The controversial ending to the 2021 Formula 1 season peaked with 7.4 million viewers in the UK yesterday, according to overnight figures.
The title appeared to be going the way of Lewis Hamilton towards the conclusion of the race, only for a crash elsewhere on the track to result in a final-lap showdown between him and Dutch challenger Max Verstappen, who went on to claim his maiden championship.
Sky Sports initially had exclusive live coverage of the race but opted to share coverage with Channel 4 - a move that paid dividends for both broadcasters, with a combined peak of 7.39m, an audience share of 59.7%, at 2.32pm.
That number included 4.38m watching via Channel 4, with a combined 3m watching on either Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Showcase.
"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 C4 chief content officer Ian Katz.
"Following on from the return of Test cricket to Free to Air television, a remarkable Paralympics and Emma Raducanu's triumph it was a fittingly dramatic end to an extraordinary year of sport on Channel 4."
Overall coverage of the race averaged a combined 5.4m (49%) across both broadcasters.
Neil Wilkes
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