder Max Verstappen, the flying Dutchman in hot form after taking the chequered flag in Miami last time out.

The Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona is often a track for the F1 purists, with some fans complaining the circuit does not allow for many overtakes, but the sport has the potential to spring into drama and excitement at any moment.

How can I watch the Spanish Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc's title fight is hotting up (REUTERS)

Formula 1 fans in the UK can watch the Spanish Grand Prix on the Sky Sports F1 channel and Sky Sports Main Event.

Those who are subscribers to Sky Sports can watch the race unfold on the Sky Go app if they need to. If they do not have the app or a Sky Sports subscription, people can purchase a NOW TV pass.

A day plus mobile month membership will cost you £11.98.

Channel 4 currently has the rights to show highlights of the race, so people can watch along from 6:30pm on Sunday May 22.

British fans may be disappointed with the chances of the two British drivers in the Mercedes. It will take likely take something spectacular for Lewis Hamilton to win a record seventh Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday unless he and George Russell's Silver Arrows arrive in Catalunya with hugely successful upgrades to the car.

The chance of rain in Spain is currently very low for the upcoming weekend, so it is unlikely any murky clouds will throw a spanner in the works.

When does the Spanish Grand Prix start?

Lights out in Spain is at 2pm UK time on Sunday (Getty Images)

The race for the Spanish Grand Prix begins at 2pm UK time, which is 3pm in Spain, on Sunday, May 22.

The actual race weekend begins on Friday, May 20 with the traditional practice format before qualifying on Saturday.

Free practice 1 (FP1) starts at 1pm on Friday, lasting until 2pm, followed by FP2 at 4pm.

On Saturday, teams will get their last chance to tune their cars up correctly in FP3 at 12pm, before a battle of wits and rubber begins with qualifying at 2pm on Saturday May 21.

The race will hopefully bring more drama between Leclerc and Verstappen, with the Dutchman saying he prefers to be the hunter, rather than the one being hunted in the title race.

Max said: "At the end of last year, of course, I was the one who was being hunted.

"That was actually not a great position because I knew that we didn't have the pace anymore. I knew it was going to be very tricky to the end. So yeah, just depends a bit on how competitive you are as well."

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