F1 enjoying surge of support in the Middle East, Nielsen data shows

Formula One is enjoying a surge of support in the Middle East with younger female fans the fastest growing demographic globally, according to data published by Nielsen Sports on Tuesday.

The Gulf region has four races, one more than the US, in a season that ends this weekend at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina with McLaren and Ferrari fighting for the constructors' title.

The figures showed female interest increasing by 11% compared with last year in Saudi Arabia, and 10% among men, with the biggest growth in the 50-69 year age bracket.

Jeddah hosted a race for the first time in 2021 and Saudi energy giant Aramco sponsors Aston Martin as well as the sport as a whole.

“New sponsor categories are opening up. We’re seeing a significant shift in the brands engaging in the sport attracted to this changing fan demographic,” said Nielsen Sports global GM Jon Stainer.

Nielsen said one in four of the 46,000 people surveyed across 37 international markets claimed to have become a fan of Formula One after watching the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive.

The data showed 41% of F1 fans were female, with those aged 16-24 the fastest growing group.

Nielsen said Formula One was now the most popular annual sporting series with more than 750-million fans worldwide. Global interest since 2021 had risen by 5.7%, or 50-million people.

The average team sponsorship deal rose 56% on pre-pandemic levels, from $2.87m (R51.8m) in 2019 to $5.08m (R91.84m) now and with an average duration of 3.2 years compared with a previous 5.2.

There was also a more diversified array of sponsorship, ranging from crypto to luxury LVMH brands.

IT sponsors made up 20% of the spend, compared with 3% in 2019, while the contribution of financial services to all sponsorship revenue grew from 2% to 17%.

Title partners of top teams generated on average more than $6m (R108.51m) in media value per race, according to Nielsen's own metric.

F1 also continued to grow in established European markets, up 2.3% in Britain and 4.5% in Germany on last year. Germany, home of Mercedes and Audi, has no race or a winning driver.

“Formula One is a perfect example of a rights owner innovating its relationship with fans,” said Stainer.

“Growth of interest, especially among women and newer markets such as Saudi Arabia can be attributed largely by a shift in how the teams and drivers are profiled today and the access they are affording global audiences.”