F1 TV's lineage traces to the F1 Digital+ service launched in 1996, an enhanced digital subscription offering that ran via satellite and provided access to multiple camera angles, pit-lane feeds, onboard cameras, and live timing data — features unavailable on the standard world feed. The service was initially available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland before expanding to France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Formula One Management transported approximately 200 tonnes of equipment to each race circuit to produce this enhanced coverage, requiring 18 trucks for European rounds or two Boeing 747 jumbo jets for fly-away events, and operating a 1,200 square metre air-conditioned tent colloquially known as Bakersville. F1 Digital+ was discontinued at the end of the 2002 season due to financial failure.
In March 2018, Formula One announced the launch of F1 TV as an over-the-top streaming platform, providing live commercial-free access to all races including multiple simultaneous video feeds and timing screens in addition to traditionally directed race footage and commentary. The service launched initially in Germany, France, the United States, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, and parts of Latin America.
The features available through F1 TV in its full tier included live telemetry, on-demand views of each car's on-board cameras, replays of historic Formula One races, and exclusive programming. As of 2019, the service restricted viewing to the subscriber's country of residence or the European Union, and required a valid credit card issued in that country. Outside the European Union, access from a location other than a subscriber's home country was not permitted due to territorial broadcasting rights restrictions. The service remains unavailable in Russia and Belarus following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Alongside the main world feed, F1 TV provides access to additional channels produced by Formula One Management. These include a pit-lane channel showing pit area footage and weather and tyre information, multiple on-board channels switching between different drivers throughout a session, a driver tracker channel displaying live car positions, a timing screen showing live lap times and sector information, a battle channel focusing on specific on-track fights between up to three cars, and a data channel providing live timing and pit-stop, tyre, and weather updates.
In April 2024, Formula One launched the Formula 1 Channel, a free ad-supported streaming television channel in the United States, carrying classic Grands Prix, documentaries, and analysis content from past races.
In 2023, Foxtel subscribers in Australia gained access to F1 TV Pro at no additional charge as part of their existing subscription. Foxtel extended their Formula One broadcasting contract in March 2026 for the 2027 season and beyond, with Network 10 remaining as the free-to-air partner for the Australian Grand Prix.
Ahead of the 2025 United States Grand Prix, Apple Inc. acquired the exclusive streaming rights to Formula One in the United States under a five-year deal starting from 2026, with most live coverage exclusive to Apple TV subscribers and practice sessions and selected races available for free. As a consequence, F1 TV users in the United States from 2026 are required to obtain an Apple TV subscription to access live sessions through the platform, with the exception of archived footage, exclusive shows, and live telemetry. As part of licensing arrangements, Netflix obtained rights to broadcast the Canadian Grand Prix alongside Apple TV and received the eighth season of Drive to Survive for the US market.
Formula One attracts one of the largest global television audiences, estimated at approximately 352 million people for the 2017 season. Female viewership grew from 20 percent of total viewers in 2019 to 40 percent by 2022, a trend partly attributed to the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive. The expansion of streaming options including F1 TV contributed to widening access to the sport beyond traditional broadcast markets and provided fans with a level of technical detail and camera choice previously unavailable outside the paddock.