How an SEC Showdown in Texas Could Boost F1's U.S. Viewership

Formula One will return to the grid this week for the Dutch Grand Prix after its nearly monthlong summer break, and the closest championship race of the last three seasons could help fuel an overall U.S. viewership increase after a slight dip last year.

ESPN is averaging 1.19 million viewers per race this season. That’s just below the 1.2 million average audience through this point of the calendar a year ago, but up 7% from the final 2023 race viewership figure of 1.11 million. F1’s season-long U.S. TV record came in 2022, when ESPN averaged 1.21 million viewers per race.

Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen dominated the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but they have seen their leads in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings shrink while earning just one podium since Verstappen’s last victory five races ago in Spain. The Dutchman remains the betting favorite to win the drivers’ title, but McLaren has passed Red Bull in the constructors’ odds.

The nine-race closing stretch of F1’s longest season will include three races in North America, highlighted by the second edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. And the long-running U.S. Grand Prix may get a boost from college football’s shifting conference and media landscape.




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