Zoom A thrilling end to the season at Interlagos

At least three key markets have revealed record viewing figures from their television broadcasts of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

France's TF1 said its record was achieved when more than five million viewers tuned in to the dramatic finale to the 2008 season at Interlagos, where Lewis Hamilton was crowned champion.

The figures represent an audience share of 25 percent, and a peak audience in the closing laps of more than eight million viewers - apparently easily the highest of this year's 18-round calendar.

In Germany, the average number of viewers of the free to air RTL coverage was 8.8 million, representing a 31.5 percent market share.

For RTL, the peak audience of 9.46 million was recorded after the chequered flag, when an emotional Felipe Massa was presented with his race winner's trophy.

In Britain, the average audience was also nearly nine million, as ITV televised its last race before the rights switch to the BBC from 2009.

The peak audience was 13.1 million, representing a 42 percent market share; the best figures recorded by ITV since it began broadcasting live in 1997.

The only sporting event with a higher peak audience (14.6m) in Britain this year was live coverage of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in May.

Source: GMM
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