Archive · 20 Nov 2025
F1 Stars & Teams Face Fake Follower Scrutiny on Instagram
Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a study found that many popular Formula 1 drivers and teams on Instagram have a lot of fake or inactive followers.
This means some of the money they earn from sponsored posts comes from these fake accounts, not real fans.
Lewis Hamilton's 41M followers include 28% fake/inactive accounts
Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc also affected, earning from fake engagement
McLaren leads F1 teams in fake followers, Red Bull has lowest ratio
- Who
- Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and F1 teams like McLaren, Red Bull, etc.
- What
- Have a significant number of fake or inactive followers on Instagram
- When
- Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Where
- On Instagram
- Why
- To potentially inflate their online presence and earn more money from sponsored posts
Authenticity Matters
Business as Usual
Impact on Sponsorships
Authenticity Matters
Brands may re-evaluate partnerships if fake followers are prevalent.
Business as Usual
Sponsors might not care as long as engagement is high.
- Lewis Hamilton's fake followers
- 28% of 41M, around 11.47M
- Max Verstappen's fake followers
- 23.1% of 30.7M, around 7.07M
- McLaren's fake followers
- 28.98% of 16.2M, around 4.69M
- Average earnings per sponsored post (Hamilton)
- £100,302
- Earnings from fake engagement (Hamilton)
- £27,924