Formula 1 returns from its annual summer break this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix, the first of 10 remaining races in the sport’s longest season to date. ESPN reports that viewership from its U.S. coverage of F1 races in the first half of the season maintained its positive trend of recent years, and was above the average for last year’s entire season.
After reigning world champion Max Verstappen began the season with four wins in the first five races, competition increased significantly, reflected in viewership numbers. Six of eight races heading into the home straight with comparable events in 2023 saw year-on-year viewership increases, with five events setting attendance records.
After the first 14 races of the season, live broadcasts of Formula 1 races are averaging 1.2 million viewers on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, up from last year’s season average of 1.1 million. The 2023 season was the second most-watched of all time on U.S. television, following the record average of 1.21 million in 2022.
ESPN’s viewership has been steadily increasing this season since the first five races of the season were impacted by schedule changes. The first two races (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia) were held on Saturday morning rather than Sunday as usual, and the next three (Australia, Japan, China) were held during the overnight hours. The races in Japan and China were not held early in the season last year.
Highlights of the data collected by ESPN include:
The Miami Grand Prix in May was the most-watched live F1 race ever on U.S. television, with an average of 3.1 million viewers for the race portion of the ABC broadcast. The Monaco Grand Prix in May on ABC set an event record with an average of 1.965 million viewers. The Canadian Grand Prix in June on ABC set an event record with an average of 1.8 million viewers. The British Grand Prix in June set an event record with an average of 1.3 million viewers and was also the highest audience ever for a live F1 race on ESPN2. Five consecutive races increased viewership compared to the previous year: Japan, Miami, Monaco, Canada and Spain. (China and Imola were not held in 2023). Viewership for the Austrian Grand Prix was essentially on par with 2023 and the Belgian Grand Prix was slightly down.
ESPN’s popular ad-free presentation of F1 racing will continue for the remaining 10 events, with coverage sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Seven of the 10 races will be simulcast on ESPN+, with two additional viewing options being the Onboard Cameras Channel and Driver Tracker Channel.
As earlier this year at the Miami raceSportsCenter and other ESPN news platforms will again provide expanded on-site coverage of the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas and the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the two remaining U.S. races on the F1 calendar.
Live coverage of this Sunday’s Dutch GP on ESPN and ESPN+ begins with Grand Prix Sunday starting at 7:30 a.m. ET.
