Have you been keeping up with the exhilarating 2022 Formula 1 season? With a massive rule change at the start of the season, the cars have brought back “ground effect” designs, which makes them much easier to follow. The cars are losing a lot less grip when following each other closely on track, this results in much better racing.
We’ve seen some incredible on-track battles between the cars throughout the season, which has led to 2022 being one of the most exciting Formula 1 seasons we have had in over a decade! Currently, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are locked in a fierce battle to win the biggest prize in all of motorsport. It’s Red Bull versus Ferrari, just like it was in the 2012 season, and it’s a good one!
You might have tried to live stream some F1 races online in the past, but, likely, you didn’t manage to watch the race because of geo-blocking restrictions. It’s incredibly difficult to watch Formula 1 online, but it’s not impossible as long as you have the right tools for the job. Keep reading to find out how you can catch all the thrilling adrenaline-fueled action live from anywhere in the world!
Struggling to Watch F1 Online?
Formula 1 is a massive global sport with fans all over the world, but, chances are you are going to struggle to find a suitable live stream for the races in 2022. If you’ve ever tried to tune into a live stream, you may have found that the majority of streams give you an error message stating: “this content is not available in your region”.
After endless time and effort searching for live streams, it’s incredibly deflating to see this message pop up on your screen. This is known as geographical blocking, also known as geo-blocking for short.
As frustrating as geo-blocking is for internet users, it exists for a very good reason. Media companies such as ESPN need to pay millions of dollars to secure broadcasting rights from Formula 1. Securing these rights allows the media companies to broadcast the sport live on televisions and streaming platforms for their subscribers.
However, they also need to follow strict rules that determine where they are allowed to broadcast the races. For example, if you are outside of the United States, you will be blocked from watching the race on ESPN.
Websites will use your IP address to pinpoint your physical location which will determine whether or not you are allowed to access a website and the content on it or not. An IP address is a string of unique numbers that are used to identify your device on the internet.
How to Unblock Streams
So, all you need to do to bypass geo-blocking and unblock live streams is change your IP address. While it might sound like a daunting task at first, it’s much easier than you might expect. Thanks to a nifty modern cybersecurity tool, you can change your IP address at the click of a button.
The tool you need to install on your device is a virtual private network, also known as a VPN for short. VPN is an incredible tool that is primarily meant to promote the privacy and security of your device as you browse the internet by encrypting your internet connection. Having an encrypted connection will prevent anyone else from seeing what you are doing on your device — not even the government or your internet service provider can see what you are doing on your device.
This feature is especially important when you’re using unsecured networks such as the public WiFi hotspots found at airports, hotels, and restaurants. These networks put you at risk as cybercriminals can eavesdrop on your devices as they send and receive data through the internet.
But, the feature that we all want to hear about is the ability to change your IP address. You can spoof your location by connecting to a secure global server in another country or city around the world. In doing so, your device’s real IP address will be masked, and your internet traffic will be routed through the VPN server, tricking websites into believing that you are accessing them from elsewhere.
For example, if you are in Germany but you need to watch Formula 1 with your ESPN streaming account, you can connect to a server in the United States. Once you’re connected, your device will be accessing the internet as if you are physically located in the US.
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Choosing the Perfect VPN
Before you rush onto the internet to download the first VPN you can find on Google, it’s important to keep in mind that there are some important guidelines that you need to follow when choosing a VPN, especially when it comes to live streaming Formula 1 races.
The most important rule to keep in mind is that you should always avoid using free VPNs. While premium VPNs might be more expensive, using a free VPN will bring you several drawbacks that will affect your streaming experience. When using a free VPN, you can expect slower connection speeds, less security, more ads, fewer global servers, and also daily data limits.
Even if you’re choosing between different premium VPNs, there’s a lot more to consider than just the color scheme and the interesting name. Not all VPNs are created equally, and you need to make sure to do thorough research into each VPN before you commit to the subscription plan.
Many premium VPN vendors will offer free trials to customers, and this is something you can take advantage of. Make sure you try out each VPN by watching some races while you’ve got your free trial activated. If the VPN disappoints in terms of its connection speeds and the selection of servers on offer, you can simply cancel your subscription and move on to the next VPN.
Tons of premium VPNs are excellent when it comes to live streaming, but it might take some time to find the one that works best for you. Nevertheless, once you find the perfect VPN, you can watch every Formula 1 season from anywhere in the world.
