Last weekend at Monza, Max Verstappen won, again. Just as common this year, ESPN posted another F1 TV Ratings record.
The Italian Grand Prix was not without controversy, after Daniel Riccardo‘s breakdown late in the race brought out the Safety Car. The race then ran the final eight laps behind the Safety Car. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was denied a chance of challenging Max Verstappen in front of the home crowd. While Ferrari left disappointed, ESPN certainly will not be after seeing yet another increase in F1 TV Ratings. The ratings were up 13% from last season with a 0.57 rating, and 1.048 million total views (995,000 live and 93,000 on re-air).
🏁#F1 #ItalianGP on ESPN2 attracts 995K viewers, largest LIVE audience on record for the event
🏁Viewership peaked at 1.2 million
🏁F1 season averaging 1.2 million viewers, up 31 pct over '21 (949K)NEXT: #SingaporeGP | Oct. 2 | 7:55am ET | ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/nQM45loWGg
— Andy Hall (@AndyHallESPN) September 13, 2022
The Ratings
| Race | TV Rating | Audience | 2021 Rating | 2021 Audience | Difference |
| Belgian GP | 0.57 | 1.045 M | 0.39 | 637 K | Up 64% |
| Dutch GP | 0.62 | 1.148 M | 0.53 | 870 K | Up 32% |
| Italian GP | 0.53 | 995 K | 0.53 | 880 K | Up 13% |
The Takeaway
It is clear by now that most races expect to see an increase in F1 TV Ratings. While the overall trend has been up, each round of the tripleheader brought in small gains than the week before. The Italian Grand Prix saw the smallest bump of the three, just 13%. Now in most cases, across any sport or TV show, a 13% increase is a great mark. However, it’s difficult not to compare one Grand Prix to another, especially when they occur in back-to-back weeks. The Belgian GP increase jumps out, 64%, but you have to look a bit closer.
The 2021 Belgian GP had the lowest audience and thus the biggest chance to have a large increase. Of course, last year’s non-race was rained out which would have impacted ratings. Over 200k fewer viewers watched that 2021 race. Instead, if you look at the 2022 audiences of 1.045 million, 1.148m, & 995k they line up nicely. The main point is that F1 continues to see growth and is well positioned as they negotiate a new TV deal with ESPN. It is rumored that F1 will extend their deal with ESPN, but at a much higher annual fee. It is also unclear how it might affect F1 TV subscriptions in America, but either way, F1 is in the power seat.
READ NEXT: “F1 Power Rankings – The Italian Grand Prix”
