Scheduling became a big concern when Formula 1 announced it would move Monaco to June for 2026 and beyond, but the racing series has avoided a potential clash with one of the biggest races in motorsports.
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The Canadian Grand Prix, which takes place at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on May 24, will now take place at 4 p.m. local (ET). In past seasons, this event has started at 2 p.m. ET, which set up a clash with the Indianapolis 500 after F1 shifted its date to be closer to the Miami Grand Prix.
The Indianapolis 500 starts at 12:45 p.m. ET. This has not created any conflicts in past years as Monaco began at 9 a.m. ET. It ended well before the Indianapolis 500. NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 crown jewel race then capped off the day with a 6 p.m. ET start time.
The Canadian GP will now slot into the open space between the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Timing should not be an issue, as long as weather cooperates.
This season's Indy 500 took 2 hours and 57 minutes to complete, but it also featured a 30-minute rain delay. This season's Canadian Grand Prix, which took place in June, took 1 hour and 31 minutes to complete.
If the 2026 Indy 500 starts on time, the race should end around 3:45 p.m. ET. This will give motorsports fans 15 minutes of post-race content before they switch over to the Canadian Grand Prix.
The F1 race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve should end around 5:30 p.m. ET. This will provide a roughly 30-minute buffer before the motorsports fans switch over to NASCAR and the Coca-Cola 600.
If everything works out with the weather, motorsports fans should have uninterrupted access to racing on May 24. Sure, it won't necessarily be Motorsports Christmas with Monaco moving to June, but the day's schedule will still highlight three immensely popular racing series to millions of fans around the world.
Obviously, not every motorsports fan will want to watch all three racing series on the same day. But for those who do, this schedule announcement comes as a welcome surprise. They don't have to worry about a clash causing them to miss any action on the track.
