ABC, the US network owned by media giant Disney, generated an average audience of 3.1 million viewers for Formula 1's (F1) Miami Grand Prix, setting the country’s live audience record for the motor racing series.

This beat the previous record of 2.6 million viewers set by the inaugural Miami race in 2022 and was up 48% over last year’s edition, which attracted 2.1 million viewers.

The Miami Grand Prix is now responsible for the top three live US television audiences in F1’s history.

Viewership during the race peaked at 3.6 million, as Lando Norris beat reigning world champion Max Verstappen to capture his first grand prix win.

The audience in the 18-49 age demographic averaged 1.3 million, while the F1 Sprint race averaged 946,000 viewers on ESPN, the largest audience for a Sprint race since F1 introduced the format in 2021.

The previous high was 883,000 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2023. The qualifying on ESPN, meanwhile, averaged 625,000 viewers.

Disney holds the rights in the country for F1 in a three-year deal struck in 2022 worth an estimated $85 million annually. The races are shown across Disney’s sports broadcaster ESPN and free-to-air sister network ABC.

The next race on the F1 calendar is the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 19, which will be shown in the US on ESPN2.