F1 closes out ESPN era with record U.S. ratings in 2025

Formula 1 didn’t just end an era in 2025 — it ended the season with fireworks in America.

ESPN’s final season as the sport’s broadcaster in the U.S. turned into a ratings victory lap, shattering the country’s viewership records and signaling just how rapidly F1 has embedded itself into American sporting culture over the past decade.

Races were bigger. Title fights were tighter. And American fans showed up in unprecedented numbers, setting the stage for a new broadcast future while giving ESPN a send-off worthy of a championship podium.

A Blockbuster Finale and a Season of Highs

If ESPN was hoping to finish strong, the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix delivered the perfect parting gift. With Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri locked in a three-way championship showdown, the broadcast drew an average of 1.5 million viewers, soaring to a peak of 1.8 million, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel figures, quoted in a report by RACER.

But that wasn’t just a standout race – it was a trend.

Abu Dhabi marked the 16th race out of 24 to hit a new viewership record in 2025. And in 21 of those 24 rounds, audience numbers grew year on year. Only Miami, Singapore and Brazil bucked the upward curve.

Across the full campaign, the series averaged 1.3 million viewers per race, a new all-time high for F1 in the United States and a comfortable leap beyond the previous record of 1.21 million set in 2022.

For perspective, the 2025 tally represents a 135% jump from ESPN’s first season after reclaiming F1 rights.

That first year – back in 2018 – feels worlds away. Average viewership then sat at 554,000, rising modestly to 672,000 in 2019 before the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season dipped to 608,000.

The explosive Hamilton - Verstappen title fight of 2021 changed everything, lifting the average to 948,000. And once ESPN crossed the million-per-race threshold, it never looked back.

Commercial-free coverage, introduced after the second race of ESPN’s return, only accelerated the growth.

A U.S. Boom Years in the Making

F1’s surge isn’t an accident. Since Liberty Media took control of the sport in 2017, America has become a priority market – and the results show it. The calendar now features three U.S. races, in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas, and fan engagement has exploded across digital and mainstream media.

ESPN’s eight-year deal played its part in turning curiosity into consistency. The network had history with the sport – ESPN and ABC first aired F1 in the U.S. back in the 1960s and again through the 1980s and ’90s – but the modern partnership arrived at exactly the moment American appetite was growing.

The numbers speak for themselves: the 2025 season delivered a 142% viewership increase compared to the final year of NBC’s prior rights deal.

Onwards to the Apple TV Era

While ESPN mounted a bid to keep Formula 1 on its screens, next year marks another major shift.

Apple TV takes over U.S. coverage in 2026, with Apple services executive Eddy Cue hinting that the platform’s reach extends “significantly more” than the widely cited 45 million global subscribers.

• Read also: Apple takes over F1 broadcast rights in the U.S. from 2026

With record-breaking momentum behind it, F1’s leap into the streaming arena arrives at the perfect moment – and the sport leaves ESPN on a high few could have predicted back in 2018.

If the past eight years have been F1’s American growth phase, the next chapter might just be the takeoff.

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