F1 says Apple partnership's thriving - but not how many are watching

Formula 1 wants everyone to know its Apple deal is working - but what it still won't say is how many people are actually watching.

F1 has on Wednesday released its 2026 season half-year review, describing the Apple TV partnership as delivering "excellent viewership and engagement". 

Yet it has provided no audience figures to support that claim, despite publishing detailed viewing data from several other major markets. The absence of any Apple-specific data stands out in a report otherwise full of numbers designed to showcase the health of the sport.

F1 has said that TV audiences have continued to grow globally, highlighting significant gains in Brazil, Italy and China. The British Grand Prix attracted a record audience of 18 million viewers across Brazil's TV Globo and SportTV3 channels, while Italian audiences are up 27% through Silverstone compared to the same stage of 2025. In China, audiences for the Chinese GP more than doubled year-on-year.

The Monaco GP, meanwhile, reached nearly 80 million viewers worldwide, according to F1's figures. 

Yet when it comes to Apple, the F1 offers only broad statements.

The report states that F1's US broadcast partnership with Apple - which started this year - is "already delivering excellent viewership and engagement across its entire portfolio of platforms". It also points to Apple's first simulcast with Netflix for the Canadian GP and says the partnership is attracting a younger and more diverse audience.

When asked about the lack of publicly available audience data, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said Apple was reporting strong performance internally but remained reluctant to release numbers externally.

"Apple, as you know, is confirming that the numbers are very, very good," Domenicali said.

"In their policy, they are not really the ones that are able to share their numbers with everyone."

Domenicali added that F1 was "pushing them respectfully" to release more information and suggested audience figures could become public in the future.

"I think that soon you will have a good surprise because we are pushing them to do it," he said.

The comments underline a growing challenge for sports rights holders as audiences migrate from traditional broadcasters to streaming platforms. While conventional television partners routinely publish ratings data, streaming services often retain much tighter control over performance metrics.

That is particularly relevant given the strategic importance of the Apple partnership, which represents one of the biggest shifts in F1's media strategy in recent years.

Away from the unanswered questions around viewership, the report presents a picture of a championship that continues to expand commercially.

F1 says it has signed 20 new consumer-product licensing partners during the first half of 2026, with launches involving Disney, Fanatec, Hasbro, DK Books and LEGO already announced. A Topps trading card collection sold out in three minutes, while premium apparel collaborations with Off Season and Nahmias formed part of the F1's growing lifestyle push.

It has also continued to add major commercial partners. New agreements with Standard Chartered, Marsh, Flexjet and Fever were announced during the first half of the year, while existing relationships with Pirelli, Allwyn and Salesforce have all been extended.

The demographic trends remain equally encouraging for F1.

According to the report, F1's global fanbase has now surpassed 830 million people, with growth of 64% since Liberty Media's first full year in charge in 2018. Women now account for 42% of the fanbase and three-quarters of new fans, while 43% of all followers are under the age of 35.

Together these figures support F1's long-standing argument that it continues to broaden its reach beyond its traditional audience and attract new commercial opportunities as a result.

But while F1's half-year review offers proof for growth across almost every area of the business, its biggest media move still goes unmeasured.