Formula 1 celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2025 – and it was a season that kept setting new benchmarks.
Lando Norris sealed his first Drivers’ Championship, McLaren claimed consecutive Teams’ Championships, and the title fight reached the final race with three drivers still in contention — the closest finish to a championship battle in 15 years.
Off-track, the sport continued to grow. A larger, more diverse global fanbase, record race attendance across the season, and F1 The Movie breaking box office records before landing at No.1 on Apple TV after release.
After a memorable 2025, and before attention turns fully towards a brand new era for F1 in 2026, let’s look at some of the standouts. There’s even more information across multiple categories, including commercial growth and partner activations, on Formula 1’s corporate website.
A 75th anniversary season that kept raising the bar
The year began with the sport’s first-ever season launch event, where all 10 teams and 20 drivers unveiled their liveries for the season.
A host of exciting musical performances were also included from the likes of Take That, country music sensation Kane Brown, composer Brian Tyler’s ‘Are We Dreaming’ and award-winning singer-songwriter mgk, resulting in F1 75 Live at the O2 selling out in just 20 minutes.
As the year unfolded across 24 exciting Grands Prix, nine different drivers from seven teams reached the podium as McLaren secured consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
Late-season tension after a remarkable fightback saw three drivers – Norris, team mate Oscar Piastri and defending champ Max Verstappen – still in title contention going into the final race before Norris clinched his first Drivers’ Championship.
The F1 fanbase got bigger, younger, and more diverse
Formula 1’s global fanbase reached 827 million in 2025, with a year-on-year increase of 12% and a 63% increase versus 2018.
The F1 audience continues to skew younger too. 43% of the total fanbase is under 35, with growth of 51 million fans under 35 year-on-year. Over the last year, 57% of all new fans were under 35.
Growing in every part of the world, the sport’s fanbase is also becoming more gender-balanced. 42% is now female, compared to 37% in 2018, with a growth of 43 million female fans year-on-year. This year, 48% of all new fans were female.
Record crowds at the track
Fans delivered a record combined attendance across the 2025 season, with 19 events completely sold out.
Total season attendance reached 6.7 million – the biggest combined season attendance ever – with the year also seeing 11 new attendance records.
Four race weekends drew more than 400,000 attendees, including the Australian Grand Prix (465,000) and the British Grand Prix (500,000).
Ten more race weekends recorded attendances above 300,000, including the Belgian Grand Prix (389,000), Italian Grand Prix (369,000), and Canadian Grand Prix (352,000).
F1 The Movie and a culture moment beyond the paddock
June saw the eagerly-anticipated release of F1 The Movie, a global box-office smash that became the highest-grossing sports film of all time with a figure of more than $630 million.
Shown on more than 44,000 screens in 78 markets outside the US and Canada, the film saw the largest global opening weekend ever for a Brad Pitt film – and overall highest-grossing film of Pitt’s career.
Production captured more than 185 hours of footage across 14 Grands Prix, alongside more than 2,000 hours of Formula 1 broadcast footage.
The film released on Apple TV worldwide on Friday 12 December, immediately reaching No.1 on Apple TV streaming charts and setting the record for the biggest opening streaming weekend on the platform for a theatrically released film.
At the United States Grand Prix, Formula 1 announced Apple TV as its exclusive US Broadcast Partner from 2026 in an innovative five-year partnership.
Las Vegas Grand Prix: a modern showpiece
The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix was a sold-out event with a weekend attendance of over 300,000 people.
Across the weekend, there were over 450 million video views and over 60 million online interactions with F1 content. More than 1,200 creators were involved, generating 1.8 billion impressions and 5,000 social posts. Media coverage also produced more than 43,000 articles.
The event offered an unparalleled scale of VIP access, featuring
an impressive 44 private suites and five shared suites across the Paddock Club.
Formula 1, in a partnership with Liberty Media, also hosted an F1 Business Summit in Vegas,
bringing together Global Partners, industry leaders and investors to explore the intersection
of sports, entertainment, and culture.
F1 Sprint, calendar renewals and new destinations
Formula 1 confirmed a series of long-term race extensions in 2025, with the majority of the calendar now contracted into the 2030s. Miami and Austria were renewed into the 2040s.
The Mexico City Grand Prix was renewed until 2028
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was renewed until 2030
The Belgian Grand Prix agreed a multi-year extension featuring Grands Prix in 2026, 2027, 2029, and 2031
The United States Grand Prix renewed until 2034
The Canadian Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix both renewed until 2035
The Miami Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix were renewed until 2041
Formula 1 also announced a return to Portimão in Portugal in 2027 and 2028, which last hosted races in 2020 and 2021.
The F1 Sprint continued to be a hit this year. An average of 78% of fans want Sprint weekends to remain on the calendar, with Sprint weekends also generating 8% more social mentions and 4% more social reach than non-Sprint weekends.
2026 will see Shanghai, Miami, and Silverstone return to host the Sprint format, while Montreal, Zandvoort, and Singapore are set to host their first-ever Sprint weekend.
What’s next
It’s said that to stand still in Formula 1 is to go backwards.
Focus now shifts to a new era for F1 in 2026 – the biggest shake up the sport has seen for more than a decade.
There’ll be new regulations, new cars, new hybrid power units and advanced sustainable fuels – all posing new challenges for teams and drivers.
Next year will also see Madrid join the Formula 1 calendar, and the introduction of new teams in Audi and Cadillac. Ford also return to the sport, working with Red Bull on its engine project as a Technical Partner.
