F1 night races: which Grands Prix are held after sunset

Which F1 races are night races in 2026?

Here a night race is one that starts no earlier than sunset, local time. If a race starts in daylight and finishes after sunset, it is a day-night race — which is what Formula 1 calls the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Start times are from the season calendar in our database as of 29 September 2026. Sunset times are calculated by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, MET Norway, for the circuit’s coordinates.

The other 19 races of 2026 start in daylight, at least three hours before sunset.

Qualifying at all four events also takes place after sunset: at 21:00 local time on Saturday in Singapore and Qatar, 20:00 on Friday in Las Vegas and 18:00 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. The sprint in Singapore starts on Saturday at 17:00, while it is still light. The full session schedule is in the season calendar.

How many night races are there in a season?

In 2026, four of the 23 races will be run in the dark: three night races and Abu Dhabi. In both 2024 and 2025 there were six of 24 — five night races plus Abu Dhabi. We counted by the same rule, with start times from f1db.

In Bahrain the start came at exactly the minute of sunset — under our rule, that still makes it a night race. Abu Dhabi started 33 minutes before sunset, and the winner finished at 18:26, 53 minutes after the sun had set.

There are fewer night races in 2026 for two reasons. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, scheduled for April, did not take place and is not on the season calendar. Formula 1 and the FIA announced the Bahrain Grand Prix for 4 October at Sepang in Malaysia, where it starts at 15:00, in daylight. How the 2026 calendar changed is explained in the article on the number of races.

Which circuits host night races?

Races in the dark have been held at six circuits. The first was Marina Bay in Singapore in 2008, and the latest to join was Las Vegas in 2023.

According to Formula 1, the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was the first night race in the championship’s history; Fernando Alonso won it for Renault. A year later, Abu Dhabi held the first day-night race.

Bahrain switched to a night race in 2014. Formula 1 wrote at the time that Sakhir was the third venue where a Grand Prix was held wholly or partly in darkness, after Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The start was set for 18:00 local time, and floodlights had been installed at the circuit the year before. Since then the start in Bahrain has almost coincided with sunset. From 2014 to 2025 the Bahrain Grand Prix began between 3 minutes before and 25 minutes after sunset (sunset times from MET Norway).

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a night race from its first edition in 2021, on the street circuit in Jeddah: it started at 20:30 local time. The first Qatar Grand Prix, the same year, started at 17:00 local time — 16 minutes after sunset, going by MET Norway’s sunset time. Since 2023 Las Vegas has held its race on Saturday evening; street circuits are covered in a separate article.

How the track is lit

Lights are put up all the way round the lap. The figures for three circuits come from the lighting supplier and from Formula 1.

• Singapore. According to Signify, the lighting supplier, more than 1,600 LED floodlights stand around the track, with more than 220 km of cable. The circuit is temporary, so the lighting is set up from scratch every year: the floodlights sit on trusses 10 metres high, rather than on the 30–40-metre masts of permanent circuits.
• Abu Dhabi. According to Formula 1, around 4,700 light fixtures illuminate the circuit.
• Qatar. In 2021, before the first Grand Prix, Formula 1 wrote that around 3,600 lamps on 1,000 poles lit the 5.38 km track at Lusail.

In Singapore, LED floodlights replaced the old metal halide lamps in 2023, and according to Signify, the circuit’s power consumption fell by 30%.

Why race at night?

There is no single reason that covers every event. Here is what Formula 1 itself says about its night races:

• Qatar. It is cooler at night: at the end of November, around 22–28°C after dark, and hotter during the day.
• Bahrain. It marked the tenth anniversary of its first Grand Prix with a night race in 2014.
• Las Vegas. Formula 1 describes it as a Saturday night race under the lights, with entertainment around the track.