By Nick Sparkes
December 31 2005

After one of the most exciting Formula One season's for along time, the sport attracted the third highest global television audience in 2005. The Canadian grand prix drew in 51 million viewers and was beaten by the American Super Bowl (93 million) and the UEFA Champions League's final (73 million).

The Canadian Grand Prix was littered with incidents; Alonso screaming on the radio to get his teammate out of the way, then Alonso after finally taking the lead hit the wall. Juan Pablo Montoya drove through the red light at the end of the pit lane when the Safety Car was out, subsequently being disqualified. The Safety Car was out to recover Jenson Button's BAR which had hit the wall moments before, Jenson had lead the grid for the first time this year as well.

At the finish it was a Kimi-McLaren victory, with the two Ferrari's picking up an unexpected podium behind.

"I would wager that in Europe people would be a little bit surprised that the Super Bowl is number one because it draws its audience from only one market," Kevin Alavy told Reuters.

But 2006 looks to be the year of the Football World Cup, which is expected to bring in over 100 million viewers.