Stefano Domenicali sets out F1’s vision for 2026 as Apple TV partnership begins

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has set out his vision for the upcoming season as the Apple TV partnership begins, claiming he would like the series to become "part of the culture" in America.

Apple TV will take over the United States coverage of the championship from ESPN from 2026, as it becomes the exclusive US broadcast partner. 

Speaking at a press day in Los Angeles with Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, Domenicali explained that he hopes the partnership between F1 and Apple will "launch our sport through Apple TV for our American fans".

“That’s a beautiful opportunity that we’re going to do with passion, with determination, because we are resilient," he said, via F1.com. "I always said to Eddy, we have a dream that is more than a dream – it’s an obligation to our fans to develop the sport, to make sure that F1 is becoming a part of the culture here in the United States.

“It’s very respectful of what you love in terms of sports and business, but our dream would be, one day, not only waking up to follow the Super Bowl or NBA or MLS, but also F1. That’s what we’re going to do together.”

Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali

Photo by: Andrea Diodato / NurPhoto via Getty Images

The partnership between Apple and F1 comes after the success of the F1 movie. The Apple Original Films production starred Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kim Bodnia, Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies, and was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Amid the star-studded cast were the real F1 drivers from the 2023 and 2024 seasons, including seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who also served as an executive producer. Since its release in June 2025, the film has exceeded $630million at the global box office and is continuing its success through awards season. Most recently, it secured a GRAMMY for Chris Stapleton's track Bad As I Used To Be, which is part of the F1 soundtrack.