LONDON : Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali praised championship leader Kimi Antonelli on Wednesday as the sport celebrated record attendance and television audiences at the halfway stage of the 2026 season.
Liberty Media-owned Formula One said all 11 races held so far this season had sold out, with six circuits setting attendance records. Silverstone attracted the largest weekend crowd of 564,000 spectators.
Total attendance across the first 11 race weekends reached nearly 3.7 million, up from 3.4 million at the corresponding events in 2025. Japan recorded an 18% increase in attendance, while Britain’s crowd grew by 13%.
Television audiences also rose sharply in several key markets. Viewing figures in Italy, home to Mercedes championship leader Antonelli and a resurgent Ferrari team, were up 27% through the first nine rounds ending with the British Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Antonelli has won six of the opening 11 races, while Ferrari have returned to winning ways with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after failing to secure a victory last season.
“I think that for the sport, he’s really great,” Domenicali told reporters of his fellow Italian.
“He’s fresh, he’s still very new and very open to any kind of thing that is happening to him.
“He has brought a lot of new fans connected to him because the nature of his way of engaging is fantastic… he’s added a new dimension.
“He’s an incredible asset for the future of what we’re doing together.”
Formula One said television audiences in Brazil had increased fivefold compared with last year, with a record 18 million viewers tuning in to the British Grand Prix on TV Globo and SportTV3.
The Monaco Grand Prix, won by Antonelli, attracted nearly 80 million viewers worldwide.
The sport’s Fan Voice survey, which gathers responses from around 60,000 supporters, found that 66% rated the racing as good or excellent, up from 60% last season despite criticism from drivers over the current engine regulations.
The British Grand Prix, won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after a controversial finish involving the safety car, received a 69% good-or-excellent rating, down 20 percentage points from 2025.
Formula One also said its Lego-themed drivers’ parade at Silverstone generated more than 70 million views across social media platforms.
Women accounted for 42% of Formula One’s global audience, while 75% of new fans were female. The sport added that 43% of its overall fanbase is now under the age of 35.
The championship resumes after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Aug. 23.
