As crowds are able to return, and the global racing series continues to grow in popularity, Formula 1 is expected to sell out all races for the 2022 season.
Maybe it was expected. Maybe the signs were there. But when it was announced that the Australian Grand Prix saw total attendance for the race weekend hit 420,000 – a new record for a sporting event for the country – it showed a third-consecutive sellout for each race held in the season.
And that trend isn’t stopping.
Already the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has sold out in the shortest time in the race’s history and is now expected to break all previous attendance records. A total of 142,000 for race day on July 3rd has already been met. Race organizers have already added additional grandstands.
The Italian Grand Prix set to be held this weekend has already seen ticket sales exceed 100,000 and the expectation is it will be sold out.
With the addition of a Miami race in May, that event had its grandstands sold out in a matter of days after the event was announced. The 2021 race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) outside of Austin, Texas had a staggering 400,000 for race weekend making it the largest-attended F1 race in history until the Australian GP this year. It’s almost assured to hit that figure again.
So, can Formula 1 run the table and sell out all 20 races on the calendar? Formula 1’s ownership, Liberty Media, believes so.
The Guardian reports that F1 believes that all of the remaining 20 races will be held with capacity crowds, including the races in the Middle East which do not have broad motorsport audiences, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the latter of which is likely to replace the canceled Russian GP.
So, what is creating the growth in interest? Certainly, events allowing for full attendance are one. Another is Netflix’s
Will F1’s popularity hit its high water mark this year? Likely not. The addition of Las Vegas, and possibly a South African race for 2023 will continue Formula 1’s upward trajectory.
