As System 1 attendance figures proceed to rise throughout the globe, we check out which Grand Prix weekends have been the best-attended within the sport’s historical past and which occasions have had the most important F1 race-day crowds.
System 1 attendance figures have been on the rise in recent times. A lot of occasions have attracted file crowds within the three seasons since races re-opened to followers following the coronavirus pandemic. The rise in viewers numbers may be attributed to plenty of elements, not least the continued success of the Netflix sequence Drive To Survive, which has launched a wholly new viewers to the game.
In 2019, the ultimate full season of racing earlier than occasions have been held behind closed doorways as a result of ongoing pandemic, 4.1 million followers attended the 21 races that yr. In 2022, the primary season wherein each race was open to the general public because the pandemic started, 5.7 million followers attended the 22 races, a rise of 39%. That quantity grew even additional throughout the 22 races held throughout the 2023 season, to over 6 million and climbed to six.5 million in 2024. Within the house of 4 years, the typical weekend attendance rose from 195,000 to over 270,000.
With curiosity in attending System 1 races persevering with to develop and tickets persevering with to frequently promote out, there’s each likelihood the file attendance figures under might quickly be damaged.
What’s the best-attended System 1 race weekend of all time?
With a four-day weekend attendance of 520,000, the 1995 Australian Grand Prix is the best-attended System 1 race weekend on file. 1995 marked F1’s ultimate go to to the favored Adelaide avenue circuit and followers turned out in pressure for the ultimate of 11 System 1 races in Australia’s fifth most populous metropolis. It’s the solely System 1 race weekend to have had a weekend attendance of over half one million.
The ultimate race of the 1995 season noticed Damon Hill take victory by two full laps – the one event on which a driver has achieved the feat in System 1 historical past. Michael Schumacher, who had already gained the title, retired from the race. It was his ultimate look with Benetton earlier than transferring to Ferrari in 1996. Race day itself was attended by 210,000 followers. On the time, it was a brand new file for the largest recorded race day attendance (extra on the race day attendance file under).
In accordance with our analysis, 26 races have had confirmed attendances of over 350,000 in System 1’s 74-year historical past. Of these, 19 have taken place this decade. Behind the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, the 2025 British Grand Prix is the second-best attended race weekend of all time, with Silverstone attracting a complete of 500,000 followers over 4 days. There are three British Grands Prix within the high 4 positions on the listing, with each the 2023 and 2024 British Grands Prix weekends attracting 480,000 followers in whole.
The 2025, 2024 and 2023 Australian Grands Prix rank within the high seven best-attended Grand Prix weekends, having had a file 4-day attendance determine of over 465,000 in 2025 and figures over 440,000 within the earlier two years. The Albert Park circuit – which took over Australian Grand Prix internet hosting duties from Adelaide in 1996 – has two additional appearances within the high 12 best-attended F1 races of all time. Near 420,000 attended in 2022, whereas the inaugural 1996 occasion attracted a reported 401,000.
All through its historical past, System 1 has struggled to seek out stability within the American market. Now, nonetheless, the sequence has had the arrogance so as to add two further races in america – in Miami and Las Vegas – because of continued progress in curiosity stateside. America Grand Prix, which has been held at Circuit of The Americas since 2012, stays one of many best-attended races every season.
The 2022 United States Grand Prix weekend at the moment ranks because the eighth-best attended on file, with 440,000 passing by the circuit gates. The determine fell barely in 2023 to 432,000 – a determine which nonetheless ranks ninth within the all-time listing. No official determine was made out there for the 2024 race, although attendance was estimated to be 430,000. COTA boss Bobby Epstein has formidable hopes of United States Grand Prix attendances reaching 500,000 within the coming years.
The Finest-Attended System 1 Race Weekends on Report
The desk under reveals the best-attended System 1 race weekend attendances on file based on official sources. Estimated weekend attendances will not be included. Extra details about how System 1 attendance figures are calculated may be discovered under.
RankRaceVenueWeekend attendance
11995 Australian Grand PrixAdelaide520,000
22025 British Grand PrixSilverstone500,000
32023 British Grand PrixSilverstone480,000
42024 British Grand PrixSilverstone480,000
52025 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park465,498
62024 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park452,055
72023 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park444,631
82022 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas440,000
92023 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas432,000
102022 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park419,114
112024 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez404,958
121996 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park401,000
132022 British Grand PrixSilverstone401,000
142023 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez400,639
152021 United States Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas400,000
162022 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez395,902
172023 Belgian Grand PrixSpa Francorchamps380,000
182021 Mexico Metropolis Grand PrixAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez372,000
192006 Japanese Grand PrixSuzuka361,000
202004 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park360,885
212022 Belgian Grand PrixSpa Francorchamps360,000
222005 Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park359,000
231994 Japanese Grand PrixSuzuka357,000
242025 Canadian Grand PrixCircuit Gilles Villeneuve352,000
252019 British Grand PrixSilverstone351,000
262024 Canadian Grand PrixCircuit Gilles Villeneuve350,000
What’s the Finest-Attended F1 Race Day of All Time?
The most important ever single day attendance for a System 1 race got here on race day on the 2000 United States Grand Prix. The race marked System 1’s return to america for the primary time since 1991. 250,000 followers have been in attendance for F1’s first race on a street course format of the enduring Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The very best-capacity sports activities venue on the planet, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has gathered giant crowds for its annual Indianapolis 500 because the occasion was first held in 1911. The race was run as a part of the System 1 World Championship between 1950 and 1960, although it hardly ever featured up to date F1 drivers and was not open to System 1 vehicles. These occasions rank among the many best-attended “F1” races. One of the best-attended Indianapolis races on this interval have been the 1952 and 1960 runnings, which had estimated race day attendances of 200,000.
The 2000 United States Grand Prix broke the file for the largest race day attendance by 40,000. Earlier than the Indianapolis race, the 1995 Australian Grand Prix had held the file for each the largest weekend attendance and the largest race day attendance.
Earlier than the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix held the file for the most important race day crowd. The primary race behind the Iron Curtain, F1’s inaugural go to to the Hungaroring attracted 200,000 followers. Hungary has been ever-present on the F1 calendar ever since 1986, although Sunday attendance has by no means been as excessive since. The 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix attracted 303,000 followers over the whole race weekend.
Just a few different races have had estimated, however unofficial, race day crowds of 200,000 or extra. Amongst them are the championship-deciding 1951 Spanish Grand Prix, at which Juan Manuel Fangio claimed his first championship crown. Estimates put race day attendance on the Pedralbes circuit at 250,000, which might match the 2000 United States Grand Prix if correct. Some sources even cite the attendance on the 1951 Spanish Grand Prix as excessive as 300,000. Different races on longer tracks – reminiscent of the unique format of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps or the Nordschleife format of the Nurburgring – additionally reportedly attracted equally giant estimated crowds.
The 1957 Pescara Grand Prix and the 1970 Mexican Grand Prix are two different notable occasions with crowds upward of 200,000. Such was the size of the Pescara avenue circuit – 25.801km to be precise – tickets weren’t offered for the occasion. The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix, in the meantime, grew to become a sufferer of its personal success. Crowd management points nearly noticed the race cancelled earlier than it started. The trackside issues led to System 1 dropping Mexico from its calendar, finally returning some 15 years later.
We’ve not included a full listing of the largest race day crowds in System 1 historical past as official single day figures will not be as extensively reported because the bigger weekend attendance numbers, subsequently making a definitive listing unattainable to place collectively.
How are System 1 attendance figures calculated?
The attendance figures on this article have been gathered from quite a few sources, together with FIA paperwork, official attendance numbers launched by System 1 and race promoters, plus up to date information studies.
It needs to be famous that reported attendance figures will not be at all times correct and the tactic by which attendees are counted can range. A well-known instance of inaccurate attendance determine reporting got here on the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, when the reported attendance determine was retrospectively halved from 360,000 to 180,000.
Moreover, the tactic by which attendees are counted can differ by circuit. Some promoters will embody all operational workers, staff members and holders of free tickets along with paying ticketholders of their attendance studies. Such practices can inflate the true attendance determine by tens of hundreds.
For weekend attendances, followers who attended on a number of days of the weekend are counted for every day that they attended. The weekend attendance determine of 520,000 on the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, for instance, doesn’t imply that 520,000 completely different folks attended – it may very well be as few as 130,000 who attended all 4 days of the race weekend.
