F1 reveal impact of controversial new regulations as record-breaking numbers announced

Lewis Hamilton, Stefano Domenicali, Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 reveal impact of controversial new regulations as record-breaking numbers announced

The 2026 regulations overhaul has been controversial

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 31 July 2026 16:45

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Statistics have been released from the first half of the 2026 F1 season, which show that the sport is thriving amid the regulations overhaul.

F1 completely changed its regulations ahead of the 2026 season, both on the power unit side of things, and with car chassis, which were made smaller, lighter and more nimble.

The 2026 power units feature a 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the battery, meaning that the emphasis on electrical energy has been tripled.

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While this is changing to a 58-42 split in 2027, the increased responsibility on the drivers to manage their battery has led to criticism from fans and pundits alike, as well as some drivers, including Max Verstappen who described the new racing as 'like Mario Kart' earlier this season.

The rules were designed to make overtaking more prevalent throughout the course of the races on the F1 calendar, as well as make it easier for the cars to follow each other for long periods of time. Sustainability was also a factor, with F1 hoping to become carbon neutral by 2030.

And, as well as there being increased overtaking at almost all of the races on the calendar in 2026 compared to the 2025 editions, F1 have also released figures which point to the success of the new regulations from a fan viewership point of view.

F1's record-breaking season so far

As the sport's annual midpoint shutdown commences, F1 have released their official report highlighting some of the successes of the 2026 season so far, as teams get set to head off on their summer break.

One of the standout statistics is the fact that already this year, six circuit attendance records have been broken. F1 2026 has only visited 11 locations so far.

Australia, Canada, Austria, Belgium, and Hungary all saw their attendance records broken, while the British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw the most amount of people ever attending a grand prix weekend, with 564,000 across the full weekend.

All 11 of the events so far have been a sell out, while attendances are up six per cent on the whole this year, compared to the same race weekends in 2025.

3.7 million people have attended an F1 race weekend already this year.

Antonelli and Ferrari helping F1 in Italy

Away from the actual trackside attendance, a number of countries have seen huge growth in TV viewership for F1 races.

One such country is Italy. TV audiences are up 27 per cent in the country through to the British GP in July, and that's despite the fact that by this stage in 2025 there had already been an Italian race (the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix).

The Japanese Grand Prix had its biggest audience in Italy since 2017, while the Belgian GP earlier this month had its biggest Italian TV viewership since 2019.

Of course, two big reasons for this might be the success of Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli, and the Italian giants Ferrari.

Italian teenager Antonelli has claimed six grand prix wins already this season, and leads the championship by 50 points. The 19-year-old is on course to become Italy's first F1 drivers' champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

On top of this, Ferrari have also won two grands prix, having had a winless season in 2025. The Maranello-based outfit look like Mercedes and Antonelli's biggest challengers for both championship titles at this stage.

F1 secure future with multiple rights deals

Italy wasn't the only country that saw growth in TV viewership for a number of races in the first half of 2026.

In Brazil, TV viewership has been up to five times bigger in 2026 compared to this stage in 2025. The British Grand Prix earlier this month reached a record 18 million viewers across Brazil’s TV Globo and SportTV3, generating the highest audience for the event in eight years and the largest single-market audience for any F1 race globally since 2020.

And the sealing of multiple new TV rights deals across the world means that F1 can try to continue this viewership growth.

As well as their new partnership with Apple TV taking US viewers to new platforms in 2026, F1 has extended its partnership with Sky Sports in the UK until 2034, with Sky Italy until 2032, and with LATAM broadcaster ESPN until at least 2028, among a number of other deals.

Apple’s first ever simulcast with Netflix for the Canadian Grand Prix was also a great broadcasting success, helping to attract a younger and more diverse audience.

Domenicali confident fans are enjoying 2026 regulations

Ahead of the publishing of this half-season review, F1 CEO Domenicali had already boldly claimed that fans around the world are loving the new rules.

"There is a lot of action on the track," he said. "People are loving it. They are focused on what is happening on the track.

"They don't understand our technology, division of 'clipping', or whatever it is, because it's too technical for the wider base that we have. Therefore, the effect on the track has been widely super positive about the fans."

He did admit that some upcoming changes to reduce the effect on racing of energy recovery is a positive though, saying: "It is true that it's the nature of a sport to talk and listen to the input of all the drivers and teams and the manufacturers.

"I think that what has been decided in terms of evolution and regulation is the right thing for the sport, and it's good that there is the opportunity for the FIA to listen to the comments of the manufacturers and the drivers."

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Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 2026 regulations Stefano Domenicali