July 11 (Reuters) - TV Globo has recovered the exclusive broadcast rights for Formula One ( FWONB ) in Brazil in a three-year deal from 2026 after being absent since 2020, the sport announced on Friday.

The broadcaster held the rights for more than 40 years until Bandeirantes took over in 2021.

The deal will give Brazilian fans free-to-air live access to 15 of the 24 races while the remainder will be on Globo's pay channel, sportv.

No financial details were given.

With 20-year-old Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, last year's Formula Two champion, Brazil has a full-time Formula One ( FWONB ) driver on the grid this season for the first time since Felipe Massa retired in 2017.

Brazil, home country of world champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and the late Ayrton Senna, also has the only South American round of the championship with a race at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit.