Apple’s F1 Maps Are Just One Move in the Race to Rebuild the World in 3D

Ahead of the new Formula 1 season, Apple has added detailed 3D race track experiences to Apple Maps, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The update includes a richly rendered version of the circuit and its surroundings, complete with track details, landmarks, and contextual information designed to help fans explore the venue before race day.

On the surface, it’s a timely feature drop aimed at motorsport fans. But Apple’s Formula 1 integration is more than a seasonal update. It’s a glimpse into something bigger: the steady transformation of mapping apps from flat navigation tools into immersive, three-dimensional replicas of the real world.

Across the industry, major mapping platforms are racing to rebuild cities and now even sports venues in 3D. And that shift has implications far beyond finding the fastest route to work.

How 3D maps are actually made

Modern 3D maps don’t start in code. They start in the sky.

Mapping companies gather data from a mix of sources: high-resolution aerial photography captured by aircraft, satellite imagery, and street-level photos taken by camera-equipped vehicles. In some regions, they also collect LiDAR data, a laser-based sensing method that measures depth by calculating how long it takes light pulses to bounce back from buildings and terrain.

These inputs generate enormous volumes of visual and spatial data. The next step is processing.

Using photogrammetry, software analyzes overlapping photos to reconstruct the geometry of buildings and landscapes in three dimensions. Machine learning models then help refine shapes, fill gaps, remove artifacts such as passing cars and pedestrians, and generate realistic textures that wrap around the 3D structures. The result is a city-wide mesh, a digital shell of streets, rooftops, bridges, and landmarks.

Not all 3D maps are created equal, however.

Some landmarks are carefully handcrafted or curated, with extra attention to architectural detail and lighting. These models tend to look polished and cinematic. The rest of the city may be generated more automatically through large-scale reconstruction pipelines. That produces broad coverage, but often with slightly softer or less refined details.

Behind the scenes, this process is continuous. Cities evolve, buildings go up, roads change. Mapping companies regularly update imagery and retrain reconstruction systems to keep their digital replicas aligned with reality.

Why go 3D at all?

If navigation apps already work in two dimensions, why rebuild the world in three?

The simplest answer is orientation. Humans think in 3D. Seeing buildings at realistic heights and shapes makes it easier to understand where you are, especially in dense urban environments. It improves context, not just which street to take, but what that street actually looks like.

But the motivations run deeper.

Three-dimensional models are increasingly foundational for augmented reality, tourism previews, real estate visualization, and large-scale event planning. A detailed 3D model of a Formula 1 circuit, for example, doesn’t just help fans locate entrances. It allows organizers, media teams, and sponsors to visualize activations and spatial layouts. It turns maps into interactive event platforms.

There’s also branding. A richly rendered city skyline is a marketing asset. Detailed landmarks communicate technological sophistication. And as AR glasses and spatial computing devices inch closer to mainstream adoption, companies that already maintain high-quality 3D city models will be positioned to layer digital information seamlessly onto the physical world.

In other words, 3D maps are becoming infrastructure.

Apple’s curated approach

Apple’s 3D city experiences are available in a selective but growing list of global cities, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, and Singapore. Rather than blanket coverage, Apple appears to prioritize depth and visual refinement in key metropolitan areas.

Its approach leans toward curated landmark modeling combined with broader automated city meshes. The effect is polished and cohesive, particularly in city centers and major attractions. The Formula 1 integration follows that same playbook: focus on a globally visible moment, deliver a high-fidelity experience, and reinforce the idea that Apple Maps is more than a directions app.

It’s a quality-first strategy, one that emphasizes presentation and event relevance over sheer geographic scale.

Google’s long 3D head start

Apple may be making headlines with Formula 1, but Google has been building 3D cities for more than a decade.

Through Google Earth and Google Maps’ 3D building layers, Google has accumulated extensive 3D coverage across major cities worldwide. Users can tilt, rotate, and “fly” through photorealistic cityscapes generated from aerial imagery and large-scale reconstruction pipelines, an approach that helped popularize immersive digital globe exploration long before 3D became standard in mobile maps.

Google’s advantage lies in scale, infrastructure, and integration. Its 3D models are not standalone features; they sit inside a broader ecosystem that includes Street View, satellite imagery, traffic prediction, business listings, and location-based search. Years of imagery collection and global data processing have enabled Google to deploy near-universal 3D building layers, often rendering even remote structures as simplified volumetric forms.

In many cities, the result is less handcrafted than Apple’s curated landmarks, but far more geographically expansive. Where Apple leans into selective polish, Google leans into breadth, treating 3D not as a showcase layer, but as a default global baseline.

Baidu’s 3D ambitions in China

In China, Baidu Maps has developed its own 3D visualization capabilities, particularly in major urban centers. Users can access three-dimensional city views, and Baidu has invested in digital twin and smart city initiatives that rely on 3D modeling.

Beyond consumer navigation, Baidu offers 3D visualization tools through its developer platforms, enabling businesses and municipalities to build interactive spatial experiences. Street-level panoramic imagery and AR features further extend its mapping ecosystem.

While its 3D coverage is primarily concentrated within China, Baidu’s strategy reflects a similar understanding: maps are evolving into immersive spatial platforms that support both consumers and enterprise use cases.

Yandex’s regional 3D push

In Russia and beyond, Yandex Maps has quietly expanded its 3D capabilities across transport hubs and major landmarks, layering architectural detail into the parts of cities where people navigate most often. While Google Maps offers broad, near-universal 3D coverage, Yandex has concentrated on highly detailed models in the cores of major cities, even as its primary footprint remains within CIS countries.

The company has invested in modeling distinctive architectural landmarks from cathedrals and intricate Soviet-era high-rises to modern towers such as Lakhta Center, adding recognizable identity to city centers. It has also introduced 3D models of Moscow metro station vestibules, allowing users to explore entrances before they arrive.

The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow is one example: instead of a generic 3D block, it appears as a carefully reconstructed model capturing its columns and facade. Built from aerial and street-level imagery using photogrammetry and manual refinement, the model preserves architectural details that automated systems often smooth over.

Beyond infrastructure and landmarks, Yandex has also launched special 3D projects tied to new residential developments, embedding branded building models directly into the map interface. In select locations, it has experimented with seasonal 3D variations as well such as rendering a mountain resort in Kazakhstan in both winter and summer states.

Notably, Yandex allows users and developers to submit their own 3D building models for inclusion in the platform, adding a community-driven layer that enhances local depth and flexibility.

The bigger race

Apple’s Formula 1 3D track experience may feel like a niche feature for racing fans. In reality, it’s another signal in a broader industry shift.

Mapping companies are no longer just competing over traffic data or search results. They’re competing to build the most complete digital double of the physical world, one that can power navigation, events, advertising, tourism, smart cities, and eventually spatial computing.

The race to rebuild the world in 3D is already underway. Formula 1 is just one highly visible lap.