Formula 1 entered a new era in 2026, with revised regulations, debut teams and rookie drivers all in attendance, and offering plenty of entertainment for fans across 11 action-packed rounds from Australia at the beginning of March to Hungary last weekend.
As the paddock pauses for a collective breath, we present some of the incredible statistics behind the season so far, covering race attendance, television viewership, race arrivals, social engagement, environmental initiatives and more.
Five new circuit attendance records have been broken:
- Australia (484,000)
- Canada (360,000)
- Austria (320,000)
- Silverstone (564,000)
- Belgium (400,000)
Compared to 2025, attendance increases include:
- The Japanese Grand Prix grows by 18%
- The British Grand Prix rises 13%
- The Austrian Grand Prix grows by 7%
Television audience
Sport continues to experience growth in global television audiences, led by several key strategic markets including Brazil, Italy and China.
in brazilTotal television audiences have grown significantly year-on-year, with race weekends generating audiences up to five times larger than in 2025.
The British Grand Prix reached a record 18 million viewers on Brazil’s TV Globo and SportTV3, generating the largest audience for the event in eight years and the largest audience in a single market for any F1 race globally since 2020.
in italyTV audiences increased by 27% during the British Grand Prix compared to 2025.
Several races generated their largest audience in Italy in recent years, including:
- Japanese Grand Prix (largest audience since 2017)
- Belgian Grand Prix (largest audience since 2019)
in chinaWeekend television audiences watching the Chinese Grand Prix doubled year-on-year, while increased coverage and growing fandom have maintained strong performances for other races this year.
The Monaco Grand Prix reached nearly 80 million viewers worldwide, a double-digit increase compared to 2025.
Meanwhile, the sport continues to develop and evolve. its new streaming partnership with Applewhich already offers excellent viewership and engagement across its entire portfolio of platforms.
This included Apple’s first simulcast with Netflix for the Canadian Grand Prix while also showing Drive to surviveattracting a younger, more diverse audience that continues to break new ground in the way avid and casual racing fans consume the sport.
New and renewed careers
The global growth of the sport has led to an increase in interest from host cities, both from existing and new locations, including:
- A five-year agreement signed with Istanbul Türkiye Park until 2031.
- A 10-year extension for the Las Vegas Grand Prix until 2037.
- Alternate multi-year extensions for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (2028, 2030, 2032). and Spa-Francorchamps Circuit (2027, 2029, 2031).
- Portimão of Portugal returning to the calendar with a multi-year agreement for 2027 and 2028, announced at the end of 2025.
Demographic growth and trends
The global fan base continues to grow each year, with more than 830 million people following the sport, an increase of 64% compared to figures from 2018, which marked the first full year following the acquisition of Liberty Media.
Currently, 42% of the sport’s audience is female, with women making up three-quarters of new fans, while 43% of the total fan base is under 35 years old.
F1 Sim Racing World Championship
The 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship returned with:
- Nine teams and 12 rounds in four different events.
- The opening round of the global gaming and esports festival, DreamHack Birmingham, in front of 50,000 fans.
- Three events hosted at F1’s state-of-the-art, multi-use simulation racing studio within its Technology and Media Center in Biggin Hill.
- 72% increase to nearly 13 million live viewers on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook compared to 2025.
- 269 million social media views and 84 million social media video views across all content so far this year.
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)
in juneWe announce that the sport remains on track to achieve its commitment to become Net Zero by 2030, having achieved a 35% reduction (including SAFc) in its carbon footprint compared to the 2018 baseline.
To read the full 2025 Sustainability Report, Click here.
Carbon reduction highlights include:
- Emissions from factories and facilities across the sport have been reduced by more than 37,000 tCO2e, representing a 64% reduction compared to 2018 and a 14% reduction compared to 2024. These savings have been achieved thanks to an ongoing quest by F1 and F1 teams to transition to renewable energy sources to power their factories and offices.