Despite a revised 17-race calendar in 2020, and non-ticketed races, Formula 1’s TV audience maintained an average viewership of 87.4 million viewers per Grand Prix, only 4.5 percent less than the 2019 season. On social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch and Chinese social platforms, Formula 1 had an impressive spike of 35 percent in its follower growth.

Formula 1’s cumulative audience in 2020 was a reduced figure of 1.5 billion, compared to 2019’s 1.9 billion. The CEO of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, said:

Stepping into his pivotal new role, the former Ferrari boss added:

When Liberty Media came into the world of Formula 1, their digital focus on Netflix with the ‘Drive to Survive’ series and Esports, expanded the sport’s reach on various digital social media platforms which reflected in the 2020 audience figures. Netflix’s Drive to Survive has not only helped Formula 1 engage with its audience but has also reached Gen Y and Gen Z.

Unlike previous decades, where the sport was followed exclusively by automotive intellectuals and core motorsport enthusiasts, Formula 1 has now grown beyond its core audience base and connects with modern millennials.

From drivers like Lewis Hamilton, who has 21.8 million followers on Instagram to Lando Norris who has an average of 18 million views on his Twitch account for e-sports streaming, Formula 1 content trends frequently on social media platforms on race and non-race weekends. The growing interest in e-sports peaked engagement during the lockdown period, as several young drivers like Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Norris engaged in simulator races.

According to global sports analysts Nielsen Sports, Formula 1 audience between the ages of 16-35 will grow to one billion by April 2022. Tom McCormack, head of rights holders at Nielsen Sports, said:

Nielsen Sports data showed a growth of 77 percent in the age group of 16-35, which is 43 percent of Formula 1’s key audience. The sport’s overall growth of 20 percent last year accounted to 73 million people in key fan bases in countries like Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

McCormack, from Nielsen Sports, said:

Formula 1’s new strategies not only educate new audiences of the sport, but engage with them to understand an excruciatingly technically complex sport.

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