F1 Esports Series announces record-breaking 2021 viewing figures

F1 Esports Series has today announced that over the course of 2021 they enjoyed 23 million views across all digital platform – a record-breaking return for the Formula One-focused esports platform.

Using Codemasters and EA’s F1 2021 title, the series has increased its profile and professionalism thanks to the involvement of official F1 esports teams from the likes of Red Bull Racing and Mercedes AMG Petronas.

The F1 Esports Series consists of a number of separate championships, with the flagship competition – the F1 Esports Series Pro – gaining the bulk of the viewership at 13.8 million views.

Other events broadcast by F1 Esports Series include the F1 Esports Challengers – where the fastest F1 2021 players raced against each other to win a place on the Pro grid – and the Pro Exhibition with the companion F1 Esports Pro Preview Show.

The record viewing figures represent an impressive 103 per cent year-on-year increase, with each separate series increasing its audience from 2020. In terms of TV viewing figures, the trend is again upwards, with 858,000 viewers in 2021 – up from 269,000 the previous year.

494,000 F1 2021 players attempted to qualify for the F1 Esports Challengers competition across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox in 2021, and the F1 Esports Series team will be looking to build on these numbers with the racing already well underway in 2022.

“It’s an incredible time to be associated with Formula 1, and we are extremely proud of the continued growth of the F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco,” commented Paul Jeal, F1 Senior Franchise Director at Codemasters.

“The quality of the racing has kept us all enthralled, and congratulations again to our champions Jarno Opmeer and Mercedes. Each year, we are driving new players into our game. The dream of getting to sign and race for a Formula 1 team is driving up participation, and the emerging talent coming up through the 2022 Challengers is a testament to that.”

Were you one of the 23 million viewers watching any of the F1 Esports Series in 2021? How do you think the broadcasts compare to other esports series? Let us know in the comments below.