Formula 1 has reported a 10 percent rise in its TV viewership through the 2018 season, as well as significant progress ဣin buildi𝓀ng its digital presence online.

In a statement issued on Friday by Formula 1, the sport revealed it had reached 490.2 million unique viewers across the course of the 2018 seas✨on, marking a 10 percent rise on its 2017 figures. It is the second straight year this figure has risen.

Much of this was stimulated by a switch to free-to-air broadcaster CCTV in China, allowing viewing figures to triple in that market, while India (+87 percent), France (+57 percent), Ru𒐪ssia (+27 percent) and USA (+20 percent) also experienced signifꦰicant rises.

F1 reached a cumulative TV audience of 1.59 billion across its top 20 markets, a three percent rise on last year, wi🌠th Brazil, Germany and Italy being the biggest markets for the sport. Its global ♓TV audience was 1.758 billion.

F1 also reported a number of rises in its digital offerings for 2018, with its social media platfo🐭rms experiencing a 53 percent growth in followers to make the sport the fastest-growing on social media.

New offerings from F1, such as its Beyond the Grid podcast and live Twitဣter show after select races, reached ♏more than 14 million people.

Data from Nielsen also revea🌄led F1's fanbase grew from 503 million to 506 million through 2018, while IPSOS reported 61 percent of F1's new fans are under 35, and 36 percent are under the age of 25.