In Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland, Formula 1 on free TV is still possible. With a reliable VPN, you can access these channels from anywhere to stream Formula 1 abroad on free TV for free. NordVPN* is my favorite here, because with it the free F1 streaming always works for me.
These channels show Formula 1 on free TV:
Perhaps a few more important notes. ServusTV and ORF take turns showing the races. SRF, on the other hand, shows all races, but you have to look up on which channel. This can be SRF 2 or SRF Info. However, all websites offer a TV program, which you can quickly find out about. RTL Luxembourg also broadcasts the races and even records them. You can stream the last race for a week as a repeat. RTL Play in Belgium shows the F1 races with French commentary.
If you are traveling and on vacation in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium or Austria, you can simply stream the races. The above mentioned broadcasters have the license to officially broadcast the races in their country on free TV. If you are not on location, you will get a message that the respective content may not be broadcast for legal reasons – this is then the so-called geoblocking, which you can bypass, I use here NordVPN* or CyberGhost*.
How to stream Formula 1 abroad for free on free TV?
Time needed: 15 minutes
Follow my simple instructions and you will be able to watch the races you want online for free abroad without any problems.
- Get a VPN
Subscribe to a VPN with servers in Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium or Switzerland. It depends on what you prefer to watch over. The best VPN services offer servers in these countries anyway. The providers I recommend, NordVPN* and CyberGhost*, provide apps for Android, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Linux.
- Install the VPN on your devices
Once you have decided, download the appropriate VPN apps and install them on your device. Open the app and log in with your user data.
- Connect to one of the servers
At this point, it depends on whether you want to stream RTL / RTL Play / ORF / ServusTV or SRF. Connect to the appropriate server in the country where you want to stream Formula 1 for free on free TV.
- Open the streaming provider
Now open one of the possible F1 streams. On SRF, the races are usually broadcast on SRF 2, possibly also on SRF Info. Sometimes you have to change the channel during a Grand Prix, but the commentators announce this in the live stream.
Pro tip: You can also watch the races on free TV via RTL Luxembourg (rtl.lu). There you can watch the repeat of the last Formula 1 race for a whole week. So if you missed a race or it was broadcast at an inconvenient time for you, you can watch the Formula 1 replay there for free. However, you need an IP address in Luxembourg and you have to connect to a corresponding server.
Is watching Formula 1 abroad for free legal?
Various specialist lawyers are convinced that you are not doing anything illegal when circumventing geoblocking. You are most likely violating the terms of use of the respective streaming provider. However, you don’t have to register with any of these broadcasters, and you probably won’t be prosecuted anyway.
Instead, the streaming providers rely on so-called geographical blockades and try to detect and block your VPN. That’s why you need a reliable VPN provider with many good servers.
However, there are countries where VPNs are prohibited. What I would like to say at this point: Find out for yourself what is allowed in your location and what is not. The fact is that you can stream Formula 1 abroad via free TV, as long as you are in one of these countries.
The F1 stream with VPN does not work – solutions
Here are some tips. If the F1 stream of Formula 1 on Free TV abroad does not work, this can have several causes.
Possibly, the streaming provider has a problem. This rarely happens, but it is a possibility. Maybe there is a technical problem that you are powerless against. In this case, you can only wait or switch to another channel.
Sometimes certain streams do not work with various browsers. Try another browser and maybe that will solve your problem.
Providers are always eager to detect VPNs. It happens that a server is unmasked and then the broadcast is blocked. If this is the case, simply change the server. Disconnecting and reconnecting often solves the problem.
The best VPNs offer multiple protocols. It may be that some VPN protocols don’t work well and that’s why try to change the protocol in the app’s settings. You can also install the browser extension of the service. These are mostly proxies and they are great for streaming.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions and answers about streaming F1 for free
The bottom line is that it’s pretty easy to watch Formula 1 on free TV from anywhere if you know the right trick with VPN.
You can watch Formula 1 abroad for free on all the channels mentioned above. All races are geoblocked and therefore you need a VPN with servers in the corresponding country.
RTL Luxembourg shows the replay of the last race, but only for one week – still. This is quite useful when races are broadcast at night or very early in the morning. You don’t have to stay awake or get up early, just watch the Grand Prix when it suits you.
I highly doubt it. All free VPNs have limitations. Some offer only a few Mbytes of data volume per month and with that you can’t stream a complete race. Others don’t have the servers you need. Rather take a cheap premium service and you don’t have to be annoyed.