That figure broke the record for a Channel 4 broadcast, which was set in 2018 when a peak of 4.356m tuned in to watch Kimi Räikkönen win the United States Grand Prix.
The data, supplied by Channel 4, reports a combined peak of 7.391m viewers across Sky and Channel 4 at the same time; the 3.016m Sky viewers making it the most-watched grand prix ever shown live by the broadcaster — a week after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix broke the same record with a peak of 2.66m viewers.
Throughout the race, Channel 4’s live coverage attracted an average of 3.4m viewers, considerably higher than the average of 1.2m who watched highlights of last week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“Though many British F1 fans will be disappointed by the result, it’s fantastic that Channel 4 was able to bring this nail-biting finale to the 2021 F1 Season to 4.4 million viewers free to air and, in partnership with Sky, to an incredible peak audience of 7.4m,” said Channel 4 chief content officer Ian Katz. “It was a fittingly dramatic end to an extraordinary year of sport.”