Formula 1 is riding an impressive wave in the US these days. It will host two races in the States next year, with a third on the cards, and has seen following of the sport grow across the country.
To top all this off, ESPN reported that this weekend’s US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, was the second most-viewed US Grand Prix in history.
According to ESPN’s viewing figures for the event, which were first reported by Racer, the broadcast averaged 1.2 million viewers when it was shown on ABC this weekend.
The impressive stat puts it just behind the 2007 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis as the most-viewed US race of all time. The 2007 event was broadcast on Fox and averaged 1.4m viewers.
“Those figures make it the third most-viewed Formula 1 grand prix on ABC on record dating back to 2001, as well as the fourth most-viewed grand prix on ESPN Networks on record since 1994.”
During the race, an average of 1.5 million people tuned in to witness the action, which makes this the most viewed race of the 2021 season so far in the US. It sits ahead of the French Grand Prix and British Grand Prix, which drew audiences of 1.1 million and 1 million respectively.
The broadcast’s viewing figures are more than 40 percent higher than they were the last time F1 raced in America for the 2019 US Grand Prix.
It’s not surprising that viewing figures were up, as track attendance for the event was also sky-high. On Sunday, 140,000 people packed the grandstands at the Circuit of the Americas to watch Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton go wheel-to-wheel.
Jalopnik was on the ground at COTA for the race. And as well as keeping you up to date on all the drama from the track, we also offered a comprehensive review of the carnival rides you can enjoy on a trip to the Austin circuit.