F1 attendance up 8% to over 4 million

Vettel hits Hamilton in Baku

More than four million spectators attended F1 races in 2017 – an increase of 8% on 2016, according to officials of Formula 1.

In total 13 races saw a swell in crowd numbers, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku – for many the year’s most exciting race – seeing a 58% increase.

In absolute terms, the Canadian and the Austrian Grands Prix saw the biggest rises, each boasting 60,000 spectators more compared to the previous year across the weekend.

The global average attendance per event was 203,570, while for race day, the estimated average attendance was 76,722, which is more than the average attendances reported for the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League and the Bundesliga in 2016/17, the NFL in 2016 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Commenting on the figures, Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1 said: "The 2017 season was a great spectacle, on and off track, thanks to drivers, teams and, most of all, fans, the beating heart of our sport.

“An attendance of more than 200,000 per event means that for 20 weekends per year, the population of a medium-sized city visits a race track to watch to a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Our duty is to make each of these events even more entertaining to unleash what is the greatest racing spectacle on the planet."