As Method 1 attendance figures proceed to rise throughout the globe, we check out which Grand Prix weekends had been the best-attended within the sport’s historical past and which occasions have had the biggest F1 race-day crowds.
Method 1 attendance figures have been on the rise lately. A lot of occasions have attracted document crowds within the three seasons since races re-opened to followers following the coronavirus pandemic. The rise in viewers numbers could be attributed to a lot of components, not least the continued success of the Netflix collection Drive To Survive, which has launched a completely new viewers to the game.
In 2019, the ultimate full season of racing earlier than occasions had been held behind closed doorways as a result of ongoing pandemic, 4.1 million followers attended the 21 races that season. In 2022, the primary season by which each race was open to the general public for the reason that pandemic started, 5.7 million followers attended the 22 races, a rise of 39%. That quantity grew even additional throughout the 22 races held through the 2023 season, to over 6 million. Within the area of 4 years, the common weekend attendance rose from 195,000 to over 270,000.
With curiosity in attending Method 1 races persevering with to develop and tickets persevering with to repeatedly promote out, there’s each probability the document attendance figures beneath may quickly be damaged.
What’s the best-attended Method 1 race weekend of all time?
With a four-day weekend attendance of 520,000, the 1995 Australian Grand Prix is the best-attended Method 1 race weekend on document. 1995 marked F1’s ultimate go to to the favored Adelaide road circuit and followers turned out in drive for the ultimate of 11 Method 1 races in Australia’s fifth most populous metropolis. It’s the solely Method 1 race weekend to have had a weekend attendance bigger than half 1,000,000.
The ultimate race of the 1995 season noticed Damon Hill take victory by two full laps – the one event on which a driver has achieved the feat in Method 1 historical past. Michael Schumacher, who had already gained the title, retired from the race. It was his ultimate look with Benetton earlier than shifting to Ferrari in 1996. Race day itself was attended by 210,000 followers. On the time, it was a brand new document for the largest recorded race day attendance (extra on the race day attendance document beneath).
In response to our analysis, 24 races have had confirmed attendances of over 350,000 in Method 1’s 73-year historical past. Of these, 12 have taken place within the final three years. Behind the 1995 Australian Grand Prix in second place on the record is the 2023 British Grand Prix. Silverstone had an attendance of 480,000 over the 4 days of the race weekend, together with 160,000 on race day alone – each new information for the circuit which hosted the very first World Championship occasion in 1950.
The 2023 Australian Grand Prix additionally ranks within the high three best-attended Grand Prix weekends, having had a weekend determine of 444,631. The Albert Park circuit – which took over Australian Grand Prix internet hosting duties from Adelaide in 1996 – has two additional appearances within the high six best-attended F1 races of all time. Near 420,000 attended in 2022, whereas the inaugural 1996 occasion attracted a reported 401,000.
All through its historical past, Method 1 has struggled to search out stability within the American market. Now, nevertheless, the collection has had the arrogance so as to add two extra races in the US – in Miami and Las Vegas – due to continued progress in curiosity stateside. America Grand Prix, which has been held at Circuit of The Americas since 2012, stays one of many best-attended races every season.
The 2022 United States Grand Prix weekend presently ranks because the fourth-best attended on document, with 440,000 passing by means of the circuit gates. The determine fell barely in 2023 to 432,000 – a determine which nonetheless ranks fifth within the all-time record. COTA boss Bobby Epstein has formidable hopes of United States Grand Prix attendances reaching 500,000 within the coming years.
The Greatest-Attended Method 1 Race Weekends on File
The desk beneath exhibits the best-attended Method 1 race weekend attendances on document in accordance with official sources. Estimated race-day attendances usually are not included. Extra details about how Method 1 attendance figures are calculated could be discovered beneath.
RankRaceVenueWeekend attendance
11995 Australian Grand PrixAdelaide520,000
22023 British Grand PrixSilverstone480,000
32023 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park444,631
42022 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas440,000
52023 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas432,000
62022 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park419,114
71996 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park401,000
82022 British Grand PrixSilverstone401,000
92023 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez400,639
102021 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas400,000
112022 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez395,902
122023 Belgian Grand PrixSpa Francorchamps380,000
132021 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez372,000
142006 Japanese Grand PrixSuzuka361,000
152004 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park360,885
162022 Belgian Grand PrixSpa Francorchamps360,000
172005 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park359,000
181994 Japanese Grand PrixSuzuka357,000
192019 British Grand PrixSilverstone351,000
What’s the Greatest-Attended F1 Race Day of All Time?
The largest ever single day attendance for a Method 1 race got here on race day on the 2000 United States Grand Prix. The race marked Method 1’s return to the US for the primary time since 1991. 250,000 followers had been in attendance for F1’s first race on a street course structure of the enduring Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The very best-capacity sports activities venue on the earth, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has gathered giant crowds for its annual Indianapolis 500 for the reason that occasion was first held in 1911. The race was run as a part of the Method 1 World Championship between 1950 and 1960, although it not often featured up to date F1 drivers and was not open to Method 1 automobiles. These occasions rank among the many best-attended “F1” races. The very best-attended Indianapolis races on this interval had been the 1952 and 1960 runnings, which had estimated race day attendances of 200,000.
The 2000 United States Grand Prix broke the document for the largest race day attendance by 40,000. Earlier than the Indianapolis race, the 1995 Australian Grand Prix had held the document for each the largest weekend attendance and the largest race day attendance.
Earlier than the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix held the document for the biggest race day crowd. The primary race behind the Iron Curtain, F1’s inaugural go to to the Hungaroring attracted 200,000 followers. Hungary has been ever-present on the F1 calendar ever since 1986, although Sunday attendance has by no means been as excessive since. The 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix attracted 303,000 followers over your complete race weekend.
A number of different races have had estimated, however unofficial, race day crowds of 200,000 or extra. Amongst them are the championship-deciding 1951 Spanish Grand Prix, at which Juan Manuel Fangio claimed his first championship crown. Estimates put race day attendance on the Pedralbes circuit at 250,000, which might match the 2000 United States Grand Prix if correct. Some sources even cite the attendance on the 1951 Spanish Grand Prix as excessive as 300,000. Different races on longer tracks – reminiscent of the unique structure of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps or the Nordschleife structure of the Nurburgring – additionally reportedly attracted equally giant estimated crowds.
The 1957 Pescara Grand Prix and the 1970 Mexican Grand Prix are two different notable occasions with crowds upward of 200,000. Such was the dimensions of the Pescara road circuit – 25.801km to be actual – tickets weren’t bought for the occasion. The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix, in the meantime, turned a sufferer of its personal success. Crowd management points nearly noticed the race cancelled earlier than it started. The trackside issues led to Method 1 dropping Mexico from its calendar, finally returning some 15 years later.
We’ve got not included a full record of the largest race day crowds in Method 1 historical past as official single day figures usually are not as broadly reported because the bigger weekend attendance numbers, due to this fact making a definitive record unimaginable to place collectively.
How are Method 1 attendance figures calculated?
The attendance figures on this article have been gathered from quite a few sources, together with FIA paperwork, official attendance numbers launched by Method 1 and race promoters, plus up to date information studies.
It needs to be famous that reported attendance figures usually are not at all times correct and the strategy by which attendees are counted can differ. A well-known instance of inaccurate attendance determine reporting got here on the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, when the reported attendance determine was retrospectively halved from 360,000 to 180,000.
Moreover, the strategy by which attendees are counted can differ by circuit. Some promoters will embrace all operational workers, crew members and holders of free tickets along with paying ticketholders of their attendance studies. Such practices can inflate the true attendance determine by tens of hundreds.
For weekend attendances, followers who attended on a number of days of the weekend are counted for every day that they attended. The weekend attendance determine of 520,000 on the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, for instance, doesn’t imply that 520,000 completely different folks attended – it might be as few as 130,000 who attended all 4 days of the race weekend.
