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Formula 1 broke records at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend after becoming the most-watched live F1 race in United States television history.
Norris celebrating with his McLaren team after winning his first race in F1 at the Miami GP. Credit: GIORGIO VIERA via Getty ImagesAccording to formula1.com, the Miami Grand Prix saw 3.1 million people tune in to watch ABC’s coverage of an enthralling 57 lap race around the Miami International Autodrome.
ESPN also reported similar figures, making the 2024 Miami Grand Prix the most watched live F1 race in US television history.
The 2024 Miami GP is officially the most-watched live F1 race in US television history, with an average of 3.1 million fans tuning in ??? pic.twitter.com/cG2dbhEwTa
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) May 7, 2024
Viewers got to witness McLaren’s Lando Norris secure a long awaited first win in the sport as he went on to finish over seven and a half seconds ahead of the current leader of the Drivers’ Championship in Max Verstappen.
This new record for F1 in the US breaks the previous one, which also came in Miami at its inaugural race back in 2022, when 2.6 million people tuned in to watch the flying Dutchman claim victory.
Compared to last year’s race, viewership increased by 48% in 2024 with the Grand Prix having a peak audience of 3.6 million people. Over a third of those people watching were aged between 18 and 49.
Moreover, these figures are a clear indication that the sport is growing rapidly in the United States as the Miami Grand Prix now holds all of the top three US TV audiences in the F1 history.
Even more records broken!
In addition to the record-breaking viewership figures for the Miami Grand Prix, the Sprint Race averaged nearly a million viewers on ESPN alone.
This makes it the largest audience for a Sprint Race on record since F1 introduced it back in 2021. The qualifying session was also watched by over 600,000 people.
It has also been announced that another popular motorsport series in Formula E is gearing up for three United States races in the near future, as racing in general over in North America continues to become more popular.
Bearing all of this in mind, with two more F1 races in the United States still to come this season, could we see even more records being broken in Austin and Las Vegas?
Feature Image Credit: (Photo by Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)