Lewis Hamilton’s first win for Ferrari has ignited a remarkable surge in Italian Formula 1 viewership, with Sky Italia recording its highest figures since 2024.
The seven-time world champion ended a 686-day win drought at the Barcelona Grand Prix, dominating 28 laps to claim his maiden victory in red.
Hamilton’s emotional response on team radio captured the hearts of Italian fans, delivering his message of thanks in Italian upon crossing the finish line.
“Ciao ragazzi, grazie a tutti a Maranello,” said Hamilton, addressing his Ferrari team with warm gratitude in the moments after his historic win.
The 41-year-old recently described his new race engineer Carlo Santi as “his Italian Bono,” reflecting how deeply Hamilton has embraced life at the Scuderia.
Italy has had few representatives in modern Formula 1, with Antonio Giovinazzi last holding a full-time seat between 2019 and 2021 before departing the grid.
The tifosi have long channelled their passion through Ferrari rather than individual Italian drivers, and Hamilton has now become a central figure in that devotion.
According to Tuttosport, over 1,635,000 average viewers tuned in live on Sky Sports F1, Sky Sport Uno and Sky Sport 4K to watch Hamilton’s Barcelona triumph.
That figure represents a staggering 41 per cent increase compared to the same race weekend in 2025, underlining the enormous impact of Hamilton’s Ferrari chapter.
The delayed free-to-air broadcast on TV8 was equally impressive, drawing an average audience of 1,405,000 viewers with a 14 per cent television share.
Sky’s digital platforms also reflected the enormous appetite for Hamilton’s victory, with the Sky Sport website recording 620,000 unique users, 4.6 million page views and one million video views.
Sky Sport and Sky Sport F1’s social media channels combined for 2.6 million interactions and 27 million video views generated directly from Hamilton’s success in Barcelona.
The Barcelona Grand Prix has now become the most-watched Formula 1 race on Sky in Italy since 2024, the same year Carlos Sainz delivered Ferrari’s last grand prix victory in Mexico.
Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari has clearly transformed the appetite for Formula 1 across Italy, and the viewing figures suggest that transformation is only accelerating.