2026 Canadian F1 GP vs Indy 500 Start Times: Who Will Budge?
The 2026 Formula 1 season calendar was unveiled earlier this week, and as expected, Monaco has been pushed back to June and will no longer happen on the same day as IndyCar's Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. This is good news to some racing fans, bad for others, and completely irrelevant to most. However, what it does cause is a clash between the 2026 Indy 500 and the Canadian F1 Grand Prix.
Previously, both races could coexist on the same day because one happened on North America's Eastern Time, while the other happened on Europe's Central European Summer Time, six hours ahead. This allowed fans to start their day by watching the entirety of the Monaco parade, err, race, at 9 a.m. ET before fully switching on to the 500, which starts at 12:45 p.m. ET. In fact, as an Indy local, I'm used to watching Monaco from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as I get there early enough to avoid the traffic.
And that's where everything's gone wrong for 2026. Because IndyCar and F1 are both racing in North America, in the same time zone, fans will be forced to choose one over the other. Or, if they can, watch both of them simultaneously, though that option is entirely impossible for the half-million race fans who will attend either race in person.
The Canadian GP is set to start at 2 p.m. ET this year and likely the same next year, with the Indy 500 retaining its 12:45 p.m. start time. You don't have to be great at math to figure out why that might not work.
Former F1 pundit and now IndyCar commentator Will Buxton shared on social media how silly this new clash is, and asked the heads of both championships to come together and figure something out for the sake of the race fans (and network viewership, of course).
Worth noting this year's Canadian GP starts at 2pm ET and could be pushed back to 3 in 26 with ease. Historically, the Indy500 always started earlier than it does now with a 10am start for its first 30 years, and an 11am start from the 1940s all the way into the 2000s. https://t.co/s6rxFC6rQQ — Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) June 11, 2025
Buxton's theory is that Canada could be pushed back to 3 p.m., and the Indy 500 moved an hour or maybe even to, giving it an either 10:45 or 11:45 start time. With the 500 typically running about three hours long on average, this would allow fans to watch both races in their entirety back-to-back.
'Should either race move start times? Will they move start times? That's ultimately for the championships to decide. But could they? Absolutely,' said Buxton on X. 'Crucially, there's ample wiggle room, and interestingly, there is historical precedent to allow both races to coexist without clashing.'
Frankly, I would be very surprised if Roger Penske or Stefano Domenicali budged on start times. These times aren't just set for people physically attending the race, but for huge TV networks to fit in with all of their other programming. Logistics also play a big role. From law enforcement (traffic control, crowd control, etc.), flyovers, public transport, third-party vendors, and other international TV partners, these times are extremely difficult to change, even with an entire year's notice.
Is it impossible, though? Nope.
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Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. share
