How to stream F1 live in Australia - including F1TV

Now that live streaming has taken on a life of its own, there are a range of options for Australians wanting to watch F1 live online. Whether you’re a casual fan or want to watch every second of the race weekend, there is an option for you. Looking for this week’s TV times? Check out the weekly TV guide here.

1)    Kayo Sports / Foxtel

Kayo Sports and Foxtel both offer options to stream F1 live to your favourite device. Sky Sports UK supplies content to both, which includes:

Sky Sports UK coverage
You can watch every session of the F1 season live on your favourite device, plus Sky Sports UK pre-race and post-race coverage.

This also includes The Notebook, the fan-favourite show presented by Ted Kravitz, as well as The F1 Show – a live preview show for each race weekend. Foxtel UHD and Kayo Basic subscribers can watch in 4K. Practice and Qualifying sessions have ad breaks, while there are no ads during races.

Kayo RaceView / Fox Sports Extra
Both platforms offer the Pitlane Channel (with no commentary), the Onboard Channel (1 driver only), the Driver Tracker, and the Data Channel. These are available through the red button on Fox Sports or through the Kayo RaceView menu.

Extra streams
Foxtel and Kayo have both been broadcasting the alternative F1 Kids feed when it is available.

Pricing:

$25/month – Kayo Sports One – available in HD, on your favourite device, but only one screen. Also comes with a wide variety of other sports including FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3. Check out Kayo Sports.

$35/month - Kayo Sports Basic - all the features of Kayo Sports with live F1 coverage in 4K and the ability to watch on two screens at once.

$250/year - Kayo AFL Digital Membership - the best value of local options, this comes out at just under $21/month for Kayo Sports Basic, plus inclusions for your choice of AFL club. For example, the Brisbane Lions membership comes with a team pin and $20 lions shop voucher. The Gold Coast Suns ticket also gets you a $20 team voucher.

$49/month – Foxtel Now (All Packs) – there is really no reason to choose this option when Kayo Sports is available. Reverts to minimum $54/month after 12 months.

$69/month – Foxtel (Sport HD Package 12/month contract) – the Foxtel sports package includes coverage in UHD through the Foxtel IQ4 box. Streaming is available via the Foxtel Go app. Foxtel residential subscribers with the sports package get access to F1TV Pro - currently the only place in Australia to do so.

2)    F1TV Access

F1TV is the official streaming service of Formula 1. F1TV offers two tiers – “Access” or “Pro”. F1TV Access is available to anyone with a F1 account.

F1TV Access includes:

F1TV Archive
The F1TV Archive offers an exceptional amount of content that includes a library of all F1 content prior to the current season, as well as the F1TV pre-race and post-race content plus exclusive highlights and analysis. This includes the Weekend Warmup, Paddock Pass, Tech Talk, Jolyon Palmer’s Analysis, and the Weekend Debrief – as well as a catalogue of documentaries.

F1 App & Live Timing
F1TV gives you premium access to the F1 App, which includes customizable live timing data, extra team radio, a 3D driver tracker.

Pricing: $4.49/month or $34.99/year – this is a must-buy for F1 fans. For those without Kayo, it provides a significant amount of content for a fraction of the price. For those with Kayo, it supplements the coverage and provides an alternative to the pundits and analysis from Sky Sports UK. The annual subscription is a fairly hefty saving.

3)    F1TV Pro

F1TV Pro is the premium tier for live streaming F1 content. You can watch every live session, ad-free, with the choice of no-commentary or the voices of the Sky Sports UK team. Plus, you get a wide range of extra live content. F1TV Pro is now available to Foxtel Sport subscribers.

Pit Lane Channel
The Pit Lane Channel on F1TV Pro features exclusive commentary only available to F1TV Pro subscribers. Watch three screens at once with a rolling data feed and extra team radio.

Expert analysis is provided by Will Buxton as lead presenter alongside Laura Winter, Rosanna Tennant and Lawrence Baretto. Alex Jacques leads the commentary team, supported by Jolyon Palmer and James Hinchliffe, as well as David Coulthard. Sam Collins is F1 TV’s technical analyst.

Live Onboard Cameras and Team Radio
F1TV Pro offers your choice of any live onboard camera, which includes live, uncensored team radio.

Live F2, F3, and Porsche Supercup
F1TV also offers live coverage of all sessions for FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3, and the Porsche Supercup.

View the full F1 TV Content Schedule.

Pricing:

F1TV via Foxtel - $69/month over 12 months. F1TV Pro is now only available to Foxtel subscribers.

F1TV Pro via another country - US$10.99/month or US$84.99/year plus VPN – F1TV Pro is not available in some countries. You can read the full list here. However, you can access it using a VPN. This comes at an added cost but can still work out to be cheaper than an alternative and comes with the benefit of being able to access other geo-blocked content.

F1TV Pro has also been running a 7-day free trial every few months. So, with the right combination of VPN and F1TV, you can make sure the setup works for you before forking out the subscription fee. The F1TV fine print says: New subscribers Only. 7 Day Free Trial not available in Argentina, Austria, France, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Monaco, Switzerland, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Netherland, USA.

F1TV is currently restricting the use of VPNs and so may not be available on your chosen provider. Users with VPNs are also reporting account bans if a VPN is detected, so use at your own risk.

F1TV is also restricting payment options. To pay with a VPN you must use a card from the country of origin or Apple/Google Play credit.

How to use a VPN

VPNs are widely available and commonly used to access geo-blocked content. You can subscribe to a free trial through a service such as ExpressVPN, Atlas VPN, or NordVPN who provide the ability to manually set your location and access streaming services from overseas.

Most VPNs are around $12/month or $150/year.

That means a year of F1TV Pro will cost you around $130 (US$84.99) plus $150 for a VPN – coming out around $280/year. A year of Kayo Sports will cost $300, or $250 through an AFL club.

Don’t go for a free VPN. There is no guarantee of security for any of your data and the risks are simply far too high.

Verdict

The cost of both is comparable – it all depends what you want on the side. Kayo Sports has an extensive library, including every NRL and AFL game, plus ESPN and other specialty channels. With a VPN you can watch free content from anywhere in the world, including extensive content on free British streaming services such as the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, and All4. If you have an existing Netflix subscription, you can also change you location to access content only available in other countries.

For sports fans, Kayo probably has you covered. But if you want entertainment with F1 on the side (and an extensive offering at that), a VPN is a worthy option. The problem is that F1TV is restricting VPN use and this may present difficulties accessing the content in your area.

The Foxtel residential subscription is also a surprise option. If you have Kayo and BINGE, then it is roughly the same price, plus it comes with F1TV, and Formula 1 races are in UHD. With the new IQ boxes not requiring a cable connection, the headache of having to install something is gone. So it actually might be worth it if you are willing to enter a 12-month contract. The downside - it’s not everything on BINGE, with movies only available in other, more expensive packages.

The winner in our opinion is a Kayo AFL Digital Membership. It’s cheaper, less hassle than a VPN, and benefits your local AFL club. Taking into account the F1TV crackdown on VPN use, this is the way to go.

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