F1 Caved and Won’t Try To Compete With The Indy 500 In 2026

Racing Christmas has been saved!

The auto racing world was rocked a bit earlier this year when Formula 1 announced it was holding the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix on Memorial Day weekend Sunday (May 24), the same day as the Indy 500, a date it traditionally ran the Monaco Grand Prix.

With Monaco in the morning, the Indy 500 in the afternoon and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the evening, Memorial Day weekend Sunday had for years been perfectly aligned for U.S. racing fans, who often referred to it as Racing Christmas.

With the three-hour Indy 500’s start time 12:45 p.m. ET and the 1.5-hour Canadian Grand Prix usually beginning at 2 p.m. ET, the change didn’t just shuffle the deck, it looked to put the two races in direct competition. There could be extra interest in the Formula 1 race with American automaker Cadillac entering the series.

However, Formula 1 has released the official start times for the 2026 season and decided to go lights out for the Canadian Grand Prix at 4 p.m. in order to avoid a conflict with IndyCar and the far more popular Indy 500.

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That doesn’t get it entirely out of the woods, as any weather issues or major race-related delays could easily push the Indy 500 finish past 4 p.m., but it should work out perfectly if there isn’t a hitch.

It also leaves a comfortable gap between the end of the Canadian Grand Prix and the start of the Coca-Cola 600, which saw its green flag wave just before 6:30 p.m. ET this year.

This may have actually worked out well for late sleepers, who don’t have to get up for the typical 9 a.m. ET Monaco Grand Prix start time, but early risers will need to find something to watch, instead. The 2026 Monaco Grand Prix will be taking place two weeks later on June 7, but Formula 1 said that it could move back to its original slot on the calendar in future years.