US F1 fans can watch races at the movies

Sam Cook Monday 23 February 2026 17:01

The legacy of the F1 movie is such that US-based F1 fans are now going to be able to watch races in theaters!

The F1 movie was a huge success in 2025, and its immersive experience of F1 races have led to it being nominated for four Oscars; best picture, best sound, best visual effects and best video editing.

The thrill of seeing cars going up against one another in a theater environment was not lost on fans, and now real-life F1 will also be shown in that same environment in 2026.

Following on from the success of bringing F1 to the big screen, Imax have opted to show five races of the 2026 F1 season live from cinemas across the US, with F1 fans in the US able to sit back and enjoy the immersive experience with popcorn in hand.

The Miami, Monaco, British, Italian and US Grands Prix will all be shown by the big screen provider across select cinemas - although curiously, the Las Vegas GP misses out on that schedule.

Jonathan Fischer, chief content officer at Imax, said in a statement about the new partnership: "Apple TV and Joe Kosinski’s brilliant F1: The Movie proved beyond a doubt that the speed, precision, and artistry of Formula 1 translate beautifully to the Imax experience, and we are very excited to further our collaboration with Apple and offer fans more of what resonated so deeply with that film by presenting live F1 races to them in Imax."

When does the new F1 season start?

All 11 teams will be back in action when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

What follows is 23 more race weekends across nine months, in what is set to be the joint-longest season in F1 history.

The first of Imax's showings will be on May 3 with the Miami GP, before the Monaco GP the following month on June 7.

Sunday July 5 is the date of the British GP at Silverstone, before the Italian GP rounds off the summer on September 6. Imax's offering of the 2026 season finishes on Sunday October 25 with the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas.

F1 2026 regulations F1 movie