Apple intends to use everything it has including its hardware, stores, services, and apps to add value to its Apple TV F1 streaming service — and don't rule out an F1 movie sequel, either.
Apple will pick up the streaming rights for F1 race weekends when the new season starts in March 2025. The deal will run for five years, and viewers can expect the company to go all out.
"We will bring everything Apple has to bear," Apple senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, has said, speaking during an interview with the motorsport website Racer. Cue pointed at the depth of offerings Apple has that can put F1 in front of customers — whether they're existing F1 fans or not.
For those who are already fans of the sport and are used to watching races live, Cue is confident Apple's service will live up to its hype. He believes that Apple's use of 4K streams, with less compression than viewers are used to, will be key. As will Apple's use of its most popular product, the iPhone.
iPhones everywhere
Comparing F1 races to Apple's hugely popular "F1: The movie," Cue suggested that the company has learned that it can put iPhones in new places to capture different camera angles. Those angles will highlight the racers just as much as the action, Cue suggests.
Cue also knows that despite the movie's popularity, F1 as a sport still has a long way to go to capture the attention of the American viewer. Apple intends to use its existing platforms to entice people to check it out.
Keen to ensure people know where to go to watch F1 races, Cue says Apple will use its stores and other "touch points" to drive the point home. Whether it's a banner in an Apple Store or an F1-inspired playlist in Apple Music, F1 will be hard to miss for Apple fans.
As for "F1: The Movie", F1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali already suggested fans should "stay tuned" for news on a sequel. Cue didn't confirm anything, of course, but he did go so far as to say that he hoped a sequel would happen.
A new way to enjoy F1
The Apple Vision Pro might still seem like brilliant technology looking for a use, it could be Apple's key F1 differentiator.
The Apple Vision Pro could be an F1 secret weapon
As much as Cue might want to put a camera in new places and capture new angles, the experience of watching F1 content will be the same. Viewers will stream F1 races via the Apple TV app on their screen of choice.
But Apple has something no other streaming service has — a powerful spatial computer to target with groundbreaking F1 features.
We've already seen Apple stream live, immersive NBA content, and it was incredibly impressive. Bringing that same experience to an F1 race would change the way fans enjoy F1 weekends.
Apple has yet to mention its spatial computer when promoting its F1 streaming service. And it's highly unlikely we will see NBA-like immersive F1 races any time soon. But the potential is there.
The F1 love of the Apple Vision Pro is already alive and well, too. Red Bull's 2026 race car launch involved iPhones live-streaming content to headsets, albeit on the same stage.
Now consider the fact that Apple signed a five-year streaming contract, and it's easy to wonder what that will look like. It's a safe bet that it will look very different in year five than it will when it debuts.
Risky business
While it's no surprise that Apple intends to use its services and retail presence as a way to highlight its F1 streaming service, device owners will be worried. The company has already drawn intermittent ire for its use of ads in the App Store as well as iPhone push notifications promoting its services.
People pay a premium for Apple devices to avoid intrusive ads and low-quality software experiences. But Apple has already shown that it's willing to promote its services and boost its revenue by any means necessary.
Having spent around $750 million on its latest service, Apple risks alienating customers who have no interest in F1, whether it's fact or fiction.
