Formula 1 launches VR app
December 3, 2018
By Nik Roseveare
Formula 1 has signed a partnership agreement with virtual reality 360º providers The Dream VR to launch a fully immersive VR app. Starting this month, fans of the motorsport around the world will be able to experience revolutionary 360° digital interactive entertainment. The Dream VR will offer access to Formula 1 events to its 3 million+ users in more than 180 countries.
Through the new F1 VR and 360º channel, available on any device compatible with The Dream VR app (TV, Apple TV, mobile devices, and VR headsets), users will be able to share in the excitement of the starting grid, podium celebrations and the Pirelli Hot Laps. They will also be able to ‘walk’ along the paddock, enter exclusive hospitality facilities, feel the adrenaline of a team garage and share the fans’ experience in the grandstand.
The first experiences from the 2018 F1 season will become available before Christmas. Viewers will gain access to the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, including behind-the-scenes footage of Lewis Hamilton’s fifth world title celebration.
More content from the Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be available soon, showing what pre-race nerves feel and look like. These VR 360º experiences will be recorded at ten races next year and all content will be available at the F1 channel of The Dream VR app.
Albert Goma, Manager of Digital Licensing and Partnerships, Formula 1 said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to help fans get closer to their favourite drivers and teams and through this progressive partnership with The Dream VR, we have found yet another way to achieve this. We are hugely excited to now be able to offer another unique content experience of immersion and interaction to our fans, wherever they are”
Alberto Palay, co-founder and CEO of The Dream VR, added: “We’re pleased to work together with the world’s most popular and prestigious championship in motorsports, F1. But even more than that, we’re excited to help fans view F1 in a way never previously imagined, becoming interactive viewers themselves. Formula 1 is a sport in which the details make the difference: what could be better than offering its fans a chance to experience the races up close, right beside the Paddock Club, in the team garages, and having the independence to decide when and what to see?”