How to Watch F1 Live Online Anywhere

Last update: 07.26.2019

Formula 1 racing is the greatest motorsports franchise on Earth. Every time an F1 race is held, almost 400 million people worldwide tune in via a range of channels and streaming options. That puts it up there with EPL soccer, Major League Baseball, and the NFL. But what is the best way to watch F1 2019 online?

How to watch Formula 1 2019 online

In the US, the primary option is ESPN. It provides the largest amount of F1 coverage, with live feeds of both races and practice sessions available on the ESPN2 channel as well as the ESPN smartphone app. But it stops working as soon as you leave the US due to geo-blocking.

Some events, such as the replay of Monaco Grand Prix are available for free via ABC, but the vast majority of races are for cable subscribers only. Also, chances are your local station doesn’t include ABC, which again means you’ll have to change your IP address to access it.

In some countries, finding any kind of F1 live stream is impossible

Moreover, the content provided differs by broadcaster. For instance, British fans watching Sky don’t have access to ESPN’s on-board cameras. Sky Sports supplies the main feed from all races, shown on channels like Canal+ in France or Viasat in North Europe.

2018 saw the launch of F1 TV, a streaming service designed to capture web-savvy audiences across the world. Offering a whole new way to watch F1 online, it’s fair to say that this is the future of how Formula 1 will reach its worldwide audience.

F1 TV offers more content than anyone else, but their coverage is patchy, unless you use a VPN to unlock geo-blocked streams. More on that later.

Where can you watch F1 TV live?

The problem is that F1 TV isn’t actually international

There are plenty of countries where live F1 TV broadcasts are unavailable, including, but not limited to:

Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
Ireland
Russia
South Korea
United Kingdom

F1 TV isn’t a conventional sports broadcaster. The F1 TV Pro package comes with benefits like on-board cameras in every vehicle, access to feeds from team radios (with no censorship, so you can get the real F1 experience), and new camera angles on key parts of the courses. In other words, it’s tailored to real F1 fans.

But F1 fans don’t all live in the areas covered by F1 TV, and not all countries with F1 TV’s standard package also offer F1 TV Pro needed for live broadcasts.

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How much does F1 TV Pro cost?

The price depends on the country. In the US, one month of F1 TV Pro cost $9.99/month or $79.99/year (you save 33%). But there are plenty of countries where F1 TV Pro subscription costs less, for example:

Azerbaijan $6.99/month or $59.99/year
Costa Rica $6.99/month or $59.99/year
Mexico $6.16/month or $49.16/year
Cyprus $5.99/month or $49.99/year
Greece $5.99/month or $49.99/year

All Pro packages come with a 7-day money-back guarantee that requires your credit card details. MasterCard, Visa, and Visa Debit are accepted, with the addition of Maestro in the UK. Other payment methods are not allowed. What is more, you need to use a credit card from the country where you will be buying the subscription.

Remember that you will have to stream F1 from the same country where you bought the subscription.

Even if you live in the US, you will need a VPN to access your F1 TV account while abroad

Which devices are supported by F1 TV?

The list of supported platforms and browsers to watch F1 TV live are as follows:

Windows 7, 10 (Chrome, Edge)
Mac OSX High Sierra+ (Chrome, Safari)
Android (Chrome)
iOS (Safari)

The number of supported Android tablets and smartphones is pretty limited. Therefore you should check on the F1 TV website before spending lavishly on the annual subscription.

Please also have in mind that up to 3 devices at the same time can be used to stream F1 live.

Access F1 TV Pro in your area with a VPN

If you happen to be in a country which doesn’t allow F1 TV Pro subscriptions, the secret weapon is to use a VPN.

VPNs convince F1 TV’s servers that you are in a country which hosts their feed

They take your actual online identity and scramble it, providing an entirely new IP address which could be based thousands of miles away. As far as F1 TV is concerned, you could be next door.

How to choose the best VPN for streaming F1

The first thing to do is to sign up for a VPN subscription with a fast, reliable service provider. It’s worth paying extra for a premium service, as streaming F1 is data-intensive.

For HD streaming, the F1 TV website recommends a 10 Mbps connection

If you’re not planning to watch the whole F1 season, you can use a money-back guarantee of the VPN service to avoid paying. Most offer a 30-day refund period, but there are also some like CyberGhost VPN with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

What’s more, top-quality VPN services are more likely to evade IP filters. Streaming services like F1 TV are always looking for fake users and happily block dubious IPs.

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How to buy F1 TV Pro with a VPN

When you’re up and running with a VPN, fire up the client and log on. It should tell you that you have full protection. Now, choose a server in a country which carries F1 TV Pro. This is going to be your new home country, at least while watching the F1 live stream.

Make sure your VPN is running when you process the payments, as a mismatch between the IP you use to pay and the IP address you use to watch F1 could be enough evidence for the channel to block you.

When you’ve paid up for a subscription, just log on when a race or practice is taking place, and you should have no problems.

The same process can also be used to access other geo-blocked F1 channels, such as Sky, ESPN or Canal+

This can be handy if you want to watch one or two races. Now TV in the UK offers short term packages for events like F1 races, but only for UK customers. If you pretend to be British, you can buy passes for the races you want to watch instead of shelling out for cable subscriptions.

Which VPN is the best for streaming F1 2019 online?

Not all VPN services are the same. Some will offer you more geographic diversity than others, while some may differ in how much privacy and security they actually offer. You also have to consider the speed and price, as both can vary quite a bit from one VPN to the next.

ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Astrill VPN are the top three services that will allow you to watch Formula 1 online from anywhere in the world. All three have money-back guarantees, which means you can try them and see if the speed you get in your location is good enough to stream F1 live.

ExpressVPN ‣

VPNpro rating: 9.6 / 10

Visit ExpressVPN

NordVPN ‣

VPNpro rating: 9.5 / 10

Visit NordVPN

Astrill VPN ‣

VPNpro rating: 9.3 / 10

Visit Astrill VPN

Alternative ways to unlock F1 live stream

Using a VPN to access F1 TV is not the only option. Obviously, if you are in the USA, you can sign up to watch F1 via the ESPN app, but this requires taking out an ESPN subscription and definitely isn’t the cheapest route.

American viewers can use F1 TV’s conventional channels without any problems.

How to watch Formula 1 live for free

Numerous websites offer free live streams, which come with ad overlays and may not be the most reliable channel for watching entire races. While the picture quality can be fine, these sites are illegal and don’t deliver the amazing features offered by F1 TV.

That’s why we advise you refrain from using these services which might get shut down any moment during the race.

F1 2019 schedule

Below is the full schedule of this season’s Formula One. All times are ET. Times and dates are subject to change.