Want to see what Apple’s Formula 1 coverage is all about without paying for a subscription? You’ll soon get your chance.
According to Sports Business Journal, Apple TV will make its coverage of the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix free for all viewers, temporarily dropping the paywall for one of the biggest races on this year’s calendar. The free preview will include practice sessions, qualifying, and the race itself, giving fans an opportunity to experience Apple’s F1 broadcast without subscribing. It’s the latest sign that Apple is doubling down on growing the sport’s audience in the U.S.
Apple Is Opening the Gates for the Austrian Grand Prix
According to SBJ, anyone with an Apple ID and the Apple TV app will be able to watch the Austrian Grand Prix weekend at no cost. Instead of limiting the event to paying subscribers, Apple is using one of Formula 1’s marquee races as a showcase for its streaming service.
The move follows Apple’s strategy of offering select Formula 1 events for free throughout the season while keeping the full championship behind its subscription service. It’s a familiar playbook for streaming platforms: let viewers sample premium content in hopes they’ll stick around for the rest of the season.
Apple Is All-In on Formula 1
This year’s Formula 1 season marks the beginning of Apple’s exclusive five-year U.S. media rights agreement with the series, replacing ESPN as the sport’s home in the United States.
Under the deal, Apple TV carries every race weekend, including:
- Practice sessions
- Qualifying
- Sprint races
- Grand Prix races
- Pre-race and post-race coverage
- Original Formula 1 programming
Apple has invested heavily in making Formula 1 one of its signature sports properties. Beyond the races themselves, the company has promoted the series with large-scale marketing campaigns and exclusive programming as it looks to attract both longtime F1 fans and newcomers.
Apple Is Expanding How Fans Can Watch
Apple hasn’t limited its Formula 1 strategy to the Apple TV app. Earlier this season, Apple partnered with Netflix to help broaden Formula 1’s reach. While Apple remains the exclusive home for the full season, Netflix has complemented that effort with Drive to Survive and select live Formula 1 programming, exposing the sport to an even wider audience.
Apple has also expanded distribution through DIRECTV, allowing subscribers who purchase Apple TV through DIRECTV to watch Formula 1 coverage directly inside the DIRECTV app instead of switching between services.
Those moves show Apple is thinking beyond exclusivity and is trying to make Formula 1 easier to discover and watch wherever viewers already spend their time. And offering a race weekend for free is one of the oldest tricks in the sports television playbook, and it still works. Plus, Apple TV is currently 50% off, so viewers can save on two months and watch more shows, movies, and sports on the ad-free platform.
Formula 1 has experienced tremendous growth in the United States over the past several years, but Apple knows there are still millions of casual sports fans who haven’t experienced its coverage. Giving them free access to one of the season’s premier races lowers the barrier to entry and creates another opportunity to convert curious viewers into subscribers.
