Stefano Domenicali hails Kimi Antonelli as F1 trumpets record crowds
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Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli celebrates after winning the Belgian Grand Prix on July 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Formula One has seen record crowds and TV audiences in 2026, with all 11 races sold out and significant attendance increases in Britain and Japan.
- Teenager Kimi Antonelli, a six-time winner this season, is praised as a fresh and engaging talent boosting the sport's popularity, especially in Italy.
- Fan engagement is strong, with 66% rating the racing good or excellent; women and young fans make up a large part of the growing audience.
AI generated
LONDON - Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali heaped praise on teenager Kimi Antonelli on July 29 as the sport gave itself a glowing half-term report, with sold-out races and booming viewing figures in key markets.
Liberty Media-owned Formula One said all 11 races this year had been sold out and six circuits had broken attendance records, with Britain’s Silverstone recording by far the biggest weekend crowd of 564,000.
Nearly 3.7 million people had attended race weekends compared to 3.4 million at the same races in 2025, with Japan showing an increase of 18 per cent and Britain 13 per cent.
Television audiences in Italy, home of Mercedes’ championship leader Antonelli as well as a resurgent Ferrari, were up 27 per cent on 2025 over the nine rounds through the British Grand Prix.
19-year-old a six-times winner
Antonelli, 19, has won six of 11 races this season while Ferrari, winless in 2025, have triumphed with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
“I think that for the sport, he’s really great,” Domenicali told reporters about a compatriot who hails from the same region around Bologna.
“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.”
Television audiences in Brazil on race weekends were up to five times greater than a year ago, with a record 18 million watching the British Grand Prix on TV Globo and SportTV3.
The Monaco Grand Prix, won by Antonelli reached nearly 80 million viewers globally.
Formula One said its Fan Voice polling forum, which gathers responses from 60,000 fans, showed 66 per cent of fans voting the racing good or excellent - despite driver complaints about the new engines - compared to 60 per cent last season.
The British Grand Prix, which ended controversially with the safety car deployed and Ferrari’s Leclerc winning after Antonelli took pole position, drew a 69 per cent good or excellent rating - down 20 per cent on 2025.
The Silverstone drivers’ parade in cars made of Lego led to more than 70 million views across social platforms.
Women made up 42 per cent of the sport’s audience, and three-quarters of new fans, while 43 per cent of the total fanbase was under 35 years old.
Formula One’s next race is the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Aug 23. REUTERS
