We knew Apple would follow up on its hit film F1: The movie with live coverage of F1 races in 2026. Now that we’re approaching the first Grand Prix weekend of the year, the company has provided details on what fans can expect to see in the Apple TV app and beyond.
There is already a channel dedicated to F1 in the Apple TV app, where you’ll stream the races live when the time comes. You can also watch workouts, sprint races, and pre- and post-race coverage. Apple has a number of additional F1 videos there (I recommend watching the one on the new rules) and you can stream the latest season of Drive to survive on Apple TV too.
Apple will offer the F1 TV stream as the main broadcast alongside the Sky Sports stream for all races. If you recall, ESPN used to show the Sky Sports feed with Sky’s commentary team for its F1 coverage. Apple says it will broadcast each grand prix in 4K (Dolby Vision) with 5.1 audio (no mention of Dolby Atmos).
As part of Apple’s deal with F1, Apple TV subscribers get F1 TV Premium for the 2026 season. This gives you access to things like on-board cameras, team radios and live telemetry, in addition to live coverage of the entire Grand Prix weekend. So you can watch races on Apple TV or F1 TV, depending on your app preferences, or use the additional features of F1 TV Premium as a second (or third, etc.) screen setup. Netflix will also stream the Canadian Grand Prix in May under the agreement who brought Drive to survive to Apple TV.
Full replays of all sessions will also be available in the Apple TV app. Apple will also offer a race replay option condensed into 30 minutes, and the company says it works to hide spoilers in case users watch after the race begins or ends.
Apple has concocted new features for F1 grand prix by taking over broadcast rights in the United States. When you click on the F1 channel in the Apple TV app, content from the current Grand Prix week appears at the top and you have the option to follow F1 to receive notifications about different events. Apple will provide a dedicated Driver Tracker, driver data and feeds for P1, P2 and P3. You can also watch the driver’s in-car cameras for each car in the Apple TV app. So you don’t necessarily have to venture to F1 TV for these things.
Apple will offer various Multiview options so you can place the main broadcast next to the driver cameras and race data. The company will offer preset configurations, but you can also create your own Multiview mix. If you like Mercedes, for example, you can watch the main feed with Russell and Antonelli’s driver cameras right next to it. Apple says Multiview will support up to five streams at a time (a main one in the middle and two smaller ones on either side).
If you can only listen to the races, you can hear live coverage and commentary on Apple Music via a dedicated radio broadcast channel. There are also updated features for Apple News, Apple Sports and Apple Maps, the latter of which will contain detailed information for fans attending in person so they can hopefully avoid any surprises – like road closures – on race day.
The first race of the season will take place in Australia (March 6-8). Practice begins on Friday with qualifying on Saturday and the grand prix on Sunday. Or if you live in the United States, it will be Thursday evening through Saturday evening (the race starts at 11 p.m. ET).
This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/everything-you-need-to-know-about-streaming-f1-on-apple-tv-190600771.html?src=rss
