Formula 1 Continues Upward Growth on ESPN

Sunday’s Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on ESPN attracted an average audience of 956,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed F1 race of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

* The audience was the fourth-largest F1 cable audience on record, surpassing the recent Monaco Grand Prix (934,000 average viewers).

* The audience was the largest ever for the event since it started in 2016.

* Audience peaked at 1.04 million for last two laps

* F1 races on ESPN Networks in 2021 are averaging 911,000 viewers – up 50 percent over the schedule-shifted 2020 season (608,000) and up 36 percent over the 2019 season (672,000 viewers).

Since getting off of NBCSN and onto ESPN it’s been all uphill for F1 TV ratings in the USA. When is IndyCar going to see the light?

The Formula 1 season continues Sunday, June 20, with the Formula 1 Emirates French Grand Prix airing at 8:55 a.m. ET on ESPN.