Formula One, or the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest FIA-sanctioned class of auto racing and attracts millions of audiences worldwide. It first began in 1950 and has produced worldwide spectacles throughout these seven exciting decades. As a result, Formula One drivers increasingly become the subject of international recognition and is ranked among the most popular athletes in the world. Although it is a subjective criterion, one mechanism we can use to gauge their popularity is their follower count. These are the follower counts of the most popular Formula One drivers on the current grid.
Lewis Hamilton: 37.4 million followers
The seven-time world champion is not only the most famous Formula One driver by a country mile; he is also one of the most recognizable names in the sporting industry. He has many collaborations, such as Tommy Hilfiger and Dior. He is, statistically, the greatest Formula One driver of all-time. He has won 104 races, stood on the podium 199 times, scored 104 pole positions, and have gathered close to 5,000 points. As of writing, Hamilton just made history by winning the 2024 British Grand Prix, thus becoming the first driver to win at the same circuit nine times.
Lewis Hamilton is currently ranked eighth in the World Drivers’ Championship with 110 points. With his P5 in Qualifying, he has a great chance to overtake both his teammate George Russell and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the Championship by the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Will Hamilton be able to take another ninth victory at the same circuit? Place your bets and check his odds now at fun88!
Charles Leclerc: 16.2 million followers
The Monégasque prodigy recently became the first native to win the elusive Monaco Grand Prix in almost a century but has since managed to score only twelve points. He began his Formula One career in 2018 with the Sauber team after a dominant display in the 2017 Formula Two Championship. After an impressive debut, Ferrari signed him up in 2019, where he has remained till this day. Charles Leclerc is well-known for his ability to grab pole positions when the car is not ideally set up, and his tally of 24 is the highest among non-champions. Still, he needs to work on his strategic calls and consistency if he ever wishes to join the Champions’ Club.
As of writing, Charles Leclerc is third in the World Drivers’ Championship with 150 points; his recent dip in form has caused him to slip behind Lando Norris and four points above his teammate Carlos Sainz. He qualified right behind Hamilton in sixth for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen: 12.4 million followers
Since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, the World Drivers’ Championship has been led by only one man: Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is proving his critics wrong by putting up some of the most dominant performances the sport has ever seen. He won 19 out of 22 races last season and missed out on the podium just once. When he made his debut in 2015, he was already the youngest person to ever take part in a Formula One grand prix, and his victory in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix was a sign of things to come.
His current season is far from perfect, though; he has only managed one pole position in the last six races after snatching seven in a row beforehand. Despite that, he remains imperious at the top of the championship with 255 points, 84 more than second-placed Lando Norris. He is widely expected to take his fourth successive title.
Carlos Sainz Jr: 10.2 million followers
Charles Leclerc’s current teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., is leaving Ferrari after four seasons with the Maranello-based team, and the Spaniard is proving his current employer wrong. Having already won one race in Australia earlier this year, Sainz is only four points adrift from Charles Leclerc.
Sainz made his debut in 2015 with the Toro Rosso team together with Verstappen. Although his career never took off the same way Verstappen’s did, he could still be proud of his achievements in the sport. He is considered a consistent driver.
Daniel Ricciardo: 9.2 million followers
His days in Formula One might be numbered, but Daniel Ricciardo will always be remembered for many things. He was Verstappen’s strongest teammate, the last of the late breakers, and the one who took McLaren back on the top step after nine years. Currently, he might be driving a midfielder car in the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls car, but he is not far away from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Honorable mentions
Lando Norris: The McLaren superstar currently has 8.8 million followers and is looking forward to win for the second time this Sunday.
Sergio “Checo” Perez: The Mexican is not impressing any of his 7.2 million followers at this moment; he just crashed in qualifying once again and will be starting the Hungarian Grand Prix in sixteenth.
Fernando Alonso: The two-time world champion is still going strong at 43, and his 7 million followers would be cheering him on as the 2026 regulations approach.
George Russell: Lewis Hamilton’s teammate has 5.7 million followers and would not want to follow him for long as he is starting from seventeenth this Sunday.
Pierre Gasly: The Frenchman’s 5.1 million followers will be seeing him at Alpine next year, but the identity of his teammate is yet to be confirmed.