(Motorsport-Total.com) – How many spectators follow the Formula 1 races directly at the track? Which race track records the largest on-site audience? And at which locations are visitor numbers developing positively, while they are declining elsewhere?
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The following article provides answers to these and other questions about the audience at the race tracks of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
An important special feature of the statistics must be taken into account: The official total number of spectators for a race weekend is the sum of the individual event days. Fans who are on site for several days are counted multiple times accordingly. As a result, the reported total number of visitors for a Grand Prix can be higher than the actual daily capacity of a track.
The spectator numbers at the 2026 Formula 1 races
#2: Shanghai (China)
At the third Grand Prix since the corona pandemic, Shanghai can report spectator growth for the second time in a row: According to official figures, 230.000 visitors were on site over the weekend – 10.000 more than in the previous year. However, the Formula 1 record for the Shanghai International Circuit dates back to the 2005 season, when 270.000 spectators sat in the stands at the second Chinese Grand Prix.
#1: Melbourne (Australia)
For the fifth time in a row, the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne has set a spectator record: After around 465.500 fans last year, almost 484.000 visitors came to the race track this time. Only Silverstone in England has ever had a larger on-site audience at Formula 1 races with 500.000. Melbourne is thus the new number two and displaces Mexico City from the top 10 (see below).
Largest on-site audience of Formula 1 2026
This overview sorts the spectator numbers for the 2026 Formula 1 season in descending order: well-attended races are at the top, poorly attended races at the bottom. The ranking is constantly updated throughout the season and supplemented with new information.
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How spectator numbers are developing
This overview shows the development of spectator numbers since 2022 at the individual Formula 1 venues. It is partially incomplete: sometimes there are no values because certain Grands Prix were not always held or the organizers did not communicate any figures. These fields remain empty.
The best-attended Formula 1 events
Which Grands Prix of the recent Formula 1 past had the largest on-site audience? Here is the ranking of the venues with the most visitors per race weekend!
New 2026:
– Melbourne displaces Mexico City (404.958) from the top 10 with 484.934 spectators
More on the topic:
The spectator numbers for the 2025 Formula 1 season
The spectator numbers for the 2024 Formula 1 season
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