What Formula 1 Drivers and Teams really earn from Instagram

Hamilton, who is taking home an estimated $59.5 million (£48 million) this season, has 41.6 million Instagram followers. Fanatix reports that 27.84 percent of that audience is fake, totalling 11,581,440 bot accounts. Hamilton could earn up to $124,400 (£100,302) for a sponsored post, with $35,600 (£27,924) of that figure coming from fake followers.

Fanatix compared these numbers with average UK wages, noting that a worker would need 2,287 hours to match what Hamilton earns from bots on a single post.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc ranks second in the study, with 3.37 million fake followers accounting for 15.93 percent of his 21.2 million total. Leclerc could be earning as much as $63,400 (£51,120) per sponsored post, with $10,100 (£8,143) attributable to fake followers.

Max Verstappen, who earns $64.5 million (£52 million) from Red Bull as the highest paid driver on the grid, is third. The Dutchman has 16.7 million Instagram followers, of which 18.63 percent are bots. Fanatix estimates that Verstappen could earn $49,900 (£40,268) per post, including $9,300 (£7,502) from fake accounts.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is fourth on the list with 2.66 million fake followers. He could be earning $7,950 (£6,416) from bots within an estimated $36,200 (£29,117) total per post.

Fernando Alonso, fifth in the ranking, has the highest share of fake followers among all 20 drivers. Fanatix reports that 34.55 percent of the Spaniard’s 7.6 million followers are bots, worth $7,850 (£6,331) per post within a total potential of $22,700 (£18,324).

Fake followers are a huge business in the social media age, whereby clicks and followers determine one's stature in life these days. Clicks generate money, and no one is going to turn that away. Not drivers, while Formula 1 teams invest heavily in their social media presence. Exposure for their sponsors.

As part of the study, Fanatix also assessed the official Instagram accounts of all Formula 1 teams. McLaren top the fake follower list, with 28.98 percent of the team’s 16.2 million followers flagged as fake. That equates to 4,694,760 bot accounts.

Williams, Racing Bulls and Aston Martin each have more than a quarter of their followers classified as fake. Despite having the largest team following at 30.7 million, Red Bull have the lowest proportion of fake followers at 23.10 percent.

Fanatix used Modash.io to measure fake follower counts and influencer data, alongside the Influencer Marketing Hub earnings estimator. Data was collected on 11 November and converted using real time exchange rates.

With social media engagement under increasing scrutiny, the findings add another layer to the commercial landscape heading into this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.