The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship has already started at the beginning of this month with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2, and as fans of the sport, we wanted to take a look at who are the most followed Formula 1 drivers on social media, including all the 20+ drivers that will be racing in this year’s championship.

And what a championship this promises to be! We have three world champions who are about to take off in the 2024 season: Lewis Hamilton with 7 championships, Max Verstappen with 3, and Fernando Alonso with 2.

But before they start competing with each other in races, let’s see how their social media presence looks and who takes the lead here. Who is the most popular F1 driver on social media, who is present on the most social media channels, and who is the driver stubborn enough not to have any social media accounts at all?

We’ll take a look at all this and more in our article today, with a short briefing for each driver.

Most Followed Formula 1 Drivers on Social Media

1. Lewis Hamilton

Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, knighted in 2021, is the most followed Formula 1 driver on social media. He is a detached leader not only in Formula 1 but in the number of social media followers as well, with 51.21 million, compared to the next in line (Leclerc), who “only” has 22.37 million. Hamilton is also the only Formula 1 driver on the list with two YouTube channels, the main one and a vlogging one. He is a British racing driver (if you couldn’t already tell by the being knighted part), and he shares a joint record with Michael Schumacher, having won seven World Drivers’ Championship titles. However, he blew all other records out of the water, with 103 wins, 103 pole positions, and 182 podium finishes, surpassing Schumacher, who had held all these records at the time of his retirement in 2012. He also won titles in four consecutive years (2017 – 2020). In 2021, Hamilton almost won again, but due to some exceptional circumstances and controversial decisions taken by race control, Verstappen took the lead.  

2. Charles Leclerc

Leclerc, by his full impressive name of Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc, is a Monégasque racing driver with 5 wins, 32 podiums, and 23 pole positions. He won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017. He started racing fairly recently, in 2018, for Sauber, and is currently racing for Scuderia Ferrari. Leclerc currently has 22.37 million social media followers, with the majority of them being on Instagram (14.4 million). 

3. Max Verstappen

Verstappen, by his full name of Max Emilian Verstappen, is the third most followed Formula 1 driver on social media, with 18.21 million, and the Formula 1 “champion en titer”, having won the 2023 Formula One World Championship, which was his third consecutive title, after dethroning Hamilton in 2021, who had won four consecutive titles. However, compared to Hamilton, Verstappen has much fewer followers, 18.21 million vs. Hamilton’s 51.21 million. Max Verstappen is Belgian-Dutch, but he competes for the Netherlands because, as he stated, he feels much more Dutch even though he was raised in Belgium, but lived right at the border with the Netherlands, and spent more time around his Dutch father and Dutch people in general. Max is the youngest driver to have competed in Formula 1, at 17 and a half, before getting his legal driver’s license. He is also the youngest driver and the first Dutch driver to have won a Formula One Grand Prix. 

4. Carlos Sainz Jr. 

Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro is a Spanish racing driver competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is the son of double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz and the nephew of rally driver Antonio Sainz. He won the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 season with DAMS, then moved to F1 with Toro Rosso. Sainz raced for Renault in 2017 and 2018, joined McLaren in 2019, and secured his first Formula One podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. He transferred to Ferrari in 2021, achieving his first win and pole position at the 2022 British Grand Prix and a second win at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. He’s set to leave Ferrari at the end of 2024, following a victory at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

5. Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish race driver with 32 wins, 106 podiums, and 22 pole positions. He is currently competing for Aston Martin, but he has also raced for Renault, Ferrari, McLaren, Minardi, Toyota, and Alpine. He won the World Drivers’ Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the FIA World Endurance Championship twice. When he won his first two championships in 2005 and 2006, Alonso was the youngest race winner and two-time champion, as well as the youngest pole-sitter at the time. He is also the only Spanish race driver to have won either both the World Championship and/or Grand Prix. 

6. Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Joseph Ricciardo is an Italian-Australian racing driver competing for Australia since 2011. Ricciardo has changed quite a few teams in his racing career, first competing for HRT, then switching to Toro Rosso, and then being promoted to Red Bull, where he had quite a few victories. In 2019 and 2020 he raced for Renault, and in 2021 he switched again to McLaren, which won him the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. At the end of 2022, he switched back to Red Bull, which is now called RB Formula One Team. He has a total of 8 Grand Prix victories in Formula One. And I’m sure you remember him being on the podium because when he wins, Ricciardo has a very peculiar podium tradition: he takes off one of his shoes, fills it with champagne, and then drinks from it. I believe that’s about equal amounts of disgusting and funny.

7. Lando Norris

Lando Norris is a 24-year-old British-Belgian racing driver currently competing for England with McLaren. He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in 2016. He received the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 2016, joined the McLaren Young Driver Programme in 2017, and won the FIA Formula 3 European Championship the same year. After finishing second in the Formula 2 Championship in 2018, he joined McLaren’s Formula One team and secured his first podium at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. As of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, he has the most Formula One podiums without a win (14). Lando also has the highest number of subscribers on YouTube (currently at 1.05M).

8. Sergio Pérez

Sergio Michel Pérez Mendoza, nicknamed “Checo”, is a Mexican racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. With two Grand Prix wins under his belt (the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2021), and more Formula One accomplishment at a young age, Pérez was referred to as “The Mexican Wunderkind”. People love Checo because he’s a bit of an underdog who finally made it to the top. People feel he spent a long time performing at a high level in midfield cars and got podiums with cars that did not deserve it, so it’s nice to see him working for a top team right now, with a top car in which he can truly showcase his talent. 

9. George Russell

George William Russell is a British Formula One driver for Mercedes, having previously competed for Williams from 2019 to 2021. A successful karting champion, Russell won the 2018 Formula 2 and the 2017 GP3 Series championships with ART, showcasing exceptional talent by winning both in his rookie seasons. He debuted in F1 with Williams in 2019 and briefly raced for Mercedes in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Russell joined Mercedes in 2022, securing his first F1 win at the São Paulo Grand Prix that year. As of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, his achievements include one victory, one pole position, six fastest laps, and eleven podium finishes. He is under contract with Mercedes until the end of the 2025 season. He is one of the young hopes of the future and Formula 1 fans are very interested to see what he’ll do at this year’s championship. 

10. Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly is a French Formula One driver for Alpine, with a notable career including winning the 2016 GP2 Series and finishing runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series and 2017 Super Formula Championship. He debuted in F1 with Toro Rosso in 2017, had a brief stint with Red Bull in 2019, and achieved his first podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri, marking his and the team’s first F1 victory, and secured another podium at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He joined Alpine in 2023, earning a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix the same year.

11. Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Viktor Bottas is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Having fine-tuned his skills on the icy roads of Finland, Valtteri Bottas was made to be a race driver, and his calm and diligent Finnish mentality is helping him keep his cool in a sport where it’s quite easy to lose your temper, and where you can quickly become panicked and be prone to making rash decisions. Throughout his career, Bottas has achieved 10 race wins and 67 podiums, contributing to Mercedes’ five Constructors’ Championship victories and finishing as Drivers’ Championship runner-up in 2019 and 2020. Starting in karting, he progressed through various single-seater championships, winning titles in the Formula Renault Eurocup and Northern European Cup in 2008. After finishing third in the 2009 Formula 3 Euroseries and winning the Masters of Formula 3, Bottas served as a test driver for Williams, eventually becoming their full-time driver in 2013. He secured nine podiums with Williams, and after Nico Rosberg’s retirement, joined Mercedes, securing 10 wins and 58 podiums there before moving to Alfa Romeo in 2022.

12. Mick Schumacher

Mick Schumacher is, as you probably already know if you’re a Formula 1 fan, the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher. He is a reserve driver for Mercedes in this year’s championship. Mick won the FIA F3 European Championship in 2018 and the Formula 2 Championship in 2020. There are plenty of racing drivers whose fathers were also Formula One racers, but carrying the famous Schumacher name definitely holds some extra weight. However, it’s not his father’s name that brought him to where he is, but his talent, and I believe Formula 1 fans are happy and excited to see him carrying on the legacy. And even though he’s understandably a bit still in his father’s shadow, he leads in terms of social media followers, with 6 million vs. his father’s 3.4, who is a few spots behind him on our list of most popular Formula 1 drivers on social media.

13. Alexander Albon

Alexander Albon Ansusinha is a Thai-British Formula One driver competing under the Thai flag for Williams. He finished third in the 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship and seventh in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. With DAMS, he won four races and finished third in the championship. He had his first Grand Prix podium place at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, which was also the first for a Thai driver. His seat was taken by Sergio Pérez after two seasons in Formula One for Red Bull, but in this year’s 2024 Formula One Championship, he will be driving for Williams.

14. Esteban Ocon

Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane is a French racing driver competing for Alpine in Formula One. He has notable achievements including winning the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship and the 2015 GP3 Series. He made his Formula One debut in 2016 and claimed his first podium in 2020 and his first victory in 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite a less victorious 2022, he secured his career-best eighth in the drivers’ standings and contributed to Alpine’s fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. He achieved his third podium in the following year.

15. Nico Hülkenberg

Nicolas Hülkenberg is a German racing driver currently with Haas F1 Team. He won the 2009 GP2 Series and has championships in the Formula 3 Euro Series and A1 Grand Prix with Team Germany. He is notable for winning the GP2 Series/Formula 2 in his debut season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 on his first attempt. Hülkenberg started in Formula One with Williams in 2010, securing a notable pole position, and has since raced for teams including Force India, Sauber, and Renault. He served as a reserve and replacement driver, notably for Racing Point and Aston Martin during COVID-related absences, before returning full-time with Haas in 2023. As of 2024, Hülkenberg holds the record for the most F1 starts without a podium finish, surpassing Adrian Sutil’s previous record.

16. Michael Schumacher

I believe Michael Schumacher needs no introduction, as he is a legend in the sports world. And even though he hasn’t competed since 2012, he is still one of the most popular Formula 1 drivers on social media, currently at no. 16. At the time of his retirement from the sport in 2012, Schumacher held the records for the most wins (91), pole positions (68), and podium finishes (155), which have since been broken by Hamilton, but he maintains a few records still, among which the one for the biggest number of fastest laps (77). In addition to his legendary Formula 1 performance, Schumacher was best known for his innovative fitness regimen and for enjoying pushing his car to the very limit for long periods during races, which kept people at the edge of their seats. Sadly, during a skiing accident in December 2013, he suffered a severe brain injury that had him in a medically induced coma until June 2014. He then went through rehabilitation at the Lausanne University Hospital and was finally relocated at home in September 2014 to be treated privately. Not much is known about his current situation, as his wife Corinna hasn’t allowed much information to slip to the press. All we know is that he is well taken care of and he keeps fighting for the road to recovery. 

17. Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen, nicknamed “The Iceman”, is a Finnish racing driver that again, needs no introduction. With 21 Grand Prix wins, 103 podiums, 18 pole positions, and 46 fastest laps, Kimi is one of the five drivers to have taken over 100 podiums, and the only driver to win in the V10, V8, and the V6 turbo hybrid engine eras. Räikkönen was listed as the 26th highest-paid celebrity and fifth highest-paid sportsman by Forbes magazine in their “Celebrity 100” list in 2008. Räikkönen retired from the sport at the end of 2021, but he still made it on the list of most followed Formula One drivers on social media, and Formula 1 fans should be grateful he’s on social media at all. Why? Because Kimi is known to have a reserved personality and was for the longest time reluctant to have any presence on social media, but his wife finally convinced him to make an Instagram account. In fact, he’s the only celebrity on our list with just an Instagram account, and no other social media, but he still manages to be one of the most popular drivers, with 3 million followers. 

18. Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda is a Japanese Formula One driver for the RB Formula One Team. He won the F4 Japanese championship in 2018 and finished third in the 2020 Formula 2 Championship. In Formula One, he started competing in 2021 with AlphaTauri.

19. Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri, an Australian Formula One driver for McLaren, has a remarkable career with consecutive rookie season wins: the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and the 2021 Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing. He’s the sixth driver to win the GP2/Formula 2 Championship in his debut season and the fifth to win both the GP3/Formula 3 and GP2/Formula 2 Championships consecutively. Piastri is also the first to secure wins in the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3, and Formula 2 championships (or their equivalents) in successive rookie years.

20. Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Jan Magnussen, a Danish Formula One driver for the Haas F1 Team, is the son of Jan Magnussen. He progressed through McLaren’s Young Driver Programme, competed for McLaren in 2014, joined Renault in 2016, and has been with Haas since 2017, rejoining in 2022 on a multi-year contract.

21. Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman, a British racing driver, is competing in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing and is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He serves as a reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari and Haas F1 Team in Formula One, and made his F1 debut with Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, filling in for Carlos Sainz Jr. Bearman won the 2021 Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championships.

22. Lance Stroll

Lance Strulovitch, better known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian-Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag for Aston Martin. He won the Italian F4 championship in 2014, the Toyota Racing Series championship in 2015, and the FIA European Formula 3 championship in 2016. He came in third at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, becoming the youngest driver to finish on the podium during their first Formula 1 race. 

23. Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu is a Chinese racing driver competing for Kick Sauber in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. He is the first Chinese driver to compete in a World Championship Formula One race. He raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2019 to 2021, finishing third in 2021. Previously, he was part of the Alpine Academy, serving as a test driver for Renault and Alpine F1 Teams in 2020 and 2021, and was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2014 to 2018, also working as a development driver for the DS Techeetah Formula E team in 2018.

24. Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Daniel Latifi is a Canadian-Iranian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag. He debuted in Formula 1 in 2020 at the Australian Grand Prix, competing with Williams for three seasons, and was second in the Formula 2 Championship in 2019. 
Latifi departed from Williams after three seasons with the team after the 2022 season, and F2 graduate Logan Sargeant took his place.

25. Logan Sargeant

Logan Sargeant is an American racing driver competing in Formula One for Williams Racing. He finished fourth in the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Carlin Motorsport and is the younger brother of former NASCAR driver Dalton Sargeant.

How about you? Which of these drivers are you following on social media? And will you be tuning in to the 2024 Formula One season? If you’re interested in tracking social media trends around your favorite drivers, check out these social media analytics tools. Don’t forget to share this article with other Formula 1 fans in your circle 🙂

See also: Who has the most followers on Instagram?