My Complete and Honest Review: Is F1 Tv Worth It in 2024?
For any Formula 1 fan, you’ve likely heard Martin Bundle and Crofty advertising F1 TV during the live races. As such, you may be wondering is F1 TV worth it. What is included in F1 TV? Does the value match the price? These are all questions that I ask myself every year when I fork over my money for F1 TV. Thus, to help you decide whether the platform is worth it for you, I’ll be explaining some of the features and my first-hand experiences with F1 TV!
🚨 Disclaimer: I was not paid, sponsored, or asked to provide this F1 TV review. This is just me reviewing the product after using it for a couple of years and helping to inform others!
Is F1 TV Worth It? (2024)
F1 TV is a streaming platform that was created by Liberty Media F1 in 2018. The goal was to provide fans with a space to access all things F1. I won’t go into all the benefits and services it provides just yet but know it’s A LOT. And after using the platform for the last few years, I’ve had a mostly positive experience. Thus, to cut to the chase, I believe the platform to be well worth the cost.
Some of the cases I’d argue it would be worth it for you is if you don’t have a cable package that includes F1, you’re a hardcore fan who likes seeing all the real-time data, or you hate having to sit through commercials during the races. If any of these situations apply to you and you’ve been looking for encouragement from someone who genuinely has F1 TV, this is me reassuring you that F1 TV access will most likely be worth it for you.
How do I know? It’s because chances are you’re a big fan of the sport and you’ll soon realize it’s glorious having access to so much exclusive F1 content! So, again, if you’re already sucked into the world of F1 and have been thinking about paying for the subscription, I’d say to do it because the return on investment is pretty high.
New to Formula 1?
But, let’s say you’re newer to the Formula 1 scene and still learning about the platform. Maybe you don’t know if you need or want so much information. Don’t worry — I’ve got you too. Below, I’ll explain what I enjoy, the downsides, and everything in between. And who knows, maybe even some of you who’ve been long-time Formula 1 fans who are on the fence about purchasing will discover some nifty features you didn’t know existed.
What Are the Different F1 Subscriptions?
First, I’ll start by saying there are two different types of F1 subscriptions that you can purchase: F1 TV Pro and F1 TV Access. F1 TV Pro costs $85 USD for a year subscription or $10.99 USD / month, and F1 TV Access costs $30 USD for a year subscription or 3.49 USD / month.
Unfortunately, these prices are a little higher than what they were for the 2023 season. But, this doesn’t come as a shocker since everything in the world has been hit by inflation. 🙃 And the good news is that the price increase is fairly minimal, as in $5, which isn’t too bad.
What Is the Difference Between F1 TV and F1 TV Pro?
Aside from the costs, there are a few key differences between the two subscriptions. F1 TV access allows you to see live timing data, clips of the best team radios, and delayed replays for the races. With the live timing data, you’ll be able to view live leaderboard data, live driver maps, tire usage history, and real-time telemetry. Additionally, you’ll have access to exclusive F1 documentaries and videos of hundreds of previous races in the F1 archives.
On the other hand, F1 TV Pro includes everything mentioned above as well as the ability to live stream F1, F2, F3, and Porsche Supercup races. Plus, you can see live onboard cameras and tap into the live team radio feeds.
My Honest F1 TV Pro Review
By now, you probably have a decent idea of what F1 TV subscription would better suit you. But, just to give you more information on the platform and some lesser-known things you can do, here’s my review.
🏎 NOTE: This review is based on the F1 TV Pro tier subscription.
What Are the Benefits of F1 TV Pro?
- No Commercials: First, you won’t have to watch the commercials during the race. This is a huge benefit for most F1 fans, as we’d rather be watching the action than have to sit through an intrusive ad break.
- Watch Your Favorite Driver: We all have our favorite drivers. Naturally, the main livestream will sometimes completely ignore them *Ahem Valterri Bottas*, unless they’re in the middle of an overtake. A nice perk of the Pro subscription is that you can follow a specific driver and watch the race unfold through their onboard camera.
- Support Your Favorite Team: Similar to the onboard cameras, you can listen in on specific team radios. This is only applicable when the drivers are on the track, but it’s fun hearing real-time information rather than messages after they’ve been filtered through.
- Create an at-home Pit Wall: If you happen to have multiple screens, you can tune into various bits of the race. For instance, one screen could have the live leaderboard and follow the main live stream of the race. Another screen could display the driver’s lap times, and you might cast the 20 individual onboard cameras to your TV via airplay. With your subscription, you can access tons of live statistics and effectively create an at-home pit wall if you want.
- See more of Race Weekend: Aside from the race itself, you can see the practice sessions and sprint races. I’ve noticed that this isn’t always an option with cable packages.
- Treasure Trove of Content: Lastly, you get access to tons of extra, exclusive content. Within the platform, you’ll find short documentaries, exclusive interviews with drivers and teams, previous races, as well as F2, F3, and esports content!
What Are Downsides to F1 TV?
No business, company, or platform is perfect, and F1 TV isn’t any different. From my perspective, there are only two real downsides.
The first one is that streaming quality isn’t always great. 9 times out of 10, it’s fine and you’ll have no issues. However, there are times when it freezes or the screen just completely goes black. When this happens you have to reload the page and it interrupts the flow. In the past, this issue was a lot worse and occurred more frequently, but I honestly haven’t had it happen often recently.
The second issue, which I encountered while traveling around Europe, is that F1 TV is only available in select territories. Last year, I was solo traveling through Andorra and was so excited to watch the race from the comfort of my hotel — the first one I’d stayed in for 6 weeks.
However, when I logged in to watch the race, it said that stream wasn’t available in my area. This sucked, but I was able to bypass this by purchasing a Surfshark VPN on the spot. And while a VPN works if you are traveling around, it doesn’t work if you are trying to buy the initial subscription. This is because you need to pay with a credit card from one of the accepted territories.
Similarly, the subscription services available may vary based on your geographic location. For instance, you can’t buy F1 TV PRO in Germany or the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, this is just one of the limitations of F1 TV due to the media rights contracts in some areas. Click here to see where F1 TV is supported and what services are available.
Is F1 TV Pro Worth the Money?
This depends on your financial situation, but for only $85 a year, I honestly think F1 TV Pro is worth the money. My family pays $300+ per month for our cable subscription, and we probably watch only 10 channels, if that. Thus, paying only $85/year and having access to a ridiculous amount of F1 analysis, exclusive pre and post-race interviews, technical shows, hundreds of races, and more exclusive content feels worth the money.
Plus, I know people who take advantage of being able to cast through Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon TV and have a whole setup with multiple screens. So, with F1 TV, you can fully customize and create the ultimate viewing experience.
Heck, even if you only watch the live races and want to avoid dealing with commercials or seeing race captions and spoilers on Instagram, $85 is still worth it. I mean it’s still less than the annual fees you pay for the ad-supported tiers on Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, etc. Not to mention, unless you pay for cable, there aren’t exactly a lot of alternative networks that offer high-quality live streams of the races.
🏎 PRO TIP: If you end up getting the subscription, make sure to take some time to check out what’s available in the “Shows” category! You’ll find lots of good stuff there!
Is F1 TV Access Worth It?
Aside from not being able to afford the $85/year fee or $11/month fee, I would say there are a couple of scenarios where F1 TV access is the better option. First, you’re an F1 fan, but you aren’t a hardcore fan. What I mean by this is you just want to watch the races without some commercials. You don’t need all the extraneous analysis and live statistics and only care about F1 racing.
Another reason F1 TV Access may be worth it over the Pro tier is if you don’t care when you watch the race. Or, you simply can’t watch the races live, for whatever reason. For example, let’s say you live on the west coast of the United States, such as San Diego. Almost all the F1 races in Europe begin early in the morning at like 6 am.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t always feel like being conscious at 6 am on a Sunday to watch the races. And I honestly can’t imagine how I’d feel trying to watch the races at 6 am on a Sunday if I were a parent and had to juggle taking care of kids too.
Or, maybe, you live in Australia. I know for them, the European races usually start at 5 am — which would suck. Obviously, you can’t please everyone. But, the point is that F1 TV access is worth it if you don’t mind watching replays and solely care about F1 races!
F1 TV: FAQ
The cost of an F1 TV subscription depends on which package you select. For F1 TV Access, the cost is $30/year or $3.49/ month. Meanwhile, F1 TV Pro costs $85 / year or $11 / month.
I have only used the F1 TV Pro subscription since I want the ability to watch the races live. So with that and all the added benefits that come with F1 TV Pro in mind, I would say the best subscription for F1 is the Pro tier.
Yes, you can watch the full races on F1 TV. The only difference is when. You’ll have to wait until the races have been completed with F1 TV Access. Meanwhile, you can watch the races live with F1 TV Pro.
As someone who has been to the Canadian Grand Prix in 2022 and the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, I highly recommend attending an F1 Race at least once. You won’t have access to an eighth as much data as you do at home with F1 TV Pro, but the energy is insane at races. Hundreds of thousands of hard-core F1 fans are all gathered in one place. And, if you think about it, you gotta be either wealthy or an F1 lover to pay the stupid high price for an F1 admission ticket. So, attending a race is a chance to interact with other hardcore fans, see the action up close, and immerse yourself in the buzzing world of F1.
Wrap-Up: Is F1 TV Worth It? (2024)
With so many benefits and only a few downsides, I fully believe F1 TV is worth it. Not only do you have access to hundreds of races (live or on-demand) but also you gain access to exclusive content, documentaries, interviews with drivers and teams, practice sessions, and so much more.
Thus, whether you just want to watch the live races, create the full F1 experience from the comfort of your home, or have practically endless motorsport content to keep you entertained between races, I think F1 TV is worth the subscription cost. Of course, regardless of your decision, I hope this review has been helpful!
✅ 🏎 Sign up for access to the awesome content on F1 TV here
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