Formula 1 entered a new era in 2026, with overhauled regulations, debutant teams and rookie drivers all featuring \u2013 and serving up plenty of entertainment for fans across 11 action-packed rounds from Australia in early-March to Hungary last weekend.<\/p>\n
As the paddock pauses to catch its collective breath, we present some of the incredible statistics behind the season so far, spanning race attendance, TV viewership, arriving races, social engagement, environmental initiatives and more.<\/p>\n
Five new circuit attendance records have been broken:<\/p>\n
Australia (484,000)
\nCanada (360,000)
\nAustria (320,000)
\nSilverstone (564,000)
\nBelgium (400,000)<\/p>\n
Versus 2025, attendance increases include:<\/p>\n
Japanese Grand Prix up by 18%
\nBritish Grand Prix up by 13%
\nAustrian Grand Prix up by 7%
\nTV viewership<\/p>\n
The sport continues to see a growth in global TV audiences, led by several key strategic markets, including Brazil, Italy and China.<\/p>\n
In Brazil, total TV audiences have grown significantly year-on-year, with race weekends delivering audiences up to five times larger than in 2025.<\/p>\n
The British Grand Prix reached a record 18 million viewers across Brazil\u2019s TV Globo and SportTV3, generating the highest audience for the event in eight years and the largest single-market audience for any F1 race globally since 2020.<\/p>\n
In Italy, TV audiences are up 27% through the British Grand Prix compared to 2025.<\/p>\n
Several races delivered their largest audiences in Italy in recent years, including:<\/p>\n
Japanese Grand Prix (highest audience since 2017)
\nBelgian Grand Prix (highest audience since 2019)<\/p>\n
In China, weekend TV audiences watching the Chinese Grand Prix more than doubled year on year, while increased coverage and growing fandom has maintained strong performance for other races this year.<\/p>\n
The Monaco Grand Prix reached nearly 80 million viewers globally, up double digits versus 2025.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the sport continues to develop and evolve its new broadcast partnership with Apple<\/a>, already delivering excellent viewership and engagement across its entire portfolio of platforms.<\/p>\n This included Apple\u2019s first ever simulcast with Netflix for the Canadian Grand Prix while also showing Drive to Survive<\/a>, attracting a younger and more diverse audience that continues to break new ground for how avid and casual race fans consume the sport.<\/p>\n New and renewed races<\/p>\n The sport\u2019s global growth has led to an increase in host city interest, both from existing and new venue locations, including:<\/p>\n A five-year agreement signed with T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Istanbul Park<\/a> through 2031. The global fan base continues to increase each year, with more than 830 million people following the sport, up +64% compared to 2018 figures that marked the first full year after Liberty Media\u2019s acquisition.<\/p>\n Currently, 42% of the sport\u2019s audience is female, with women making up three-quarters of new fans, while 43% of the total fanbase is under 35 years old.<\/p>\n F1 Sim Racing World Championship<\/p>\n The 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship returned, featuring:<\/p>\n Nine teams and 12 rounds at four separate events. Three events hosted at F1\u2019s state-of-the-art, multi-purpose sim racing studio within its Media and Technology Centre in Biggin Hill. ESG (Environmental, social and governance)<\/p>\n
\nA 10-year extension for the Las Vegas Grand Prix<\/a> through 2037.
\nMulti-year alternating extensions for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (2028, 2030, 2032).
\nand Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (2027, 2029, 2031).
\nPortugal\u2019s Portim\u00e3o<\/a> returning to the calendar with a multi-year agreement for 2027 and 2028, announced at the end of 2025.
\nGrowth and demographic trends<\/p>\n
\nThe opening round at the global esports and gaming festival, DreamHack Birmingham, in front of 50,000 fans.<\/p>\n
\n72% increase to nearly 13 million live viewers across YouTube, Twitch and Facebook compared to 2025.
\n269 million social media views and 84 million social video views across content so far this year.<\/p>\n