Coming into the 2025 season, most experts predicted that this season would be the most competitive campaign in recent times since it is the last year of the current regulations. So, with fans also now expecting a much closer grid, many are turning to their television sets and watching the races even if they are at ungodly hours.
That was the case last weekend for American fans, who had to watch the Chinese Grand Prix at 3 AM ET. Despite the race happening in the middle of the night, ESPN recorded their highest viewership ever, with 824,000 people watching the race via their broadcast in the USA.
This is all the more surprising for a Grand Prix that was labeled last year as one of the most “soulless“ and boring races on the calendar. In stark contrast, America’s own open-wheel racing series — IndyCar — witnessed a 50% drop in its viewership for its second race of the 2025 season on Fox.
That said, this is also because the second IndyCar race took place at the same time as the NASCAR race, so there was a clash for viewership between the two series. However, F1’s growing popularity in the United States cannot be ignored, as drivers who were never recognized just a few years before are now being approached by many for autographs and pictures.
Former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz explained in an interview back in 2023 how several fans immediately pointed at him when he visited a restaurant in the United States. “I didn’t expect to go into a restaurant, suddenly everyone pointed in”, he said.
Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix averaged 824,000 viewers on ESPN last weekend — the event’s largest audience ever.
That’s a pretty ridiculous number considering the race started at 3 am ET. pic.twitter.com/ZqXSGr81Ev
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 25, 2025
His former teammate, Charles Leclerc, also made similar remarks about how the sport has grown immensely in the United States since he joined it in 2018. “The first years, there weren’t that many people watching Formula 1. Also, in the streets, we could have a normal life in the US, and now it’s crazy,” the Monegasque explained.
With such being the growing craze for F1 across the pond, the Formula One Management (FOM) decided to add two more races in the country after having just one in Austin for the longest time. The Miami Grand Prix was introduced in 2022, while the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix took place in 2023.
F1 made a staggering $500,000,000 investment to host the Las Vegas GP, which initially received immense criticism for its track layout. However, with the Grand Prix in 2023 producing the highest number of overtakes (82) for a debut race, it did not take long even for the biggest critics to change their views about the race.
As more and more fans in the USA show interest in the sport, F1 has reportedly wanted to add more races in the country. There were talks that F1 wanted to host a race in Chicago, but nothing came of it.
And with talks now taking place about hosting a race in Africa, it seems unlikely that any more races will be added in the United States since the calendar already features 24 races.
