Last week I went to the theater to watch F1, Apple’s latest original movie—and the experience far exceeded my expectations. While the storyline was admittedly a bit thin, the sheer sense of immersion and racing excitement it delivered easily justified the ticket price. When Brad Pitt’s APXGP car thundered down Silverstone Circuit, the roar of the engine shaking the IMAX sound system transported me back to those days, over 20 years ago, when I’d sit glued to the TV cheering on the fierce duels between Schumacher and Alonso.
A $300 million production budget sounds hefty, but after watching the film, you can’t help but wonder: Is it even possible to create something this polished with “only” 300 million? Real cars. Real people (with numerous top F1 drivers making cameo appearances). Real locations (Silverstone Circuit, McLaren HQ, Mercedes’ wind tunnel lab). These resources might have been unattainable without Hamilton’s producer-level connections, Apple’s corporate backing, and the full cooperation of F1’s governing body.
Interestingly, Apple is also reportedly vying for the U.S. broadcasting rights for F1 starting in 2026. Was this inspired by the movie’s success—or was it part of a bigger strategic play from the start? Either way, while F1 might not carve out a lasting mark in cinematic history, it excels as a promotional piece for one of the world’s top-tier sports businesses. Perhaps we’ll soon see more sports-themed films created in close collaboration with high-value leagues and organizations.
Back in the early 2000s, when I was an avid F1 fan, FIA’s regulations were relatively loose. Tire suppliers like Michelin and Bridgestone engaged in fierce competition, and teams were free to experiment boldly with aerodynamics, engine development, and fuel strategies. Even smaller teams had occasional chances to shine—making it into the points through clever tactics or bold gambles, much to the delight of fans.
But over time, as FIA tightened the rules, F1 races became increasingly formulaic. A single tire supplier, hybrid-era engines with mind-boggling complexity—each reform seemed to chip away at the thrilling “anything goes” spirit that made F1 so captivating.
To be fair, the intention behind FIA’s regulatory moves was good: to narrow the performance gap between teams and make the races more competitive and unpredictable. In theory, applying the same constraints to everyone should have leveled the playing field. But in reality, the opposite happened. Big teams, thanks to decades of accumulated expertise, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and seasoned management, continue to dominate. Meanwhile, smaller teams have lost the opportunity to surprise fans with unorthodox strategies or innovative engineering. Upsets and miracles have become rare, and the races have lost much of their former unpredictability and excitement.
This isn’t unique to F1. Across the broader sports industry, nearly every high-value league employs similar “balancing strategies”: the NBA’s salary cap and luxury tax, the NFL’s draft system, the Premier League’s financial fair play rules. All these mechanisms are designed to curb the dominance of powerful teams and promote parity to increase overall commercial appeal. Yet, in practice, they often fail to deliver. Resource advantages built up over decades don’t vanish because of regulations—they just take on new forms. And in the pursuit of balance, these sports risk losing some of the unique qualities that made them special.
I’m not against the union of sports and business—after all, commercial support is essential for long-term development. But when business priorities begin to dictate competitive rules, it’s worth raising a cautionary flag. Change and unpredictability are at the heart of what makes sports compelling. If we sacrifice innovation and variety in the name of superficial “balance,” we may soon find ourselves in a paradoxical situation: the competitions keep getting richer, but the sports themselves gradually lose their soul.
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To help you quickly grasp the key points, I’ve summarized the following essential techniques:
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Through the developer’s thoughtful design, traditional Cocoa APIs and modern Swift concurrency can perhaps coexist “harmoniously.”
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In my own projects, I’ve used an approach very similar to William’s. My biggest takeaway: investing upfront in high-quality mocks and test utilities isn’t trivial, but it pays off with compounding returns—faster test writing, lower maintenance costs, and higher code quality.
Modern Swift Lock: Mutex & the Synchronization Framework
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What impressed me most about Mutex is its elegance—it lets me confidently create
Sendabletypes without resorting to compiler “trust me” flags like@unchecked Sendable. The only downside? It’s limited to iOS 18+ systems.
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Apple Docs MCP
Apple’s developer documentation has long been criticized for slow updates and poor searchability—issues that have become even more pronounced in the AI programming era. To address this pain point, Sungwhee Kim developed Apple Docs MCP: a Model Context Protocol-based Apple documentation server that enables AI assistants like Claude and Cursor to directly access Apple’s official documentation, API references, and WWDC video materials. After configuring this MCP, you can directly ask AI questions like “Show me withAnimation API with related APIs” or “Find UIViewController delegate methods,” truly making large language models an intelligent assistant for Apple developers.