Formula 1 has never been more popular with driver following on social media now at an all-time high.
Drivers are seeing their followings on social media platforms rise higher and higher, as more fans become interested in F1 and pick which driver is their favourite to follow.
Social media is a great tool to allow drivers to get closer to fans and give them behind the scenes access to their lives outside of F1.
Drivers like Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc will often post pictures of what they think is interesting or do a Q&A to interact with other drivers or associated accounts.
With that in mind, which driver has the biggest online following? And who is the most popular between all 20 drivers on the 2025 F1 grid?
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc more popular than Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton tops the list of followers across all platforms, with his following at least two-times that of current world champion Max Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion has always worked on improving his image outside of F1, with various forays into fashion, resturants, non-alcholic drinks and wellness.
Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri’s following has increased significantly in the last year after he emerged as a race winner with McLaren.
| Driver | X | ||
| Lewis Hamilton | 8.4 million | 38.5 million | 6.2 million |
| Charles Leclerc | 3.8 million | 17.4 million | 1.5 million |
| Max Verstappen | 3.8 million | 13.5 million | 2.8 million |
| Fernando Alonso | 3.8 million | 7.3 million | 2.1 million |
| Lando Norris | 2.8 million | 9.4 million | 1.2 million |
| Carlos Sainz | 2.7 million | 10.9 million | 1.1 million |
| George Russell | 2.3 million | 6.2 million | 865,200 |
| Pierre Gasly | 1.5 million | 5.4 million | 559,000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 1.2 million | 2 million | 552,300 |
| Alex Albon | 1 million | 3 million | 467,100 |
| Esteban Ocon | 1 million | 2.5 million | 70,000 |
| Oscar Piastri | 880,400 | 3.1 million | 188,000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 678,500 | 2.5 million | N/A |
| Lance Stroll | 485,900 | 1.4 million | 100,800 |
| Oliver Bearman | 170,200 | 2.4 million | 2,800 |
| Andra Kimi Antonelli | N/A | 1.1 million | N/A |
| Liam Lawson | 92,300 | 917,000 | 48,300 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 83,700 | 890,000 | 21,800 |
| Jack Doohan | 33,000 | 340,000 | 32,000 |
| Isack Hadjar | N/A | 166,000 | N/A |
Oliver Bearman also tops the list of rookies with the most followers, which could be particially due to him getting early outings with Ferrari and Haas last season.
Why is social media following important for F1 drivers?
Given the reach that drivers have to fans, it is important for them to have big online followings if they want to get a message across or offer insight they would not get anywhere else.
There is also a financial benefit to having a lot of followers, as brands will pay a lot of money for drivers to advertise their products.
Footballers Lionel Messi and Christian Ronaldo can be paid millions each for making post to their 100m+ followers on platforms like Instagram.
Brands also pay the money knowing that their product will get exposure they will need to certain target markets.
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