F1's return to Las Vegas is a winner for late-night TV viewers, too

Formula One’s return to Las Vegas drew the largest audience for the series since June, despite starting in the middle of the night for viewers on the East Coast, according to ESPN.

The race, which began at 1 a.m. Eastern, attracted 1.3 million viewers, one of its largest audiences for the series this season, ESPN said.

The telecast, which ran until just after 3 a.m. Eastern, averaged 1.3 million viewers. That’s the third-largest F1 audience of the season on cable and sixth-largest overall on ESPN platforms this season.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, run for the first time since 1982 in Sin City, was the most-viewed F1 race since June’s Canadian Grand Prix on ABC (1.76 million) and the most-watched telecast of any kind on cable after 11 p.m. Eastern on Saturday night and in the overnight hours. Viewership for the race peaked at 1.5 million between 1:15-1:30 a.m. EST.

The 2023 season has had three of the four largest live F1 audiences in history on U.S. television: 1.96 million in Miami, 1.79 million in Monaco and 1.76 million in Canada.

Max Verstappen won in Las Vegas, his 18th victory in 21 races this season.

The F1 season concludes with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, Nov. 26.