Hamilton takes the crown on social media and leaves Verstappen far behind

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22 July 2021 at 12:12
Last update 22 July 2021 at 15:13
  • GPblog.com

Social media is still getting more popular every year and so the Formula 1 drivers can't stay behind, at least most of them can. We take a look at the Instagram accounts of 19 drivers and it shows that Lewis Hamilton has by far the most followers. Max Verstappen follows in second place.

Sebastian Vettel does not use social media platforms. The four-time world champion thinks it's all fake and doesn't feel the need to show the world what he's going through every day. The Aston Martin driver is the only driver in the premier class of motorsport who does not use social media.

Hamilton earns from social media

Hamilton has a record number of 23.1 million followers. With his huge reach, the British driver is of huge interest to sponsors. In 2019, Hamilton still had 'only' 12.5 million followers. Research by The Mirror showed that Hamilton could earn about 44,000 euros per sponsored post. That amount will be even higher now.

Verstappen has also experienced enormous growth. Where 24 months ago he had 2,5 million followers, this has now more than doubled to 5,4 million followers. He is closely followed by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo also comes close to the score of Verstappen.

The drivers with the least followers are Nikita Mazepin and Nicholas Latifi. Both men are still relatively new to Formula 1, but perhaps it is also a factor that they actually drive at the highest level because their fathers bring money for respectively Haas F1 and Williams.

Number of followers of Formula 1 drivers on Instagram

1. Lewis Hamilton - 23.1 million followers
2. Max Verstappen - 5.4 million followers
3. Charles Leclerc - 5.1 million followers
4. Daniel Ricciardo - 5.0 million followers
5. Lando Norris - 3.5 million followers
6. Fernando Alonso - 3.3 million followers
7. Carlos Sainz - 3.0 million followers
8. Sergio Perez - 2.3 million followers
9. Kimi Raikkonen - 2.3 million followers
10. Valtteri Bottas - 2.2 million followers
11. Pierre Gasly - 2.0 million followers 
12. George Russell - 1.9 million followers
13. Schumacher - 1.8 million followers
14. Esteban Ocon - 953.000 followers
15. Antonio Giovinazzi - 647.000 followers
16. Lance Stroll - 565.000 followers
17. Yuki Tsunoda - 550.000 followers
18. Nikita Mazepin - 371.000 followers
19. Nicholas Latifi - 231.000 followers
20. Sebastian Vettel - 0 followers