Record-setting Formula E viewer numbers at Mexico City E-Prix race

The FIA had no idea that the series viewership would enjoy a massive boost.

By Bruce Brown Published February 14, 2025

Formula E race cars on the track at Sao Paulo E-Prix. — Courtesy of FIA Formula E

When Formula E racing added Pit Boost in-race charging for the 2025 season calendar, the FIA rules-making organization likely had no idea that the series viewership would also enjoy a massive boost in its eleventh season. The fastest-growing motorsport set new records at the first two 2025 Season 11 E-Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Mexico City, Mexico.

What records did Formula E break?

Formula E race <a href= cars on the track during the 2024 Tokyo E-Prix." width="800" height="800" />
Forty million people watched the first race in Sao Paulo, the most extensive opening-round race viewership in Formula E’s eleven years. In the UK, thanks in part to a new free-to-air broadcast deal with ITV, the race’s British audience grew by 120% from the 2024 race in Sao Paulo. The same race also set a record as Brazil’s second-largest number of viewers for any race in Formula E’s entire history.

Recommended Videos

Viewers also set Formula E records at the second E-Prix in Mexico City. The E-Prix drew the highest-ever number of U.S. viewers of a Formula E event, with 80% more viewers than watched the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The viewers numbered more than any single Formula E event, tallying 10.5 million views just on CBS.

Formula E officials are elated by the growth in viewership.

“This strong start to the 11th season, with our new and existing broadcast partnerships delivering record audiences in our key markets, is a testament to our accelerated fan growth and the exciting racing spectacle put on by our elite drivers in their new cutting-edge GEN3 Evo cars,” said Aarti Dabas, Chief Media Officer, Formula E.

“With 14 more races to come, we are firmly on track to deliver our biggest season ever and take our racing spectacle to more fans than ever before,” Dabas continued.

How to watch Formula E E-Prix

Formula E race cars on the track.
In the U.S., viewers can watch the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Season 11 races on CBS and Roku TV.

Formula E also announced that ITV will manage and license archive footage of Formula E content, including more than 1,000 hours of races, qualifying, pre-season testing, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.

Topics

News

A Digital Trends Contributing Editor and Contributor for TheManual.com, Bruce Brown writes e-mobility reviews and covers…

Auto

Exploring the top luxury race-viewing experiences at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

All-inclusive ticket packages include seats, food, drinks, and entertainment

Grandstand seating in the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere.

There are various options for watching F1 Grand Prix races live. The choices multiply when the race is in Las Vegas, a desert city built as an entertainment destination.

I was one of a small group of journalists invited by the Las Vegas Grand Prix to experience an ultimate VIP race weekend, with tickets for luxury race-viewing and other exclusive race-related experiences. The purpose of the trip was to show how Las Vegas goes all out to be one of the foremost F1 locations.

Auto

Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix 2024 preview: the team title is on the line

At this point, the Constructors' Championship is McLaren's to lose

Formula 1 race cars during the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

The penultimate Grand Prix of the 2024 F1 season takes place in Doha, Qatar, from November 29 to December 1. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen wrapped up the F1 Drivers' Championship on November 23 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the Constructors' Championship is still up for grabs.
Why the Qatar Grand Prix is a tough race
Temperatures and tight turns. The Qatar Grand Prix is held at Lusail International Circuit in the desert bordering the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. Even though it's a night race, last year's temperature was in the upper 80s, which added to the drivers' discomfort. The race is seven weeks later on the calendar this year, and temperatures are forecast to be in the low 70s. That should help.

The Qatar Grand Prix is held at Lusail International Circuit, a 3.37-mile track designed for motorcycle racing. During last year's race, several drivers were penalized for track limit violations. Track limit violations usually occur in corners when all four wheels are outside the track, even for a fraction of a second, which usually happens when one or more cars are trying to overtake another.
The F1 Constructors' Championship standing
Most F1 fans root for drivers who compete for the Drivers' Championship, but the Constructors' Championship is more significant for the teams financially. Drivers win Championship points when they finish in the top 10 places in a race, starting with 25 points for the winner and gradually dropping to 1 point for the tenth-place finisher. Constructors' points consist of the combined points of the two drivers on the team. At the end of the season, the F1 Organization pays financial awards to teams based on the Constructors' points.

Auto

2024 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix results: Russell wins the race, Verstappen wins the Championship

Russell's win took a backseat to Verstappen's fourth Drivers' Championship

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen signaling his fourth F1 Drivers' Championship.

Mercedes driver George Russell won the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, November 23. Russell drove masterfully, but Red Bull's Max Verstappen's fifth-place finish, one place ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, got more attention because it locked in Verstappen's F1 World Drivers' Championship for the season. With Verstappen's fourth consecutive F1 crown, he joins a small group of drivers in F1's 75-year history.
Verstappen's Championship win
Max Verstappen started the 2024 race season as a continuance of 2023, when he dominated, winning 19 of 22 races. Midway into the season, after the June 23 Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull's car wasn't as competitive as previously. The McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes drivers took the top step on the winners' podium until the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 3, when Verstappen won.

McLaren's Lando Norris was closest to Verstappen's Drivers' Championship points total and was going fast. Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen was 63 points ahead of Norris. With only three races left in the season. Given how points are distributed, all Verstappen had to do to wrap up the Championship was to beat Norris. And he did.
Las Vegas Grand Prix Race Results
When George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix on June 30, it was only the fourth time another driver had won besides Verstappen. Russell's LVGP win certainly counts, and Mercedes team Principal Toto Wolf praised Russell's driving as "from another planet," but his victory pales in comparison to Max's winning the championship.