F1 deal sees Apple TV numbers TRIPLE

F1 Off the Track

F1 deal sees Apple TV numbers TRIPLE

F1 and Apple TV recently entered into a new partnership

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 12 March 2026 17:27

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The new partnership between Apple TV and F1 appears to have got off to a good start, with a key statistic having tripled during the Australian Grand Prix weekend.

Apple TV signed a five-year media rights deal with F1 ahead of the new season, allowing the streaming platform to show live coverage of every race throughout the season.

F1 fans in the US can watch the races on the streaming service with a choice of the UK Sky Sports broadcast, the F1TV broadcast, or going onboard with any of the 22 drivers on the grid.

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And as F1 headed to Australia last weekend for the first round of the 2026 season, the new partnership appeared to work wonders for Apple, who were also the makers of last year's F1 movie.

While viewership figures are not yet out, the number of downloads of the Apple TV app during the weekend tripled compared to the usual daily average on Android devices, according to Sports Business Journal.

On the day of the race, US downloads of the app were up 243 per cent, while daily active users were up 176 per cent.

However, the data that the above publication were using - from intelligence firm Sensor Tower - only reflected Android devices and did not include Apple iOS pre-installs or Apple TV in-app revenue.

How much does F1 cost on Apple TV?

The cost is $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers.

Who are the F1 presenters on Apple TV?

On the 'main' F1 TV feed, presenter Laura Winter will be live from the paddock with former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe, Lawrence Barretto, and Chris Medland. They'll be joined by former W Series race winner Alice Powell and presenter Ariana Bravo, all returning from 2025.

Alex Jacques will remain on race commentary with former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, with Ruth Buscombe, David Coulthard, Davide Valsecchi, Alex Brundle, and Sam Collins all contributing.

There are a couple of new additions though - namely the great Juan Pablo Montoya (one of the very few drivers to win races in F1, IndyCar and NASCAR) and presenter Betty Glover.

On the Sky Sports side, Martin Brundle, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, Naomi Schiff, Bernie Collins, Karun Chandhok, Jamie Chadwick and Anthony Davidson will all return as Sky's resident experts.

Presenters Simon Lazenby, Natalie Pinkham, Ted Kravitz, Rachel Brookes and Craig Slater will also resume their duties in 2026, while the commentary booth will once again belong to David Croft and Harry Benjamin.