Can I watch F1 on Apple TV app with iMac macOS Monterey?

Unfortunately for you, macOS Monterey 12.7.6 is not “macOS Tahoe 26.2 or later”. You’ll need a more modern OS and app version for support of this F1 streaming service through the Mac Apple TV app.

iMac Retina 5K models have been released in several years (2014/2015/2017/2019/2020), with each different OS support. Depending on your exact model, you may or may not be able to upgrade its OS to Tahoe.

iMac Retina 5K 2014/Mid 2015: max OS supported: Big Sur 11.x

iMac Retina 5K Late 2015: max OS supported: Monterey 12.x

iMac Retina 5K 2017: max OS supported: Ventura 13.x

iMac Retina 5K 2019: max OS supported: Sequoia 15.x

iMac Retina 5K 2020: max OS supported: Tahoe 26.x

Some people have reported that they were able to register/​confirm their Apple subscription with F1TV. Then you would be able to watch through Chrome browser (v118 or later) or Safari (v17 or later) at f1tv.formula1.com, as that wouldn’t rely on Apple’s hardware and software requirements for F1 streaming through the Mac TV app. (Browser streaming is limited to 1080p by F1TV, while smart TV/​streaming device apps may get up to 4K.)

You can view the F1 channel through any browser on https://tv.apple.com/

This way you don't have update your macOS.

So, I wouldn't be able to view the new Apple TV F1 races (after subscription)

If your Mac (from 2019 or earlier) is your only device on which to watch this, then watching F1 through the Apple TV app is not an option.

… unless I buy a newer OS for my computer.

Apple doesn’t charge for OS upgrades anymore (since 10.9 Mavericks in 2013), but if your computer is too old, then the new OS won’t be supported. Then the remaining option is to buy a new(er) computer.

It seems Apple is making F1 fans jump through hoops to view the races?

I suppose quite a lot of users will prefer to watch on their TV screen. The Apple TV app is available on Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV box, Android phone, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox, PlayStation, Nvidia Shield, ‘Chromecast with Google TV’ dongle, many relatively modern smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony, Panasonic, Hisense, VIDAA) and select cable boxes and satellite TV boxes that support apps (e.g. Xfinity).

From what I can tell the F1TV app will NO longer support F1 races no how NO way from the info I've seen? If you have a current F1TV subscription you will have to subscribe to the Apple TV app to view the races.

9to5Mac says something different:

“While you cannot pay directly for F1.TV anymore [in the US], you can still access the F1.TV experience if you have an Apple TV account.”

“To link accounts, open the F1.TV app on your phone, or use this page online here. Click the Activate button to connect your F1.TV and Apple account together. You can then carry on watching through F1.TV like you always used to do. You may also want to use F1.TV to access the vast historical archive, or watch lower division racing that will not be available directly through the Apple TV app itself.”