9to5Mac.com writer Benjamin Mayo figured this out and published this article on the 9to5Mac website. This is a timely article, because the Bahrain trials start this Wednesday Feb. 11. In short: you go to the F1.TV website and log in, then present your Apple TV credentials to get access to F1.TV. Create a F1.TV account if you don’t already have one – they are free. Apparently, the pre-season will be available on the F1.TV website.
I’m rather surprised that Apple isn’t doing a better job hand-holding the F1 fans to this new service pathway. I have been searching around for weeks; their customer service is rather abysmal on this question. A bunch of US F1 fans are going to be naturally grumpy, because F1 is transitioning from ESPN to Apple TV. I know that @Leo had the premium F1.TV service in the past; those paid subscriptions are no longer available in the US and you must access it through your Apple TV account.
Thanks to 9to5mac for researching and publishing this article yesterday. MacRumors has been silent so far. You should announce this on Tomorrow’s MBW!
Update: it sounds like all the pre-season testing will be streamed on F1.TV. I’d guess the entire season will be accessed that way, but it’s impossible to tell right now. IMHO, Apple has really messed up educating us how this transition should go. I think there’s a Roku app for F1.TV, but I haven’t investigated yet.
It really is such a disaster. I was a happy paying customer for years but now I’ll be going back to piracy to keep up with the season. Exclusivity deals are a lose-lose for everyone.
AFAICT, the Roku F1.TV app hasn’t been updated at all. Apple TV subscribers cannot access anything through the Roku F! app. And the F1 app doesn’t have one of those ACTIVATE URLs to enter credentials on a laptop or tablet. I see no way to access anything F1 on my Roku box.
Apple is usually very good at bringing all these details together for a smooth user experience. It’s especially important here, because some of those US F1 fans are not familiar with Apple. This is the first experience for many users with Apple, and it is a poor experience. Tim Apple: this is not good.
What exec is [mis-]managing this stuff? Is it a miscue for Eddie Cue?
I was able to log into the F1TV Roku app with my F1TV userid and password. Apparently, they’re storing the Apple TV credentials in the back end. I failed to successfully enter my generated password through the Roku remote. I reset my password to an easily-keyable password, entered it, and changed my password back. In other words, I entered my credentials LIKE AN ANIMAL (speaking here in a Rene Ritchie voice). So many Roku apps do this better.
I am able to see the Bahrain Trials and live shows talking about teams shaking down their brand-new 2026 cars.
The F1TV Roku app looks primitive. I’m skeptical that I’ll be able to dial in each car’s camera during a race, but I’ll be able to tell that on March 7. I’m sure Apple has done a great app for their Apple TV hardware, but that’s not good enough. They’ve got to be inclusive and have a great app everywhere. Not everyone will go out and buy Apple hardware to view F1 races!
Once the season starts, won’t it be better to use the Apple TV app on your Roku, which hopefully will have the same functionality as the app on an Apple TV box?
Out of interest, what are they broadcasting? Is it an F1TV stream, Sky Sports, or something new?
It was Alex Brundle, not Martin, and Alex Jacques (never heard of either one). They’re doing the Day 3 coverage. The recap shows are hosted by Betsy Glover, Lawrence Barretto, and Sam Collins. Never heard of them either. Are these people the F1TV broadcasters? Also, I see that the mics being used all have the F1 logo, not Sky, so I’m guessing the FIA is using people from both broadcasts for the Bahrain test sessions.
If that is the same Sam Collins who is an esteemed motorsport engineer, that sounds like a good addition to the crew. He started working at William F1 when he was 16.
I thought the Apple coverage was going to be new. Utilising their new camera tech they used in the F1 film, muti-view, lots of data etc. Maybe that’s future plans.
You should announce this on Tomorrow’s MBW!