Formula 1: Qatar Grand Prix no longer being broadcast on ESPN2

The Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail International Circuit had been the second of five consecutive Formula 1 races not on ESPN, but that has changed.

Lusail International Circuit is back on this year’s Formula 1 schedule after it was not included on last year’s calendar, and it is scheduled to host the Qatar Grand Prix, the 17th of 22 races on the 2023 schedule, this coming Sunday, October 8.

This 57-lap race around the 16-turn, 3.343-mile (5.381-kilometer) road course in Lusail, Al Daayen, Qatar had been the second straight and fourth overall race set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 this year. It would have been the fifth overall, but the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was canceled back in May due to flooding in the area of Imola Circuit.

However, the race has since been moved to ESPN. The one race remaining on ESPN2’s portion of this year’s broadcast schedule after the Qatar Grand Prix is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at Interlagos Circuit on Sunday, November 5. This, of course, is also subject to change.

Aside from the races on ESPN2, the only five races on this year’s Formula 1 schedule which aren’t on regular ESPN are the five races on ABC.

ABC’s most recent event, the Canadian Grand Prix, was contested back in mid-June at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The two remaining races on ABC’s portion of this year’s broadcast schedule are the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, October 22 and the Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, October 29.

As a result, there are currently slated to be three races in a row not on regular ESPN following the Qatar Grand Prix. The season’s final two races, the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Street Circuit on Sunday, November 19 and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, November 26, are both set to be broadcast live on ESPN, with the former also on ESPN2.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is the reigning winner of the Qatar Grand Prix, though it did not take place in 2022 as a result of the fact that Qatar was the host of the FIFA World Cup last year. Lusail International Circuit was first added to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021 and landed a 10-year deal to continue hosting the Qatar Grand Prix through 2032.

The Qatar Grand Prix is scheduled to take place at Lusail International Circuit on Sunday, October 8. It is set to be broadcast live on ESPN starting at 12:55 p.m. ET. Be sure to start a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!