Sometimes all the rumors do come true – Apple and Formula 1 have announced a new five-year partnership that will make Apple TV the exclusive home of all F1 races in the United States, starting in 2026.
As if Apple didn’t do enough this week after renaming Apple TV+ to Apple TV and then launching three devices all with the brand-new M5 chip, it’s off to the races today with some news that’ll push us all full throttle into the weekend.
And it’s major news, too – and a big step for the Cupertino-based tech giant in bolstering its streaming offers. Apple TV is already home to Friday Night Baseball, MLS Season Pass for Major League Soccer games worldwide, and countless original movies and TV shows, so F1 joins a growing list.
Here’s the real kicker – no extra subscription will be required beyond subscribing to Apple TV. And if you prefer to use F1 TV Premium, you’ll need to sign in with an Apple TV subscription to stream the races there. Additionally, this is US only.
Not to mention, the arrival of F1 races next year is a fast follow-up to F1 The Movie, which made over $629 million in its theatrical run and arrives on Apple TV on December 12, 2025. Beyond just bringing in fans of Brad Pitt, it might also build more fans ahead of real F1 races hitting the platform.
Much like Apple’s approach to MLS Season Pass, it won’t just be offering every F1 race to Apple TV subscribers. It’ll be every practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix throughout the F1 season, and I suspect we’ll see original broadcast shows and documentaries.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, is both excited and bullish – “We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with Formula 1 and offer Apple TV subscribers in the U.S. front-row access to one of the most exciting and fastest-growing sports on the planet.”
“2026 marks a transformative new era for Formula 1, from new teams to new regulations and cars with the best drivers in the world, and we look forward to delivering premium and innovative fan-first coverage to our customers in a way that only Apple can.”
That likely means we will see some wild shots, including various camera arrays, and, similar to how Apple shot a portion of the F1 movie with an iPhone camera sensor, we could see Apple TV deploy iPhone 17 Pro on the F1 track to livestream. Apple did that just a few weeks ago with Friday Night Baseball.
Similarly, Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s president and CEO, hinted at a compelling streaming experience: “We have a shared vision to bring this amazing sport to our fans in the U.S. and entice new fans through live broadcasts, engaging content, and a year-round approach to keep them hooked. I want to thank Tim Cook, Eddy Cue, and the entire Apple team for their vision and passionate approach to delivering this partnership, and we are looking forward to the next five years together.”
It seems like Apple, as well as Formula 1, are hoping to level up F1, and it might be in a similar way to how the tech giant has produced Major League Soccer – sleek graphics throughout matches, clean scores presented, a broad range of broadcast shows, complimentary documentaries, and easy streaming of all matches with no blackout dates. While MLS is global, Apple will stream Formula 1 US-only for at least the next five years.
Apple’s also going to leverage its other apps and services to bring the best of F1. You can already track your favorite teams, drivers, and races via Apple Sports, but the release also mentions deeper ties with Apple Music and Apple News.
This should be a pretty major step in Apple’s expansion of its streaming offerings, though, and I hope it brings with it the many lessons from MLS, Friday Night Baseball, and other Apple TV content. In terms of viewership, it’ll likely bring F1 to new audiences and new audiences to the Apple TV platform.
I also hope we see some experimentation with how the broadcast is captured, maybe with an iPhone like Friday Night Baseball, and with Apple Immersive-capable cameras to produce more live events for the Vision Pro.
Neither Apple nor Formula 1 is ready to share specifics on the broadcast or production just yet, but it’s likely we’ll get that in the coming months as we approach the 2026 season.
Until then, we’ll be waiting for Tim Cook and Co. to say ‘It’s lights out and away we go!’ and to see if Apple TV and Formula 1 create lightning on the track next year.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
