The race for the lead in driver’s standings is heating up as we move towards the seventh Grand Prix of the 2021 season. The Formula 1 Emirates Grand Prix De France will be held from 18-20th June at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. The 53-lap race will mark the start of the season’s first tripleheader with three races scheduled on consecutive weekends.
But what if you’re outside your country of residence and can’t access your usual Formula 1 stream due to geo-blocking restrictions? What if you don’t have a subscription to the broadcaster operating in your region? Or what if you simply want to watch the race for free? You can overcome these problems by using a safe and reliable VPN service, which allows you to watch F1 races online from anywhere in the world. Read on to find out how you can do this without spending a penny!
How do I Use a VPN to Watch the 2021 Grand Prix de France for Free?
Sites and streaming services identify your current location based on your IP address. They use this information to restrict their services to certain geographic locations. This means that you can’t access their services if you’re outside the region or in a region where the race isn’t being broadcast.
Official broadcast partners for Formula 1 also spend substantial amounts of money to acquire the broadcasting rights for the races. To recoup some of the money spent, they often require users to purchase a subscription before watching content. Purchasing a subscription can be hard, especially when abroad, as service providers usually require the use of a regional payment method. This could mean that you miss out on the nail-biting action when you’re vacationing or traveling for work.
A VPN helps resolve this problem by changing your IP address to make it seem like you’re in another country! You can use this to access your own service provider while abroad as well as to watch free and legal streams from other countries. Here’s a list of websites that stream Formula 1 races for free:
| Country | Broadcaster | Commentary Language | Stream URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | Match TV | Russian | matchtv.ru/on-air |
| Albania | RTSH | Albanian | tv.rtsh.al/kanalet/rtsh-sport |
| Luxembourg | RTL | Luxembourgish | play.rtl.lu/live |
| Brazil | Band | Portuguese | www.band.uol.com.br/ao-vivo |
| Switzerland | SRF | German | www.srf.ch/play/tv/live/srf-info |
To access these sites, you’re going to need to use a VPN and access a server located in one of the countries above. Follow the easy step-by-step guide below to learn how you can do this.
Step-by-step guide on using a VPN to watch Formula 1 Live Streams
- Create an account and purchase a subscription for the VPN provider of your choice. We recommend CyberGhost, as it’s affordable, has an extensive network of servers, and comes with a lengthy 45-day money-back guarantee.
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- Download and install the VPN software on your device. Most VPNs work across multiple platforms, so download the app relevant to your system.
- Once installed, open the app and log in using your credentials.
- Select a server in the country where your stream is based. For a free stream, select a server in one of the countries listed above.
- After you’re connected to the remote server, fire up your streaming service and navigate to the French Grand Prix.
- Watch the race for free no matter where you are!
If you’re a first-time user of CyberGhost, you should consider using their free trial. You can find out more about this by reading our detailed guide on how to get a CyberGhost trial for free.
Also, if you’re confused about which free streaming URL to use, we’d recommend Switzerland, as CyberGhost has more than a hundred servers to choose from in this country. We’ve tried accessing the stream using CyberGhost and it works perfectly.
Where to Watch the 2021 GP France
All races are broadcast by Formula 1’s official partners, who have purchased the broadcast rights and licenses. The following table shows the licensed broadcasters in different countries across the world:
| Country or Region | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Africa | SuperSport |
| Albania | RTSH |
| Asia | Fox Sports Channels, STAR Sports (Indian Subcontinent) |
| Australia | Fox Sports Channels, Network Ten |
| Austria | Servus TV, ORF |
| Azerbaijan | AzTV, Idman Azerbaycan |
| Belgium | RTBF, Telenet, Play Sport Open, VRT |
| Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia | Sport Klub |
| Brazil | Bandeirantes |
| Bulgaria | Nova, Diema Sport |
| Canada | RDS, RDS 2, TSN, Noovo |
| China | CCTV, Tencent, Guangdong TV, Great Sports TV |
| Cyprus | Cytavision |
| Czech Republic, Slovakia | AMC |
| Denmark | TV3+, TV3 Sport, Viaplay |
| Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania | Viaplay |
| Eurasia | Setanta Sports |
| Finland | C More Max, MTV |
| France | Canal+ |
| Germany | Sky Deutschland, RTL |
| Greece | ERT, Cosmote TV |
| Hungary | M4 |
| Israel | The Sports Channel |
| Italy | Sky Italia, TV8 |
| Japan | Fuji TV |
| Latin America | Fox Sports Channels, ESPN |
| Luxembourg | RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg |
| Malta | Go Sports |
| The Middle East, North Africa (MENA) | MBC Action, Shahid |
| Netherlands | Ziggo, NOS |
| New Zealand | Spark Sport |
| Norway | V sport 1, V sport +, Viaplay |
| Poland | Eleven Sports, Polsat |
| Portugal | Eleven Sports |
| Romania | Digisport, Telekom Romania, Look Sport |
| Russia | Match TV |
| Sweden | Viaplay, V sport motor, TV10 |
| Switzerland | SRF, RSI, RTS |
| Turkey | S Sport, S Sport Plus |
| Ukraine | Setanta Ukraine |
| United Kingdom, Ireland | C4, Sky Sports |
| USA | ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Race Schedule and Timings
The race itself will start on June 20th at the Circuit Paul Ricard. This will, of course, be preceded by practice and qualifications. Specific timings for each event are provided below:
| Event | Date and time (in BST) |
|---|---|
| First practice | June 18 (10:30 – 11:30) |
| Second practice | June 18 (14:00 – 15:00) |
| Third practice | June 19 (11:00 – 12:00) |
| Qualification | June 19(14:00 – 15:00) |
| Final race | June 20 (14:00 – 16:00) |
Standings and the State of Play
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are neck and neck in the driver’s standings, separated by only four points. Both drivers failed to earn a point in the Azerbaijan GP and will be looking to make amends in France. Hamilton has a near-perfect record at Circuit Paul Ricard, winning both Grand Prix races held there since 2018. But Verstappen and Red Bull have been on a tear lately and might just give Mercedes a run for their money.
The top 5 drivers going into this weekend are listed in the table below:
| Position | Racer (team) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 105 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | 101 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez (Red Bull) | 69 |
| 4 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 66 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 52 |
