This weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, a new F1 TV Ratings record was set in America. What does this mean for the future of the sport?
It is safe to say that ESPN’s coverage of F1 via SkySports, has been successful. This season, the American viewership continues to break records. This time in the Belgian Grand Prix, it is setting a new F1 TV ratings record at 1.045 million. That is up 64% from the 2021 rain-soaked event and is estimated to have been seen by roughly 75 million globally.
It is hard to say if that is only because of ESPN’s broadcast, Netflix’s Documentary “Drive to Survive”, or the excitement of the end of the 2021 season. Whatever it is, it is working. This past weekend’s race at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was the first race back from the summer break. Not even to mention that last year’s race ended early due to heavy rain.
U.S. motorsports viewership from this past weekend:
1) NASCAR (@CNBC): 0.88 rating, 1.406 million viewers
2) F1 (@ESPN-2): 0.57 rating, 1.045 million pic.twitter.com/S0he8LHfdK— Adam Stern (@A_S12) August 30, 2022
Despite being fastest in practice and qualifying Championship Leader Max Verstappen was among 6 drivers that took engine penalties. That meant if Max was going to continue his dominance, he’d have to make his way through most of the grid. Over the first lap, 7 times World Champion Lewis Hamilton had a collision with Fernando Alonso. This collision ended Hamiltion’s race early but still left both Ferraris, Sergio Perez, and George Russell all still ahead of Verstappen. In the end, Max was able to continue his dominance as he made short work through the field.
What do these ratings mean for the future of F1?
With F1 continuously growing in America, it is slowly becoming an American favorite and no longer a European-only sport. This could be potentially good news for Logan Sargent, the American, Williams Academy driver currently racing in F2. If the sport continues to grow in America, a lot of Americans would be more likely to cheer for a team or begin following the series if they are using an American driver. The fandom for mid-level team Hass is a perfect example of this. The team has never finished higher than 5th in the Constructors Championship, granted they have only been a team for seven seasons. The fact that they have as strong of a following as they do, shows that Americans want to cheer for other Americans. Beyond Sargent, IndyCar driver Colton Herta has become a late rumor for a potential spot at AlphaTauri next season.
READ NEXT: “F1: Power Rankings after the Belgian Grand Prix”
