The F1 fan base is expanding worldwide, and a new survey by Formula 1 and Motorsport Network reveals that the sport’s popularity is increasing fastest among women, Gen Z, and fans in the US. The popular Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive introduced many people to elite motorsport, and the recently opened Brad Pitt F1 movie promises to bring more fans based on the Apple film’s opening weekend. The survey breaks down the fan demographics.
Tracking F1 fan demographics and growth
The 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey is the latest iteration of research conducted by the Formula 1 organization and Motorsport Network every four years. The 2025 survey garnered responses from over 100,000 fans from 186 countries. The full text of the 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey details how the self-identified fans were attracted to F1, their motivations and passions, and how they interact and engage with the motorsport.
U.S. has the fastest-growing fan base for F1
The 2025 survey’s responses were 49% from Europe, 26% from the Americas, 13% from the Asia-Pacific, and 12% from the rest of the world. The U.S. had the most significant number of responses of all countries. While Europe as a whole has the most extensive fan base, the U.S. fan base is also the fastest-growing.
Gen Z accounted for 27% of the respondents overall, and one in two Gen Z fans who took the survey are female. Women were also 25% of all survey responders, indicating a significant increase from previous surveys. In 2017, 10% of responders were female, and women constituted 18% in 2021.
Among other interesting survey findings were the following:
- 76% believe sponsors improve F1, and 33% said they are more likely to buy from F1 partners.
- 41% who had not previously been to an F1 Grand Prix or other event planned to attend in the future, including 73% of U.S. respondents.
- 23% stated they follow F1 Academy, the all-female racing series.
- 70% of the Gen Z respondents stated they “engage with F1 content daily.”
