Silverstone made history this year. The 2026 British Grand Prix drew 564,000 fans across race weekend, officially making it the most-attended Formula 1 event ever.
But a different story was unfolding in the data. While overall TV audiences fell, more young women were tuning in. So, what is attracting a new generation of female fans?
To find out, we looked at the data behind the race.
Packed grandstands. Fewer viewers
While the grandstands were filled with fans, fewer people were watching from home. Total UK TV viewership was down 6% versus 2025.
At first glance, it looked like interest in the race had softened. But looking beyond the headline numbers revealed an interesting trend.
Male viewership fell 2.8%, while female climbed 2.9%.
The numbers raised an interesting question.
Was this simply a one-off shift around the British Grand Prix, or part of a broader change in who is engaging with Formula 1?
Gen Zs are tuning in
To answer it, we turned to our TGI Global Quick View data to look at global trends in women’s interest in Formula 1.
The trend wasn’t limited to one weekend.
While women aged 25-34 remain Formula 1’s largest female audience, the strongest momentum is coming from Gen Zs.
Interest among women aged 16-24 has been increasing over the past two years, making them the sport’s fastest-growing audience segment.
The data told us something important: a new generation of women is discovering Formula 1. What it couldn’t tell us was why.
What’s drawing younger women to the sport? What does it mean for how Formula 1 fandom evolves from here?
Basically, the drama is what I’m here for!
Understanding why has traditionally required qualitative research. But not anymore. To answer those questions, we went straight to the source.
Using our solution, Digital Twins, we explored those questions in minutes.
Combining AI with our panel and TGI consumer data, Digital Twins creates synthetic personas that mirror real audience behaviours and attitudes, helping uncover their motivations.
We created Jamie – a synthetic persona built from our own panel and TGI data – to explore the motivations behind the trend. Jamie is a 19-year-old female fan from the UK, drawn into Formula 1 over the past year.
Here is what she told us:
Connecting the dots
For many Gen Z women, Formula 1 is less about faster cars or technical performance. It is about personalities, rivalries and the drama. It is about the stories behind the sport – and the constant stream of social content that keeps fans engaged between race weekends.
- Audience data revealed the shift.
- Consumer intelligence showed who was driving it.
- Synthetic data helped explain why it was happening.
But the bigger lesson goes beyond Formula 1. No single dataset tells the whole story. But together, they do.