F1 ends ESPN era with record-breaking U.S. ratings in 2025

Formula 1 concluded its partnership with ESPN by setting a new all-time viewership record in the United States for the 2025 season, capping off a period of explosive growth and setting the stage for its streaming future with Apple TV.

Why it matters:

The record numbers demonstrate how deeply F1 has embedded itself into the American sports landscape over the past eight years. As the sport transitions from a traditional broadcast partner to a major streaming platform, it does so from a position of unprecedented strength and fan engagement in a critical market.

By the numbers:

• The 2025 season averaged 1.3 million viewers per race, a new U.S. record and a significant jump from the previous high of 1.21 million set in 2022.
• The season finale in Abu Dhabi, featuring a three-way title fight, drew an average of 1.5 million viewers, peaking at 1.8 million.
• 16 out of 24 races in 2025 set new individual viewership records in the U.S.
• Viewership grew year-on-year for 21 of the 24 rounds.
• The 2025 average represents a 135% increase from ESPN's first season with the rights in 2018 (554,000 viewers).

The details:

The growth trajectory has been steep and consistent. After modest beginnings in 2018 and 2019, the sport crossed the crucial one-million-per-race average threshold following the intense 2021 title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. ESPN's decision to air races commercial-free after the second event of its tenure is widely credited with accelerating fan adoption and satisfaction.

This final season under ESPN far outpaced the sport's previous broadcast era, delivering a 142% viewership increase compared to the last year of NBC's prior rights deal. The strategic push by Liberty Media since 2017—adding three U.S. races and prioritizing digital engagement—created the perfect conditions for this boom, which ESPN's consistent coverage helped solidify.

What's next:

The baton now passes to Apple TV, which takes over U.S. broadcast rights starting in 2026. The sport enters this new, streaming-focused chapter with massive momentum and a vastly expanded American fanbase. While ESPN mounted a bid to retain the rights, F1's record-breaking exit provides Apple with a highly engaged audience and proves the sport's mainstream appeal, suggesting its next phase in America could be less about finding an audience and more about innovating how to serve it.