If you’ve been looking for that specific Friday on your calendar to finally see Brad Pitt’s silver hair shimmering in a racing helmet from the comfort of your couch, the wait is officially over. Honestly, the rollout for this movie was a bit of a marathon itself. People were asking "when is f1 movie coming to apple tv" pretty much from the second the first teaser dropped at Silverstone.
The movie, simply titled F1, made its global streaming debut on Apple TV on Friday, December 12, 2025.
If you're reading this now in early 2026, you don't have to hunt for showtimes or pay those eye-watering IMAX prices anymore. It’s right there in the app. But the journey to get it from the paddock to your living room was anything but standard for a streaming giant like Apple.
The Long Road to Streaming
Most Apple Original Films hit the service relatively quickly. Remember Napoleon or Killers of the Flower Moon? They had decent theatrical windows, but they were home within a few months. F1 was different. Because it became such a massive summer blockbuster—raking in over $629 million at the global box office—Apple and Warner Bros. decided to let it breathe.
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They actually kept it in theaters for 168 days. That is nearly six months.
It’s actually the longest theatrical-to-streaming window Apple has ever done. They even did a secondary IMAX re-release in August 2025 because people couldn't get enough of the engine sounds on those massive speakers. If you missed it in the theater, you missed a "rumble in your seat" experience, but the 4K HDR version on Apple TV is surprisingly close if you've got a decent soundbar.
Why the December Release Mattered
Apple is smart. They didn't just pick December 12 at random. By dropping the movie right as the 2025 Formula 1 season was wrapping up in Abu Dhabi, they captured all that "end-of-season" hype.
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Plus, there was a massive announcement around that same time. Apple is becoming the exclusive broadcast partner for Formula 1 in the U.S. starting in 2026. Dropping the movie in December served as a giant "Welcome to the Club" sign for racing fans who might not have subscribed to the service yet.
What You Get When You Stream It
When you finally click play, you’re looking at a 2-hour and 35-minute runtime. It’s a long one.
Joseph Kosinski, the guy who directed Top Gun: Maverick, basically used the same "put the actors in the real machines" philosophy here. You can tell. The vibrance of the colors and the way the camera shakes when Sonny Hayes (Pitt) hits a curb at Monza feels incredibly visceral.
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- The Cast: You've got Damson Idris playing the hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce, and Javier Bardem being... well, Javier Bardem as the team owner.
- The Authenticity: They filmed this during actual Grand Prix weekends. Those aren't just extras in the background; those are real F1 fans and real mechanics.
- The Tech: If you happen to be one of the people using an Apple Vision Pro, the immersive aspect ratio for this movie is supposedly the gold standard for the device right now.
Is It Still Available for Purchase?
Yeah, if you don't want to subscribe to the monthly service, you can still buy it on Amazon Prime Video or Fandango at Home. It hit those "Digital Purchase" stores back in August 2025. But for most of us, the "free" (well, included) version on the Apple TV app is the way to go.
It’s kind of wild to think about how much this movie changed the sport's footprint in America. Between Drive to Survive and now this movie, the "F1 fever" is at an all-time high.
What to Do Next
If you haven't watched it yet, make sure your internet connection is solid because the bitrates on Apple TV are notoriously high (which is good for the picture quality, bad for a weak Wi-Fi signal).
- Check your subscription: Ensure your Apple TV account is active.
- Set the mood: Turn off the lights and crank the volume. The sound design is the best part of the whole film.
- Look for the cameos: Keep an eye out for Lewis Hamilton. He didn't just produce the movie; he’s all over the technical details to make sure the racing looks real.
The movie is a massive win for the genre. It's not just a "car movie"—it's a massive technical achievement that finally feels accessible now that it's off the big screen and on our devices.
Actionable Insight: Since the movie is now fully available on the Apple TV app, you can bypass the $24.99 "Premium VOD" purchase price on other platforms. If you're a new subscriber, look for the three-month trials often bundled with new iPhones or Macs to watch it for $0.