In a move that will redraw the map of how Americans watch motorsport, Apple and Formula 1 announced today that Apple TV will become the exclusive U.S. home for F1 starting with the 2026 season. The five-year agreement hands streaming control of every practice, qualifying session, Sprint and Grand Prix weekend in the United States to Apple — and folds the sport’s own F1 TV Premium offering into an Apple TV subscription rather than keeping it as a separate paid service.

For viewers, the headline is simple: starting in 2026, if you want live F1 in the U.S., you’ll need access to Apple TV. Apple says it will stream everything — all sessions across every weekend — with select races and all practice sessions also available for free via the Apple TV app. That’s a broader package than the typical cable-style windowing fans have been used to.

For the business side, the deal represents a clear signal of intent from Apple: the company is willing to outspend cable incumbents to lock down premium live sports that can drive subscriptions and stickiness across its services. Reports peg the annual price Apple is paying in the ballpark of $140–150 million a year — a meaningful premium over ESPN’s current deal.

What changes for F1 TV Premium and pricing

One of the immediate consumer questions: what happens to F1’s own streaming product? In the U.S., F1 TV Premium, as a standalone $16.99/month product, will disappear — its premium content will be included inside Apple TV subscriptions instead. Apple’s streaming tier currently lists around $12.99/month, so for some casual viewers, the math might look friendly; for existing F1 TV subscribers, that relationship is more complicated and will vary depending on how they currently pay and where they watch.

Apple also promises to “amplify” the sport across its ecosystem — that means Apple News, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Fitness+, and the company’s free Apple Sports app will carry F1 content in various forms, from real-time leaderboards and Live Activities on the lock screen to widgets and live updates. Exactly how deep those integrations go (exclusive studio shows? onboard camera features? localized commentary?) wasn’t spelled out in full today.

A natural — if not inevitable — next step

The partnership isn’t coming from nowhere. Apple and F1 have already collaborated on the theatrically released F1 The Movie, a surprise box-office juggernaut that helped boost the sport’s profile in the U.S.; Formula 1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali and Apple’s Eddy Cue both leaned on that shared history in the announcement. For Apple, which has been quietly building a sports portfolio (MLS streaming deals and baseball rights are recent examples), F1 is an attractive, globally resonant property with a young, digitally native fan base.

For Formula 1, the move continues a multi-year push to grow its American audience that was turbocharged by Netflix’s Drive to Survive and F1’s investments in entertainment and marketing. The sport has been adding millions of new fans annually, and tapping Apple’s enormous device and services ecosystem is a bet that those numbers keep climbing.

The practical headaches (and opportunities)

There are practical questions that will matter a lot to fans: what about Spanish-language broadcasts? What will local blackout rules look like for races? How will highlight packages, on-demand archives, and multi-feed watching (team radio, driver cams) be handled? Apple’s announcement promises Spanish-language coverage and some free windows, but the fine print — timing of free broadcasts, whether linear-like feeds will be offered, or whether blackout restrictions will apply to international markets — will be worth watching as more details roll out.

There’s also a distribution tradeoff: moving a major live sport off cable and onto a subscription service can increase the sport’s reach among streaming-native audiences while potentially excluding viewers who rely on traditional pay TV bundles — at least until they add Apple TV. That’s the same double-edged sword streaming platforms have faced with other sports rights.

For ESPN, losing F1 is a loss of a distinct, growing property — but it’s part of a broader shift where streaming companies are willing to pay top dollar for the kind of live, appointment viewing that used to be cable’s core advantage. Industry analysts will watch whether Apple treats F1 as a loss leader to attract subscribers or iron out new ad products and sponsorship integrations to monetize aggressively. Either way, the deal raises the bar for how much tech platforms might pay for boutique, fast-growing sports.

Starting in 2026, F1 in the U.S. will be Apple’s show. The partnership packages full weekend coverage, folds F1’s premium streaming into Apple’s subscription, and brings the sport into Apple’s wider apps and services. Fans will want clarity on pricing and access — especially those who currently rely on ESPN or F1’s standalone product — and the next few months should show how aggressively Apple plans to experiment with presentation, extras, and cross-platform promotion. For the sport, it’s a big, high-profile bet that Apple’s tentacles across devices and apps can help F1 go mainstream in the U.S. — and that a studio-style entertainment strategy can be made to work at scale on a streaming platform.