The most viewed F1 race highlights ever including Abu Dhabi 2021 and Carlos Sainz’s first win

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Formula 1 has been uploading highlights of every race to its YouTube channel since the start of the 2017 season.

Two years later, the first season of Drive to Survive was released on Netflix, contributing to a huge increase in the sport’s popularity.

Now, the highlights packages, typically lasting somewhere between six and 10 minutes, reach eight-figure viewing tallies fairly regularly.

F1 Oversteer has taken a look back through the archives at the most viewed highlights packages.

5. Four races – 11m views

There’s a four-way tie for fifth place, with each video showing 11 million viewers at the time of writing. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion on the list, given the shortage of action, is the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix, a race won by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

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Hamilton was infamously left alone on the starting grid at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, another race in the 11m club, as the rest of the field pitted for dry tyres. Esteban Ocon claimed a remarkable victory for Alpine in a GP that also included a multi-car pile-up at turn one.

Carlos Sainz’s maiden Ferrari victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix was also a hit, partly due to an epic battle for the podium. This was another race that started with a dramatic crash, with Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu flipping over.

Finally, there was also a spike in interest for Charles Leclerc’s lights-to-flag win at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen’s retirement left Ferrari fans hopeful of a title charge.

4. 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix – 13m views

The opening race of that 2022 season saw an epic tussle between Verstappen and Leclerc at Sakhir. The two Red Bull drivers were forced to retire in the closing stages, which handed Ferrari a one-two finish – their first since Singapore 2019.

3. 2025 Australian Grand Prix – 14m views

Another season opener, and this time a recent one. The 2025 season was billed as the closest ever, and it got off to a thrilling start as Lando Norris won a crash-packed Grand Prix in changeable conditions. Oscar Piastri was chasing him until he spun during a race-altering downpour.

2. 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – 16m views

The Azerbaijan GP has developed a reputation as F1’s most unpredictable race since the Baku City Circuit joined the calendar in 2016. The chaos arguably peaked in 2021, when Verstappen retired with a tyre failure and title rival Hamilton blew a likely victory by locking up at a red-flag restart.

Sergio Perez won, Sebastian Vettel took what proved to be his final F1 podium for Aston Martin and fellow surprise package Pierre Gasly was third for AlphaTauri.

1. 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 29m views

The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP is without doubt the most controversial race in F1’s modern history, but it’s no surprise to see it top of the list with nearly double the views of second place.

This marks the only occasion in F1 history where one driver has directly taken the title away from another with a last-lap overtake. However, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton felt the outcome was unfair because FIA race director Michael Masi had not correctly applied the safety car restart procedure.