Race number four on the record-tying 24-race 2025 Formula 1 schedule is the Bahrain Grand Prix, and it is scheduled to take place at Bahrain International Circuit this Sunday, marking the first time since 2020 that the track has hosted a race other than the season opener.
It also marks the first time this season that a Formula 1 Grand Prix is set to be shown on a channel other than ESPN, as the Australian, Chinese, and Japanese Grands Prix were all broadcast live on ESPN to kick off the season.
Sunday's race is scheduled to be a 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) road course in Sakhir, Bahrain, and it is set to be shown live on ESPN2 rather than ESPN.
Bahrain Grand Prix being shown on ESPN2, not ESPN
The 2025 season is the final year of ESPN's deal to broadcast Formula 1 races. ESPN, along with ESPN2 and ABC, have held the Formula 1 broadcast rights in the United States since 2018, and the deal has been paying roughly $90 million per year.
The entire broadcast schedule for the 2025 season has not yet been confirmed, with channels only solidified up until the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, the 14th race on the calendar, in early August.
Including this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, four of the next 11 races are set to be shown live on ESPN2, four are set to be shown on ESPN, and three are set to be shown on ABC. ESPN2 is respnsible for the next two and three of the next four, as ABC's first race of the season is the Miami Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at Miami Internatioanl Autodrome on Sunday, May 4.
ESPN is not set to air another race until Sunday, June 1, when the Spanish Grand Prix, race number nine on the calendar, is scheduled to take place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Tune in to ESPN2 at 10:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, April 13 for the live broadcast of the Bahrain Grand Prix from Bahrain International Circuit. If you have not yet had a chance to begin a free trial of FuboTV, take advantage of their current offer and do so today!