Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes F1 Team have emerged tops in a survey of Formula 1 popularity in social media, however the pinnacle of motorsport lags way behind other sporting disciplines in the new media stakes.
Of the current Formula 1 drivers, reigning world champion Hamilton has the most followers on combined platforms of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with 7.7 million fans, while his Mercedes team boast over 12 million followers.
Fernando Alonso is second in the social media popularity stakes, among the drivers, with just over 4 million followers, while his former team Ferrari - one of the world's most recognisable brands - has 4.9 million fans and, of theF1 teams, are third behind Mercedes F1 Team and Red Bull Racing.
The study shows clearly that F1 teams are nowhere near as popular as other sporting organisations, with Barcelona FC the most popular football club boasting 120 million followers - triple the F1 associated followers. Second among football teams is Real Madrid on 117 million fans and Manchester United on 77.7 million.
Chennai Super Kings, a seven year old IPL cricket franchise, with 13.7 million fans is more popular than the Mercedes F1 Team.
Hamilton, who was last year voted the most marketable athlete, lagged way behind Cristiano Ronaldo whose 171.4 million fans make him the most followed athlete, while MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi had double the F1 world champion's followers with close on 16 million fans.
All F1 teams and most drivers are active on social media, exceptions being Ferrari teammates Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
The figures produced by Sky Sports provide clear proof that Formula 1 lags well behind the popularity stakes in social media.
| Driver | Total | ||||
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 2.9 m | 3.2 m | 1.6 m | 7.77 m |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | 2.3 m | 1.7 m | 90 k | 4.04 m |
| 3 | Jenson Button | 2.2 m | 842 k | 170 k | 3.21 m |
| 4 | Nico Rosberg | 1.3 m | 915 k | 301 k | 2.25 m |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | 740 k | 460 k | 561 k | 1.76 m |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | 548 k | 442 k | 88 k | 1.08 m |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | 770 k | 149 k | 112 k | 1.03 m |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | 485 k | 186 k | 116 k | 787 k |
| 9 | Pastor Maldonado | 695 k | 9 k | 60 k | 763 k |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | 418 k | 128 k | N/A | 846 k |
Note: m = million; k = thousand
| Teams | Total | ||||
| 1 | Mercedes | 1.8 m | 10.4 m | 517 k | 12.1 m |
| 2 | Red Bull | 874 k | 4.6 m | 316 k | 5.8 m |
| 3 | Ferrari | 1.1 m | 3.6 m | 168 k | 4.9 m |
| 4 | McLaren | 987 k | 3.1 m | 377 k | 4.5 m |
| 5 | Lotus | 584 k | 1.1 m | 207 k | 1.9 m |
| 6 | Williams | 454 k | 678 k | 179 k | 1.3 m |
| 7 | Force India | 330 k | 880 k | 46 k | 1.3 m |
| 8 | Sauber | 329 k | 487 k | 73 k | 889 k |
| 9 | Manor | 325 k | 430 k | 5 k | 759 k |
| 10 | Toro Rosso | 284 k | 321 k | 64 k | 669 k |
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