Hamilton’s F1 Misery Attracts 7.3m Viewers

The dramatic final F1 Grand Prix of the season which saw Ferrari driver Kimi
Raikkonen pip British hope Lewis Hamilton to take the World Championship
title was watched by an average audience of 7.3m on ITV1.

The viewing audience peaked at 10.6m, earning the channel a 50% share, for
the finish of the race at 6.25pm. It was the highest peak rating for a Grand
Prix since 2000, according to ITV. The programme’s average share was 41%.

The viewing figures, coupled with the 16m viewing figures for the Rugby World
Cup final the previous evening meant that ITV dominated the weekend’s TV
audience.

It had been hoped that McLaren driver Hamilton would retain his position as
championship leader going in to the final GP at Brazil.

However, incidents early on in the race left Hamilton way down the field and
he failed to claw his way back sufficiently to beat Raikkonen.