Apple And Netflix Team Up To Air F1 Canadian Grand Prix

Apple and Netflix are joining forces to simulcast the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in the U.S., a first-of-its-kind collaboration that puts one of motorsport’s marquee races on both Apple TV and Netflix at the same time. The partnership, announced by Apple’s services chief Eddy Cue, pairs Apple’s new F1 rights with Netflix’s growing live sports ambitions to maximize reach for a pivotal North American event.

What the Apple-Netflix Canadian Grand Prix deal covers

Netflix subscribers in the U.S. will be able to stream the entire Canadian Grand Prix weekend live, including practice, qualifying, and the race from Montreal. Apple TV subscribers will have the race as part of Apple’s broader F1 package, which includes all Grands Prix at no extra charge.

The collaboration extends beyond the green flag. The new season of Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive is now available, with cross-promotion across both services. Apple TV subscribers in the U.S. get access to the show for the first time, while Netflix continues to distribute it globally—an unusual bit of cross-platform programming designed to convert casual viewers into race-day fans.

Why this race got the spotlight for a U.S. simulcast

The Canadian Grand Prix is a strategic choice. A North American time zone, a picturesque street circuit, and a strong TV track record make it an ideal showcase for a single-race simulcast. Apple recently secured a multi-year deal to carry every Grand Prix in the U.S., replacing ESPN. Industry reports peg Apple’s annual fee at about $150 million, compared with roughly $85 million under the previous deal. In ESPN’s final season with the rights, F1 averaged about 1.3 million viewers per race in the U.S., underscoring the sport’s mainstream momentum.

Running the Canadian round on two of the biggest streaming platforms gives F1 an outsized shop window in a crowded U.S. sports calendar. It is also a clean A/B test for discovery: Netflix’s massive entertainment audience meets Apple’s end-to-end sports presentation, from pre-race build-up to the checkered flag.

Netflix’s sports pivot gains speed with live events

For Netflix, the simulcast continues a sharp turn into live sports after years of insisting otherwise. The company has already landed blue-chip properties, including NFL games on Christmas, WWE Raw, and MLB rights. Live programming supports Netflix’s growing advertising business—Netflix has said its ad-supported plan now serves over 40 million monthly active users globally—while creating appointment viewing that tightens subscriber retention.

There’s symmetry here, too. Drive to Survive is widely credited with bringing millions of new fans into F1, especially in the U.S. By pairing the docuseries with a live race window, Netflix can finally complete the loop it started: storytelling on Thursday, wheel-to-wheel drama on Sunday.

Apple’s expanding F1 ecosystem across services and apps

Apple, meanwhile, is building an F1 ecosystem that reaches far beyond the main broadcast. The company plans coordinated features across Apple News, Maps (with track highlights), Music, Fitness+, and even its retail stores. That playbook echoes Apple’s MLS Season Pass strategy, where platform-wide promotion and product polish helped convert curiosity into recurring viewers.

Culture matters as much as carriage. With a high-profile F1 feature film starring Brad Pitt in the awards conversation, Apple and Netflix are tapping into a broader halo around the sport. Bringing Drive to Survive to Apple’s audience while keeping Netflix as the global home for the series neatly aligns incentives across both platforms and Formula 1’s brand.

What it means for fans and the sport’s growth in the U.S.

The U.S. fan base for F1 has surged, driven by behind-the-scenes storytelling and more domestic race weekends. Organizers in Austin have reported three-day crowds above 440,000, and Las Vegas drew well over 300,000 across its inaugural weekend—numbers that rival the biggest dates on the American sports calendar. Research firms such as Morning Consult have tracked double-digit growth in U.S. F1 interest since Drive to Survive debuted.

For Formula 1, a special simulcast with Apple and Netflix is a reach-and-relevance play: expand the top of the funnel without diluting premium rights. For viewers, it’s added choice and a frictionless path from binge-worthy narratives to live action. If engagement spikes, expect more one-off collaborations around tentpole races.

What to watch on race weekend across Apple TV and Netflix

Fans can tune in live on Apple TV or Netflix across phones, tablets, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, with on-platform promotion for Drive to Survive surfacing throughout the weekend. The test will be whether Netflix’s entertainment audience converts into measurable incremental reach for live F1 coverage. If it does, the Canadian Grand Prix may mark the start of a new playbook for big-ticket sports in the streaming era.