Formula E records double-figure increase in viewership

Last season Formula E introduced its Gen3 car, which was its fastest and most powerful to date, enabling the series to topple a number of records.

New benchmarks for the fastest average lap time and the highest speed were set, while there was more race leaders and more overtakes than ever before.

But it's not just on track where numbers have been on the rise, with the series announcing a 17 percent increase in its viewership.

The year-on-year increase to 344 million viewers – a number provided by Potentia Insight, which conducted its research in July as the season was coming to an end – pushes it above NASCAR to become the fourth-biggest motorsport in the world in terms of the size of its fanbase.

“We are well on the way to establishing Formula E as the most exciting and innovative motorsport for fans, alongside being the world’s most sustainable sport,” said Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds. “Our teams and drivers exceeded all expectations from a year ago to take the Gen3 car and push it beyond what we all thought was possible. As a result, the entertainment value of Formula E racing is off the scale, which is attracting more fans and TV viewers than ever before.

“We are committed to building on that momentum and developing new ways of presenting our race events to grow the fanbase and audiences even faster.”

Germany and the USA were the fastest-growing markets for Formula E, enjoying a 45 percent and 30 percent increase in viewers respectively.

Across last season, more than 225 million people watched Formula E races live, representing a 4 percent increase on Season Eight (2021-22). Countries that had the biggest rises in the number of live viewers were China, the USA, Brazil, India, and South Africa – the latter three all joining the race calendar in 2023.