Whilst Max Verstappen’s dominance meant there was no real battle for the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship title, that didn’t stop spectators parting with their hard-earned cash to go and see the F1 in person.
I’ve pulled together the fan and spectator attendance numbers from all of the Grand Prix on the 2023 F1 calendar and the results are in. It’s been a record-breaking year for F1 race attendances with numerous sell-out events.
The 2023 season promised the most jam-packed calendar any Formula 1 campaign has ever seen, with a total of 23 races on the line up. This was one more event than the 2022 calendar, with the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix being the 2023 addition.
Unfortunately the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy, scheduled to take place in May this year, had to be cancelled due to horrendous weather and flooding. So that brought the number of F1 events back down to 22 for 2023.
Despite that, F1 fans donned their favourite team and driver clothing, packed their ponchos and their sandwiches and headed to the tracks in numbers which have never been seen before.
2023 F1 title 'race'
Unfortunately the 2023 Formula 1 title ‘race’ was more of a title ‘walk in the park’. Max Verstappen and his Red Bull were dominant right from the start and never looked like being beaten, much to the delight of Dutch fans.
By the end of the season Max finished on over double the number of points of the second place driver, his team-mate Sergio Perez. He could have actually won the title twice over.
This has led to a notable downturn in enthusiasm from the newer (non-Dutch) fans of the sport. Analysis by Buzz Radar showed that the number of new followers, mentions and overall reach of F1 on social media was way down compared to the year before.
But it turns out the sport’s core fanbase of die-hard motorsport fans were still very much engaged, enthusiastic and willing to turn up.
2023 Formula 1 Race Attendance Figures
So, just how many F1 fans went to watch the races in 2023? Below are the number of spectators who attended each of the 2023 Formula 1 Grand Prix.
| Grand Prix | Weekend Attendance |
|---|---|
| Britain | 480,000 |
| Australia | 444,600 |
| Austin - USA | 432,000 |
| Mexico | 400,600 |
| Belgium | 380,000 |
| Canada | 345,000 |
| Vegas - USA | 315,000 |
| Dutch* | 305,000 |
| Monza - Italy | 304,100 |
| Austria | 304,000 |
| Hungary | 303,000 |
| Spain | 284,100 |
| Miami - USA | 270,000 |
| Brazil | 267,000 |
| Singapore | 264,100 |
| Japan | 222,000 |
| Monaco* | 200,000 |
| Abu Dhabi* | 165,000 |
| Saudi | 150,000 |
| Qatar | 120,000 |
| Bahrain | 99,500 |
| Azerbaijan* | 95,000 |
| Emilia Romagna - Italy | CANCELLED |
| Total | 6,150,000 |
* The data for the Dutch, Monaco, Abu Dhabi and Azerbaijan Grand Prix is not confirmed and has been based on figures from the previous years. Attendance figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
Based on these numbers, we can fairly accurately estimate that the total number of fans who attended Formula 1 races in 2023 was 6,150,000. That’s the first time in the sport’s history that the total attendance figure has passed 6 million, and is a massive 400,000 more than the 5.7 million who attended in 2022.
A number of the Grand Prix in 2023 were sold out. Bahrain, Spa, Zandvoort, Singapore and Abu Dhabi were just a few circuits to be completely full on race day.
So why did even more fans head to the track this year to watch the races if it was always going to be a Verstappen-fest without any contest?
Well F1 are doing more and more to make a weekend out of it. Sprint races are becoming more popular and a lot of F1 venues are now including concerts from some of the world’s biggest artists with their GP tickets, like the Foo Fighters at the Abu Dhabi F1 concert and Robbie Williams at the Singapore GP concert.
Despite the Las Vegas Grand Prix infamously not selling out, the new event saw a pretty huge crowd of 315,000 fans (me being one of them), much bigger than the attendance would have been at the Emiliga Romagna Grand Prix that was cancelled.
2023 F1 attendance compared to 2022
Using this data of the 2022 F1 attendances we can compare the figures between this year and last year.
| Grand Prix | 2023 Attendance | 2022 Attendance | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Britain | 480,000 | 401,000 | 20% |
| Australia | 444,600 | 419,100 | 6% |
| Austin - USA | 432,000 | 440,000 | -2% |
| Mexico | 400,600 | 395,900 | 1% |
| Belgium | 380,000 | 360,000 | 6% |
| Canada | 345,000 | 338,000 | 2% |
| Vegas - USA | 315,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Dutch | 305,000 | 305,000 | 0% |
| Monza - Italy | 304,100 | 337,000 | -10% |
| Austria | 304,000 | 303,000 | 0% |
| Hungary | 303,000 | 290,000 | 4% |
| Spain | 284,100 | 277,800 | 2% |
| Miami - USA | 270,000 | 243,000 | 11% |
| Brazil | 267,000 | 236,000 | 13% |
| Singapore | 264,100 | 302,000 | -13% |
| Japan | 222,000 | 200,000 | 11% |
| Monaco | 200,000 | 200,000 | 0% |
| Abu Dhabi | 165,000 | 165,000 | 0% |
| Saudi | 150,000 | 141,000 | 6% |
| Qatar | 120,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Bahrain | 99,500 | 98,000 | 2% |
| Azerbaijan | 95,000 | 95,000 | 0% |
| Total | 6,150,000 | 5,700,000 | 8% |
The British Grand Prix saw the biggest year-on-year increase, largely thanks to McLaren’s return to form, a couple of extra grandstands and an even better chance of seeing one of the three British drivers on the podium (and in the end we saw two of them up there).
Spa Francorchamps was up by 6% year-on-year and having been at the race myself I can attest to fact the whole circuit was packed.
The Singapore Grand Prix saw the biggest decline in attendance between 2022 and 2023 with a 13% drop, mainly down to the closure of the Bay Grandstand – the largest grandstand at the circuit – which seated around 50,000 people.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza also saw a 10% reduction in attendance. That was partly down to the poor experiences fans had at the 2022 race, and partly due to Ferrari’s lacklustre form not pleasing the Tifosi.
Sources
- https://www.silverstone.co.uk/news/2023-british-grand-prix-numbers
- https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/melbourne-gp-circuit/crowds
- https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-factors-behind-austins-f1-us-gp-spectator-numbers-dip/10538144/
- https://www.sportingnews.com/us/formula-1/news/f1-race-result-grid-live-updates-mexican-grand-prix-2023/03355014706b9d1b58c768b4
- https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.formula-1-to-race-in-belgium-until-2025-under-new-deal.1ABwI4lboaaHs6CmjEKrsv.html
- https://hungaroring.hu/site/en/races/2024-formula-1-hungarian-grand-prix-en
- https://f1miamigp.com/news/press-release/tickets-go-on-sale-for-the-formula-1-crypto-com-miami-grand-prix-2024
- https://singaporegp.sg/en/news/2023/sensational-turnout-for-the-14th-edition-of-the-formula-1-singapore-grand-prix
- https://f1destinations.com/formula-1-attendance-exceeds-5-million-in-2022/
- https://www.qatarday.com/formula-1-qatar-airways-qatar-grand-prix-2023-dazzles-capacity-crowd-at-lusail-i
- https://www.newsofbahrain.com/sports/88620.html
Your obviously stretching the truth for some reason. Thought you had written an interesting article until you said Miami was full on race day. What were you smoking !?
Miami wasn’t sold out on race day you’re right Tom. Wish I could say I was smoking the good stuff when I wrote that but I didn’t, it was just a boring old typo.