No F1 2023 races on Disney+Hotstar

The hotly anticipated Formula 1 2023 season is revving up, with the Bahrain GP set to begin this weekend. While Formula 1 fans across the world would be glued to their screens to watch the race, for F1 fans living in India, watching the F1 races this season is set to get a lot more expensive.

Previously, Star Sports and Disney+Hotstar owned the rights to broadcast and live-stream the Formula 1 races in India. However, for the upcoming F1 2023 season, these motorsport races will not be telecast on these platforms. Instead, F1 has introduced its own OTT platform to broadcast the much-awaited F1 races.

F1 TV subscription plans
F1 fans in India will have to subscribe to the OTT platform called F1 TV to catch the Formula One action live. F1 offers two different subscription plans for F1 TV- F1 TV Access and F1 TV Pro.

With the F1 TV Access plan, viewers can catch live timing data, and delayed race replays, but will not be able to watch the races live. On the other hand, the F1 TV Pro is a premium plan. This plan will allow die-hard F1 fans to watch the races live on demand.

Now, here’s the catch. In India, the F1 TV Access plan is priced at ₹1,649 for one year, whereas the annual subscription for F1 TV Pro costs ₹2,499. F1 TV also offers monthly plans for F1 TV Access and F1 TV Pro, which cost ₹239 and ₹299 respectively.

These rates turn out to be expensive for Indian fans, as compared to what they would have paid last season to watch the F1 2022 races on Disney+Hotstar. For ₹899 a year for the basic plan, Disney+Hotstar allowed fans to watch the F1 2022 races live. This means that motorsport fans in India will now have to pay 3 times more to watch the F1 2023 season with an F1 TV Pro subscription.

Moreover, along with F1 races, Disney+Hotstar also offered other content like movies, TV shows, other sports, etc. on its platform, while F1 TV is all about motorsports.

However, the F1 TV Pro subscription offers some exciting features to the fans along with on-demand live races. These include access to live telemetry, team radio channels, all 20 driver onboard cameras, in-depth pre-race and post-race analysis and much more. With the F1 TV Pro subscription, fans in India can immerse themselves in the drama and excitement of F1.

Indian fans can also test drive the F1 TV Pro subscription with a free 7-day trial to watch the opening Bahrain Grand Prix from every angle. However, one must note that this trial will be offered only for a limited period.

The F1 2023 season is set to kick-start on March 3, 2023 with the Bahrain GP. Bloomberg Quint