Much has been said and written about the F1 market in the United States. F1 continues to court the US market, fuelled by a massive wave of new fans spurred by the success of the Netflix documentary series “Drive to Survive”. The move includes three races in the US, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last season. But will these new fans stay in F1, especially if Max Verstappen keeps winning?
guess so.
ABC releases viewership figures Viewership figures for last Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix were another big one for the sport in the U.S. According to the network, it was the largest Canadian Grand Prix broadcast ever, with “an average of 1.8 million viewers tuning in for the race-only coverage from 2-4 p.m. ET.”
The viewership peaked at 1.97 million viewers between 3pm and 3.15pm, when Lando Norris, George Russell and Max Verstappen were battling it out at the front.
These big numbers from ABC are a trend for F1 this season. According to the network “[v]”Three of the final four F1 races this season have set viewership records, with all three races aired on ABC setting records for the event. The Miami Grand Prix in early May set an all-time record for a live F1 broadcast, averaging 3.1 million viewers.”
What may be helping things this season is the fact that while Verstappen remains in the driver’s seat for the fourth consecutive year, the field is closing in on him. The Drivers’ Championship is a battle between Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Norris, while in the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull have a lead over Ferrari and McLaren that is not insurmountable.
F1 is on a break this week but will resume with the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23rd.
