Montreal recorded its highest-ever Formula 1 race weekend attendance, with 360,000 fans visiting Circuit Gilles Villenueve over the three days of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix.
Formula 1 has announced a weekend attendance figure of 360,000 at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix – the largest figure in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s history on the calendar.
Kimi Antonelli made history in Montreal, becoming the first driver in the sport’s entirety to take his first four wins at consecutive events. With his Mercedes team-mate George Russell retiring from the race, Antonelli now holds a 43-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship. He was joined on the podium by Lewis Hamilton, who recorded his best result with Ferrari to date, and Max Verstappen, who took his first top three finish of the season.
Also on the weekend line-up was F1 Academy and, for the first time, Formula 2. The feeder series completed its first two races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as part of a change to the calendar brought about by the cancellation of rounds in the Middle East. Off track, fans were treated to headline performances by Canadian acts Bryan Adams, Simple Plan and Alessia Cara.
2026 Canadian Grand Prix Breaks Montreal Attendance Record
This is not the first time that the Canadian Grand Prix attendance has been reported to be 360,000. In 2017, the same figure was reported, before being retrospectively changed to just 180,000.
Since then, attendances have doubled. Between 2019, the last Canadian Grand Prix prior to the pandemic, and 2022, F1’s first visit to Montreal after the pandemic, crowd numbers grew by 31,000, up to 338,000. Since then, there have been incremental year-on-year gains, averaging around 5,000 per season.
2026 marks the biggest jump in attendance since the first post-pandemic race. This year’s figure is up by 8,000 on its 2025 counterpart.
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2026 F1 Attendances Pass 1.5 Million
The total weekend attendance for Formula 1 races so far in 2026 has passed 1.5 million. Official attendances have been announced for only three races to date this year. In addition to the 360,000 at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, F1 also announced attendance figures of 484,000 for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and 230,000 for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Although not confirmed officially, attendance over the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka was said to be 315,000, while the Miami Grand Prix is believed to have had a similar attendance figure to last season (275,000).
Added together, the reported weekend attendance figures from the first five races in 2026 has passed 1.6 million. Last year, total attendance reached a record 6.7 million. The best-attended race of the season was the British Grand Prix, with a figure totalling 500,000. A similar turnout is expected this year, with Silverstone having announced last week that only 1,000 tickets remain for race day.
