Drivers with the biggest social media followings

Mark Scott
Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton

Which F1 driver has the most followers? What glimpses into their lives do they provide their fanbase with? Is Sebastian Vettel ever going to join social media?

We are answering those questions and more with our ranking of every F1 driver’s social media presence and don’t worry, we’ve already done the stalking for you.

Sir Lewis Hamilton

Facebook: 4.3m Twitter: 6.1m Instagram: 21.5m
Combined Total: 31.9m

Unsurprisingly, atop the ranks is our seven-time World Champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton, who is a staggering 24.3million combined total followers ahead of his closest rival.

Hamilton is most popular on Instagram, where his bio reads ‘Plant based. Love Animals. Constantly searching for my purpose, for adventure, open-mindedness and positivity’.

He has been an active user of social media for years, using his platform not just to display his F1 successes but to highlight the global matters he holds close to his heart, such as the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, animal cruelty and global warming.

Hamilton is a prime example of how sporting superstars can use their influence to inspire positivity and help to pursue a healthier, safer world for future generations.

You can also keep updated with his training camps up in the snow-blanketed mountains or if you are lucky, you may even see some adorable Roscoe content.

Fernando Alonso

Facebook: 1.8m Twitter: 2.7m Instagram: 3.1m
Combined Total: 7.6m

Second on the list is Fernando Alonso, upon his welcomed return to the sport this coming season. Despite not being a part of F1 for the last two years, it seems his social media accounts have not taken a hit and, since the announcement of his return to the sport with Alpine, his following has grown larger.

Throughout his socials, Alonso shares a wide variety of his life, from pictures with his family to his ventures in IndyCar and Le Mans. He also enjoys karting, with images of him racing around in a tricked-out, 2005 Renault R25-inspired livery.

We are sure that as he settles back into F1, his following is set to grow even more.

Daniel Ricciardo

Facebook: 1m Twitter: 2m Instagram: 4.1m
Combined Total: 7.1m

Taking the final step on the podium is everyone’s favourite Honey Badger, Daniel Ricciardo. It seems the joy of the Aussie’s constant wisecracks spreads much further than the F1 paddock as he has a significant following across all social media platforms.

Ricciardo’s content tends to focus more on his high-octane life as a racing driver but gives a couple of glimpses into what he gets up to during his downtime, such as golf and adventuring.

If his big cheesy grin is all you are after, however, we are sure he won’t disappoint. Seriously, he is smiling in nearly every single one of his photos, even when wearing a mask.

Max Verstappen
Facebook: 1.2m Twitter: 1.4m Instagram: 4m
Combined Total: 6.6m

Next on the list is F1’s youngest race winner, Max Verstappen, who missed out on the podium by a ‘mere’ half million followers, behind his old team-mate Ricciardo.

The majority of his content is nothing out of the ordinary for a professional athlete, mostly consisting of updates during his race weekends or clips of his training routines on Instagram as he battles hard to reach the top. He loves a run around Monaco’s coastline too, but then again…who wouldn’t?

The youngster’s exhilarating performances throughout the years have no doubt grabbed the attention of those who have followed him and since he is quite possibly a World Champion in the making, there is definitely room for his social media prowess to grow in the future!

Charles Leclerc

Facebook: 291k Twitter: 869k Instagram: 4.1m
Combined Total: 5.2m

Speaking of runs around Monaco, next on the list and 1.4m followers behind Verstappen is Monegasque Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc loves his fashion and you should not be surprised to catch uploads of him in a sharp new suit on his Instagram to help remind you of how long it has been since you last got dressed up to go out. But more to the point, Charles has only been in F1 for two seasons and it’s a seriously impressive feat to appear this high on our list.

His stunning victory at Ferrari’s homeland in Monza must unquestionably have been a huge boost for his fanbase and his time Twitch streaming during lockdown dressed as a banana – that’s right, a banana – will have indeed drawn in more of an audience.

Much like Verstappen, this exciting young talent is certain to amass great success in his F1 career so it’s more than likely his following will expand.

Sergio Perez

Facebook: 483k Twitter: 2.3m Instagram: 1.5m
Combined Total: 4.2m

Next up is veteran Sergio Perez, who has grown quite a respectable following throughout his 10-year career in F1.

Unlike the previously mentioned drivers on our list, he is the first to have more followers on Twitter than Instagram. It seems then that he is either an expert tweeter or he needs to hire a new photographer.

Perez’s social media accounts mostly consist of uploads following his life at the racetrack and claiming his emotional first F1 victory at the Sakhir GP last season was certainly a favourite moment with the fans too, attracting more followers to his socials.

However, more recently things have taken a swift turn towards the future as he prepares to race for Red Bull, with uploads of him training in his new gear and promotional videos of him at the factory.

It’s set to be a thrilling year for the Mexican and his followers.

Carlos Sainz

Facebook: 536k Twitter: 895k Instagram: 2.2m
Combined Total: 3.6m

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A post shared by Carlos Sainz (@carlossainz55)

The followers of the next person’s social media accounts will see lots and lots of red should they visit his page because it’s Ferrari’s new driver, Carlos Sainz.

We can tell Sainz is excited about his move to the Scuderia because apart from shots with his family or looking back at his youth, his more recent posts on Instagram involve him either driving the ‘prancing horse’ or being in his scarlet red racing suit.

And why shouldn’t he show it off? After all, the move to Ferrari will have indeed brought more fans to his accounts as the loyal Tifosi welcome their new driver.

Interestingly, we discovered a certain canine friend who has featured on his Instagram. It appears Roscoe may have some competition…

Lando Norris

Facebook: 188k Twitter: 892k Instagram: 2.5m
Combined Total: 3.5m

Only 100k followers behind Sainz is his old team-mate and ‘meme-master’ Lando Norris who, like most of the drivers, has a significantly higher number of followers on Instagram compared to his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The cheerful McLaren driver is always up for a good gag and likes to spread his joy through his social media and Twitch accounts, where he even shared the launch show of the 2021 McLaren.

His upbeat take on life has no doubt kept his fans returning for more, making him a solid fan favourite despite his relatively short career in F1.

As McLaren look to be getting ever more competitive and he joins Ricciardo in the driver line-up, surely his following will grow even bigger?

Valtteri Bottas

Facebook: 365k Twitter: 758k Instagram: 1.9m
Combined Total: 3.0m

Next on our list with three million combined followers and some stunning Instagram imagery is Valtteri Bottas.

From a dockside view of the sunset to the northern lights illuminating the skies, photographers could learn a thing or two from the flying Finn.

On top of some ideal desktop backgrounds, Bottas also shares with his fanbase his love of cycling and rallying, portraying his escapades away from the racetrack.

However, he is quite far down the list compared to his team-mate Hamilton, but will this year finally be his year? If he was to win the World Championship, that would in no doubt multiply his following by ridiculous amounts.

George Russell

Facebook: 363k Twitter: 560k Instagram: 1.6m
Combined Total: 2.5m

Making it into the top 10 with significantly more ease here than he has out on track is George Russell.

Russell’s exceptional performance at the Sakhir Grand Prix for Mercedes and his reign as the F1 Virtual Grand Prix champion will have no doubt drawn more followers to his socials, helping him claim the final top-10 spot.

Another driver who likes to look presentable, Russell can often be pictured in some very stylish outfits (you’re welcome, George).

He also loves a good topless photo or a casual selfie from time to time. It’s just like any usual social account for someone his age…except he’s an F1 driver.

Kimi Raikkonen

Facebook: N/A Twitter: N/A Instagram: 2.2m
Combined Total: 2.2m

Considering the Iceman’s only social media presence comes from Instagram, it’s pretty impressive how he has only just missed out on the top 10. That says a lot about how much the fans love him.

He is the most experienced driver on the grid yet, as much as he loves racing, Raikkonen is a devoted family man and his feed mainly consists of him being with his wife and children, including their lovely holidays that we are definitely not jealous about…

Alongside those are a handful of shots captured of him during his race weekends or when he is training. Although he is 41, that doesn’t seem to slow him down.

That should give him something to be cheerful about. He certainly smiles more on his socials than he does in the paddock anyway.

Mick Schumacher

Facebook: 543k Twitter: 239k Instagram: 1.4m
Combined Total: 2.2m

Next up, and only a few thousand followers behind the Iceman, is his old rival’s son, Mick Schumacher.

The freshly crowned F2 champion’s feeds are full of highlights from his F2 years and now more recently filled with shots of him driving around in the Haas F1 car during testing. Do you think he is looking forward to making his F1 debut?

Being the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher has no doubt drawn many of his followers to stick around and his triumph in F2 will have ensured a healthy growth in his following, putting him ahead of some of his F1 rivals before he has even started.

As the promising rookie prepares to follow in his father’s footsteps, we are sure his numbers will grow even further once he hits the track.

Pierre Gasly

Facebook: 118k Twitter: 483k Instagram: 1.4m
Combined Total: 2.0m

Surprisingly low down our list and 200,000 fans behind Schumacher is F1’s courageous Frenchman, Pierre Gasly.

Gasly’s content is pretty straightforward, his feeds mainly displaying what he gets up to during training or when he is battling it out on track. And of course, he also takes the opportunity to look back on what must have been his favourite F1 moment, his triumph at Monza.

Who can blame him? After all, that momentous victory must have definitely attracted some of his followers to his pages. It seems a trophy is not the only reward you get for a race win!

Esteban Ocon

Facebook: N/A Twitter: 322k Instagram: 793k
Combined Total: 1.1m

The final driver on our list to have hit over one million combined followers is Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Ocon’s following has certainly grown stronger since his much-awaited return to the sport in 2020 and those scrolling through his feeds can see he is certainly proud of how he has bounced back to where he is today. There is a Renault badge in nearly every photo!

He enjoys showing off Alpine’s new colours in his recent uploads and there are also multiple uploads of him celebrating his podium at the Sakhir Grand Prix and thanking his fans for sending messages of congratulations. It’s the kind of content every F1 fan wants to see.

Antonio Giovinazzi

Facebook: N/A Twitter: 154k Instagram: 524k
Combined Total: 678k

Some way behind Ocon is Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, who is also quite far back from his team-mate Raikkonen.

The Italian’s social feeds mainly follow him during his F1 weekends or training hard, as the smaller number of followers could suggest he is still yet to prove what he is capable of doing on track.

Nevertheless, he loves to engage with those who follow him and he uploaded a special image on Instagram to thank his fans for helping him reach 500,000.

Lance Stroll

Facebook: 28k Twitter: 139k Instagram: 428k
Combined Total: 595k

Lance Stroll finds himself surprisingly quite far down the list, despite usually being up near the top end of the grid when out on track.

This may be down to the Canadian not uploading too regularly. His last Instagram upload was at the end of January and his most recent tweet all the way back in December when the 2020 season had ended. The rest are just retweets of the new Aston Martin F1 team’s uploads.

It’s not the end of the world, mind you. We are sure he is spending his time focusing hard on how he can beat his new team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the coming season and finally clinch that first victory.

Had his race in Turkey panned out a different way, you could argue he may have found himself much higher up our list.

Nicholas Latifi

Facebook: N/A Twitter: 83k Instagram: 191k
Combined Total: 274k

We can tell who is the fans’ favourite Williams driver as Nicholas Latifi finds himself way down the list from his team-mate Russell, by around 2.2 million combined followers.

That does not stop him from cracking a smile in most of his selfies, while other captures consist mainly of him in his Williams.

He really likes to spread joy and flip a good pancake, clearly loving his life as an F1 driver – it’s the positive energy we are here for.

The lower following could also suggest he still has more yet to prove to the F1 fanbase. But considering how off the pace Williams were during his rookie season last year, we think it’s fair to let that one slide.

Hopefully if his team can get back to winning ways, his socials will feel the benefit too.

Yuki Tsunoda

Facebook: 2k Twitter: 68k Instagram: 195k
Combined Total: 265k

Another new member of the F1 grid this year expectedly finds himself towards the bottom of our list but not too far behind Latifi – there’s just 9,000 combined followers between them.

That’s pretty impressive for someone who has still yet to make a name for himself within the F1 community, however his eye-catching performances during his 2020 F2 season will have no doubt attracted some of his 265,000 followers.

As he prepares to enter F1 for the first time, as the first Japanese driver since Kamui Kobayashi’s departure in 2014 and with race winners AlphaTauri, it will not take him long to grow his following.

Nikita Mazepin

Facebook: N/A Twitter: 13k Instagram: 115k
Combined Total: 128k

128k more than our liking given what he finds acceptable to post on social media. Hopefully he listens to Guenther Steiner and grows up.

Sebastian Vettel

Facebook: N/A Twitter: N/A Instagram: N/A
Combined Total: N/A

Now to the driver you have all been waiting for, the one who, despite being a much-loved fan favourite, has never come close to owning their own social media account on any platform.

But why has Vettel never ventured into the world of social media? We are sure that if he did, he would find himself a long way up the rankings.

Well, he has been quoted as saying to Auto Motor und Sport: “I’m very sceptical about the whole thing, the platforms do the exact opposite as they claim.

“They do not show the real picture. If you have millions of followers, then no photo goes out uncensored.

“Everyone has the freedom to do what they want, but I’m not part of this race.”

In another comical video taken during a press conference, Vettel is asked how he feels about Kimi Raikkonen starting an Instagram page and if he would do the same.

As he predictably responds with a firm no, a surprised Lewis Hamilton exclaims how he thought he followed him on social media. Turns out it’s just one of those fake fan accounts…

It seems then that Vettel has no interest in pursuing a life online, but one can always hope. Anything can happen in F1, after all…

Alex Mclachlan