Formula 1’s social media landscape seems to be changing ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. According to multiple reports citing Sports ticketing and data-insights platform Fanatix, a considerable share of followers on leading drivers and team’s Instagram accounts may not be real fans at all.  

Lewis Hamilton, the most followed Formula 1 driver on Instagram with over 41 million followers, headlines the list. The analysis by Fanatix suggests that 28 percent of Hamilton’s fanbase, more than 11 million accountsare flagged as fake or inactive. Despite this, Hamilton’s Instagram presence remains a commercial powerhouse as his average earnings from each sponsored post at roughly £100,302, with approximately £27,924 of that sum attributed to engagement from non-genuine accounts.

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc fake fanbase

Trailing close behind in digital reach and revenue is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Reportedly, 15.93 percent of the Monegasque’s 3.37 million followers are considered inauthentic, but his platform still nets him more than £8,000 for each sponsored post. F1’s defending champion Max Verstappen, recognized as the grid’s highest earner in terms of salary, generates around £7,502 per post thanks to bot-driven interactions. Carlos Sainz, also among the Instagram revenue leaders, derives about £6,416 per post tied to 22 percent of fake followers in his online audience.

How are F1 Teams faring in terms of fake fan following?

As per Fanatix’s research the F1 teams are not immune to the issue either. McLaren’s official account leads the paddock in artificial engagement, with 28.98 percent of its 16.2 million followers nearly 4.7 million accounts classified as fake. Williams, Racing Bulls, and Aston Martin each see over a quarter of their followers identified as non-genuine. Red Bull, F1’s largest team on Instagram with 30.7 million followers, has lowest 'fake follower' ratio among top teams at 23.1 per cent.