Apple eyes "huge opportunity" for major F1 expansion in the United States

Apple's senior vice president of services Eddy Cue believes Formula 1 has the opportunity for long-term expansion in the United States.

This comes after the technology giant took over the broadcasting rights of Formula 1 in the United States from 2026, with the championship already seeing a boost in viewership.

"The ratings were way up over where they were last year on linear for the first three races, significantly," Cue said during the Autosport Business Exchange Miami.

"Not only did we see more viewers, but we also saw more viewers throughout the weekend. So one of the things that I think I was always excited about is... you look at today and tomorrow and Sunday, all three days are huge."

The Apple vice president pointed to the "huge opportunity" to continue to grow the championship in the United States over the next few years. "We are not focused on the NFL," Cue said, according to RACER.

"There is the NHL, there is Major League Baseball – there is a lot of stuff to get to the top. My viewpoint around it is there is a huge amount of growth. It's a much younger audience than any sport. Female participation is way up – both young and female on Apple is way up.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

"And so I don't know how many millions, but it's exponential. I think that's the beauty. I think it's grown from zero, so it's grown a lot. But it has a lot of room to grow.

"I think when people become aware… I still remember when we did the [F1] movie and we used to ask people, 'How many of you have ever seen a race?' and nobody raised their hand. After the movie, you always ask them, 'Would you like to see a race?' and everybody raises their hand. You experience it and you see it.

"I think there is a huge opportunity. It's not a 10% or 20%. I think it's a 'how many times X can we grow it over the years?'"