Formula 1 Had A Huge 2021 With Viewership, Race Growth: Here's What's In Store For 2022 (Including US Expansion)

Leading global racing league Formula 1 turned in a strong 2021 with a first place battle for the ages. The company recently shared an update on viewership and growth seen in 2021 and has its sights set on the 2022 season, which kicks off this week.

What Happened: Formula 1, publicly traded as Liberty Formula One Group FWONA FWONK, announced that viewership for its 2021 season was 1.55 billion, up 4% year-over-year.

The season finale in Abu Dhabi drew 108.7 million viewers, the highest mark for a race on the season and up 29% from last year’s same race. The season opener in Bahrain had 84.5 million total viewers.

Several countries posted strong growth in viewers, with France up 48% year-over-year, Italy up 40% year-over-year and the United Kingdom up 39% year-over-year.

Two countries that saw huge gains in viewership were The Netherlands (+81%) and the United States (+58%). Viewers in The Netherlands likely tuned in to watch their countryman Max Verstappen win a down to the wire battle for the championship.

In the 2021 season, 445 million people worldwide watched at least one Formula 1 race, a figure that was up 3% year-over-year.

The average viewership for a 2021 Formula 1 race was 70.3 million. For markets that broadcasts races in 2020 and 2021, the average viewership was 60.3 million, up 13% year-over-year and the largest viewership figure since 2013.

“The 2021 season was something very special. We had a championship battle that went to the last race with huge excitement throughout the whole championship,” Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

Related Link: Could Netflix Help Shares Of Formula One? 

Growth in the US: Viewership averaged 934,000 in the U.S. for broadcast partner Walt Disney Co DIS on ESPN. This figure was a record for Formula 1 in the U.S. and was up 39% over the 2019 season and 54% over the 2020 season. The previous record for ESPN was 748,000 average viewers in the 1995 season.

The U.S. Grand Prix, held in Texas, averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC and was the highest viewed race of the 2021 season in the U.S. There were 53% more people in the U.S. tuning into at least one 2021 Formula 1 race compared to 2020.

The Formula 1 finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had 963,000 viewers on ESPN. The race was broadcast in the early morning hours in the U.S. due to the time difference, but that didn’t stop many from tuning in to watch Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win the championship.

Seven of the 22 races from the 2021 season rank in the top ten Formula 1 cable audiences ever.

Disney has broadcast rights to Formula 1 through 2022 and could have fierce competition to renew the deal. Netflix Inc NFLX and Amazon.com Inc AMZN are among the interested parties in gaining rights to broadcast the global sport.

U.S. growth could continue with several catalysts coming. The fourth season of the “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” series on Netflix kicks off on March 11, 2022, ahead of the first official 2022 race.

The Netflix show has been credited with bringing a growing number of U.S. viewers to the sport.

The 2022 Formula 1 schedule features two U.S. races for the first time since the 1980s, with the inaugural Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix held in May and the U.S. Grand Prix in Texas in October. These races could continue to strengthen the brand in the U.S.

A third U.S. Formula 1 race could also be coming in the next few years, as race executives met with the city of Las Vegas in October 2021. Las Vegas hosted Formula 1 races back in the 1980s.

Racing legend Michael Andretti applied to field a new Formula 1 team in 2024, which could continue a U.S. expansion. The Andretti family, who recently helped launch the Andretti Acquisition Corp WNNR, is well-known in the racing world and could help bring a U.S. team and U.S. driver to the sport.

What’s Next: Formula 1 kicks off on Feb. 23 with its Pre-Season Track Session in Spain. The first official Grand Prix race hits Bahrain on March 20, 2022.

The 2022 Formula 1 race schedule features a record-number of 23 races.

“We are looking forward to our record-breaking 23-race season this year, with new cars, new regulations and a new challenge for all the teams and drivers. I know all of our fans can’t wait to get the season started,” Domenicali said.

Price Action: FWONA shares were trading at $57.74 at the time of writing. Shares have traded between $36.65 and $60.94 over the last 52-weeks. FWONA shares are up 46% in the last year and up 83% over the last five years.