Formula One brought the glitz and the glam to the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, and it seemed to pay off, at least by the record-breaking attendance and viewership numbers.
ESPN announced that Sunday’s live telecast recorded an average of 2.6 million U.S. viewers, the largest audience for a live F1 race broadcast on American television. It peaked at 2.9 million viewers from 4:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET., and for the age group 18-49, the race averaged 735,000 fans watching as Max Verstappen navigated his way to victory. The race aired from 3:30 p.m. to 5:36 p.m. ET, and ABC’s full telecast (including the 90-minute Grand Prix Sunday pre-race show) averaged 2.1 million viewers.
The previous record for a live race telecast was the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix on ESPN, which attracted 1.744 million viewers in the U.S..
