Last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the 2026 Formula 1 (F1) season, drew strong viewership both domestically and in other global markets after an event filled with intrigue.
The first race under F1’s new vehicle regulations generated an average domestic audience of 939,000 viewers across the duration of the race, peaking at 1.79 million at the start, before home favorite Oscar Piastri of McLaren failed to start after a crash on the warm-up lap, which naturally impacted interest.
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Across the full weekend of racing, including qualifiers and practice sessions, Network 10 coverage reached as many as 3.9 million (unique viewers who tuned in to at least one minute of programming), up 15% year-on-year, and a record figure for the broadcaster.
It was a strong weekend for Network 10, which also drew an impressive figure for its coverage of the Australian women’s national soccer team and its 3-3 draw against South Korea in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, averaging 722,000 with a total reach of 1.57 million, a record for an AFC Asian Cup game.
Germany, one of F1’s biggest global markets, also tuned in heavily to the Australian Grand Prix in spite of the adverse time zone difference, with the pay-TV network Sky averaging 390,000 viewers with a market share of 46.4%.
While the market share can be explained by the lack of people in Germany who typically watch television at 5am local time, which was when the race began, the six figure viewership still reflects the strong support for the series in the country, despite the current lack of German F1 drivers on the grid.
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By GlobalDataWith streaming viewership – likely to be higher among commuters and younger digital-focused demographics – not tallied, the total viewership of the race in Germany may yet increase.
In-person, the Australian Grand Prix proved a success as much as on the TV front, with a record 483,934 fans attending the Albert Park venue across the full four-day race weekend.
The weekend, which also included action from support series’ Formula 2, Formula 3, and the Porsche Super Cup, marked the highest attendance since Albert Park first hosted in 1996.
Even Thursday and Friday, typically the least eventful days across the weekend, drew 86,210 and 125,725 fans, respectively, with Saturday’s qualifying session (134,130) and Sunday’s race (136,935) drawing even more, close to the venue’s expanded capacity of 141,000.
The all-time full-weekend record still stands at 520,000, set in 1995 (when the race was held in Adelaide), but with the race committed to its Melbourne location through 2037, the 483,934 figure will do much to maintain the Australian Grand Prix’s position as one of the most commercially attractive on the calendar in the long term.
Most recently, Australian wine brand Penfolds signed up as a new partner of the Australian Grand Prix, and thus served as an event supporter for the race, providing a selection of its wines across the premium hospitality venues attached to the Albert Park track.
