The Paddock Case Study

01: The Gap

Despite growing cultural momentum, Formula 1 faces a significant viewership gap in the United States when compared to other sports. The friction is multidimensional: races streamed at early morning times (60% occur outside U.S. prime hours) and a lack of tactile presence domestically, with only 3 Grand Prix (Miami, Austin, Las Vegas) held on U.S. soil.

The challenge: how can Apple’s spatial technology and seamless user experiences meet to expand content touchpoints between races, differentiate their streaming partnership from past ones, and generate deeper ‘habitual loyalty’.

The Process

Findings show that AR is the bridge between a "passive broadcast" and an "active lifestyle." By providing rewards that exist outside of stream hours, we solve the temporal friction of the 4 AM race start.

The Vision

Findings show that AR is the bridge between a "passive broadcast" and an "active lifestyle." By providing rewards that exist outside of stream hours, we solve the temporal friction of the 4 AM race start.

The Olympic Benchmark (Paris 2024): The Olympics utilized "Victory AR" and portal experiences to bring fans into the Olympic Village. These campaigns drove massive social sharing and allowed remote fans to feel a physical connection to the podium—demonstrating that AR "moments" translate to global brand reach.

The Retention Lift: Fans using AR features engage 2.5x longer per session and show a 40% higher retention rate than passive viewers.

The Nike Precedent: Data from Nike’s SNKRs Stash AR features demonstrate a 60% return rate. By gamifying digital ownership, they turned occasional shoppers into "super-users."

03: The Vision

Data from
The vision is a feature that ties Apple’s onboard camera feature to Apple’s seamless augmented reality experiences. When a user watches 50 laps of the Mercedes onboard cam during a race stream, they unlock the Mercedes livery.

F1 possess a unique combination of engineering and technological intuitiveness. The Paddock imagines a way for fans to nto only feel closer to the drivers and teams, but also harnesses the incentives of personalization, gamification, and ownership.

Each person’s paddock, shaped by their own viewership and love for a particular team, is uniquely theirs. With added features like sharability, Ferrari lovers can compete in their collections.

Tracking watch history also allows Apple to build a ‘wrapped-esque’ feature at the end of season, allowing loyal fans to revel in accomplishment and feel integrated into the team. Those in the upper percentile of Lando Norris viewership could recieve a personalized message and an exclusive Helmet model, and likewise Ferrari loyalists could recieve an exclusive livery and a personalized message from the drivers, principal engineer, and team.

04: The ???

For Apple, the Paddock presents an opportunity to differentiate the Apple TV F1 experience from past streaming partnerships by infusing its own technological ecosystem while increasing viewer retention.

For F1: A chance to deepen loyalty, expand content touchpoints, and increase brand reach across newer gen fans, whose primary mode of engagement is interactive experiences.

For Fans: Personalization, ownership, competitive progression, and deeper engagement with sport and brand.

Core Outcomes
Longer, sustained, and more frequent engagement sessions.
Increased overall watch time across platforms.
Enhanced community and social sharing dynamics — key engagement vectors for Gen Z and Millennial fans.

Personalization Connection Incentivization Ownership Gamification

The Process

Time was spent researching Apple TV’s design language, as well as the ways

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