Apple’s Eddy Cue calls F1 ‘unscripted drama at its finest’ – here’s our first look at the race day experience on Apple TV and a rare Netflix collaboration for Drive to Survive

Apple TV launches its F1 partnership in the United States with the Australian Grand Prix
It will stream on Apple TV for subscribers with 30 views and multi-view streaming
Apple is also working with Netflix to stream the new season of F1: Drive to survive

Next week promises to be very busy for Apple since, in addition to the event on March 4, 2026, Apple TV and the rest of the services of the Cupertino-based giant will officially launch their partnership with Formula 1 by broadcasting the first race to the American public.

The Australian Grand Prix will be the first broadcast on Apple TV to all subscribers in the United States, giving us our first chance to see the new interface Apple has been working on to deliver the race from a plethora of viewpoints up to full 4K resolution with 5.1 audio and the ability to watch multiple viewpoints at once in a custom or preset format.

Speaking to media outlets including TechRadar, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, is quite excited about F1 coming to Apple TV and is admittedly a fan of the sport: “You don’t know what the outcome of the content is; it’s unscripted drama at its best.”

We’ll see the first fruits of this “unscripted drama” when the Australian Grand Prix kicks off: “All Apple TV subscribers in the United States will have access to the complete coverage of Formula 1. That’s pre-match, qualifying, sprint races, practice, races, post-races… so you’ll have complete access in one place,” Cue explained.

“It’s going to be the highest quality; you’re going to be able to do things with multi-view and all sorts of things that have never been done before. And so you’re going to be at the forefront of the action in a way that you’ve never seen before,” Cue said.

And I’ve had the opportunity to preview this new interface and, as expected, Formula 1 will be right at home in the Apple TV app, whether you’re accessing it on an Apple TV 4K or third-party devices.

You can access it on the floating left sidebar, but on race day – like we’ve seen with Major League Soccer or Friday Night Baseball game day – it will be front and center, allowing you to jump right into the live racing. And it’s not just a food that will be produced alive with cuts; Apple TV will offer up to 30 unique viewpoints, ranging from fixed cameras around the track to driver views and more traditional broadcast angles. These views will be available for every race, not just major events.

Another feature that Cue revealed – and that we’ve been waiting for for Formula 1 on Apple TV – is multi-view. This will be available via the Apple TV application on the big screen, but also on Apple Vision Pro. You’ll be able to create your own layout with a main screen and two or three alternate views on the right, or choose from predetermined layouts focused on specific teams, like McLaren.

Although Apple is not disclosing details on the availability of Formula 1 in Apple Immersive Video format on Apple Vision Pro, the company has upgraded the multi-view on the $3,500 space computer to support up to five views at a time. Given that Apple Immersive Video is available for some NBA games, I would expect to see at least one F1 race with this treatment, but time will tell.

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple’s partnership with F1 will also extend to its services, with more detailed views of race routes – right down to team garages – in Apple Maps, a dedicated section in Apple News, playlists in Apple Music and even related content in podcasts.

Another notable aspect of Apple TV’s Formula 1 coverage is that it comes at no additional cost, meaning if you’re already an Apple TV subscriber to watch shows like Contraction, The WorkshopOr BreakupYou’ll have access to every F1 race and a huge library of on-demand content. You’ll also be able to watch Friday night baseball and MLS games once those seasons start.

A collaboration with Netflix

Formula 1: drive to survive

A still image of Formula 1: drive to survive. (Image credit: Netflix)

Even more surprising, Eddy Cue announced a new collaboration with Netflix that will make fans of Drive to survive particularly happy: “We’ve teamed up with Netflix. And we’re going to make the entire season of F1: Drive to Survive, the new season, available to stream directly on Apple TV itself.”

This means that when season 8 premieres at midnight tonight, February 27, 2026, it will be available on Netflix and natively in the Apple TV app for subscribers.

Eddy shared: “I believe Netflix has played a pivotal role in the development of F1 since the launch of Drive to Survive, and we are excited to make F1 content more widely available to new and existing US fans on Netflix and Apple TV. » This is a notable collaboration between the two streaming giants, which will extend to the Canadian Grand Prix on May 22, 2026, which will now be broadcast on Netflix and Apple TV.

Consider this just a green flag, not the finish line: Apple’s history with Friday Night Baseball and MLS Season Pass shows a tendency to launch solid experiences, then iterate quickly with new features, camera technology, and deeper service integrations.

So, given Apple’s work on specialized camera systems for its upcoming F1 film, it’s fair to wonder whether similar technology – or even iPhone-based platforms – could eventually make their way into live race broadcasts.

For now, though, the biggest win might be scale: by bringing Formula 1 into Apple TV+ at no extra cost, Apple could significantly expand the sport’s reach in the United States fairly quickly, and if you’re interested and subscribed to Apple TV, the Australian Grand Prix will begin on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

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