Update: Some of the details below may have changed since this article was published. Refer to the F1 Twitter directory for an up-to-date list of official Twitter accounts for F1 drivers.
Twitter is a fantastic resource for getting real-time updates from people in F1 – including the drivers.
But not every driver is on there and some unscrupulous individuals have been quick to exploit that, setting up fake accounts to give false information to hundreds of thousands of people.
I often get asked on Twitter which accounts are fake and which ones are real. Make sure you’ve not been duped by scrubbing these fakes from your follow list and following some real F1 accounts instead.
Fake Sebastian Vettel Twitter accounts
I seem to get asked once a week if F1_Vettel or Sebas_Vettel are real accounts. Neither of them are, a fact which doesn’t seem to have stopped almost 100,000 Twitter users from following them.
Although it would be fantastic to see the reigning world champion on Twitter, sadly he does not seem to have an account so far.
Fake Kimi Raikkonen Twitter account
It would be marvellous to see returning F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen join in on Twitter.
Alas, he hasn’t, and the 66,000-plus people following the fake Kimi Raikkonen on Twitter may be disappointed to learn it’s not the ‘Iceman’ himself.
Lotus confirmed to F1 Fanatic Raikkonen does not have a presence on Twitter.
Fake Fernando Alonso Twitter account
NandoAlonso is a fake user pretending to be Fernando Alonso, who has accrued over 31,000 followers at the time of writing.
How do we know it’s not the real Alonso? Simple: Ferrari won’t let either of their drivers user Twitter.
Despite that being fairly common knowledge there seems to be no shortage of fakers pretending to be the twice-champion: this one had their Twitter account suspended but just a few days ago another one appeared.
Fake Michael Schumacher Twitter account
Despite claiming to be the “personal Twitter profile of Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team racer, seven-time world champion and a proud ambassador for UNESCO”, it’s pretty clear RealSchumacher is not the genuine article.
Michael Schumacher is another world champion with no official presence on Twitter.
Fake Nigel Mansell account
Mansell5 is not the official account of Nigel Mansell on Twitter, despite boasts that it is “the real deal, accept no imitations”, and racking up some 16,000 followers.
However you can follow the 1992 world champion for real on Twitter. He joined late last year at the urging of his sons and often invites questions after races. Follow the real Nigel Mansell on Twitter here.
Fake Paul di Resta account
The user who has nabbed the PauldiResta account name has posted a series messages pretending to be the Force India racer.
The real Paul di Resta is already active on Twitter and is worth following: find the real Paul di Resta here.
Exposing the fakes
At the time of writing all these accounts have been set up to disguise the fact that they are fake. When confronted with their illegitimate status, Twitter fakers often make hasty changes to their accounts declaring that they are “unofficial” or similar.
If these don’t come clean, hopefully Twitter will take action to weed out the impostors.
If you’ve spotted any other Twitter fakers with a substantial following, name them in the comments.
F1 Fanatic maintains a list of hundreds of official F1 Twitter accounts for you to follow, including drivers, teams, team members and more. Find the list here:
katederby (@katederby)
19th January 2012, 9:15
Thanks Keith, good call.
Another fake is @HornerChristian … probably the same person I reported to the RedBull F1 spy when he was @ChristianHorner … that account got removed.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 9:19
@katederby Thanks for that.
cmckinleyF1 (@cmckinleyf1)
19th January 2012, 16:21
It’s the same guy that made the fake di resta page and the fake Bernd Maylander page as well. Someone pointed out to me he copies others tweets, changes like 1-2 characters and posts them as his own, very strange!
M30
20th January 2012, 0:08
All of the accounts above are pretty boring… maybe F1 stars are just boring people..
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th January 2012, 9:34
That said, there is a small community that openly acknowledges that it is fake (they have names like “FakeFernando”), and they absolutely should be followed, because they’re a parody of the Formula 1 grid. Like this one, from FakeJarnoTrulli:
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 9:44
@prisoner-monkeys I’m not bothered about those one way or the other.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th January 2012, 9:54
They’re good for the occasional laugh, especially when they get into (stereotypical) character – Trulli has no idea who he is driving for, Red Bull is a mob-like family, Petrov is usually drunk and can’t do anything without his manager, and Massa won’t say anything until Alonso does.
Alex W
19th January 2012, 10:12
PM your Twitter turnaround has been quick, and I agree the fakes can be quite a good laugh.
Steph (@)
19th January 2012, 11:30
Pm agree. They’re quite good for a laugh. I quite enjoy it when people poke fun at F1 as the sport takes itself way too seriously.
sumedh
19th January 2012, 12:05
Agree with PM.
I find even Renault’s official tweet funny. They make of fun of Vitaly and Senna in the middle of the races which is amazing!
sumedhvidwans (@sumedhvidwans)
19th January 2012, 12:09
I mean Lotus!
xxiinophobia (@xxiinophobia)
20th January 2012, 5:07
@sumedhvidwans Lotus Renault’s twitter feed is a good one. This is one of my favourites from them:
… referring to Petrov crashing late in FP2 in Monaco.
Hola
20th January 2012, 2:45
Thats funny. You are right PM
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
19th January 2012, 13:37
@prisoner-monkeys Before I followed as many people as I do now my feed was constantly filled with Fake Felipe Massa. Everything was ‘for sure’ this and ‘for sure’ that. In the end I told him to give it a rest and tone it down a bit. He said something to the effect of having to run it by Alonso first. Made me smile a bit.
Lin1876 (@lin1876)
19th January 2012, 16:40
The obviously fake ones are indeed a good laugh. I find the fake Charlie Whiting one to be particularly amusing at times
Paul Barrass (@damleda)
11th September 2013, 23:38
Not entirely sure if this will be allowed, as I’m not sure if it’s a direct advertisement or not, but my blog is almost 100% comedy, with the added bonus of predicting exactly who would move where on the 27th of last month … Pure luck, or insider knowledge… who knows.
With a bit more support I would write a lot more @: http://www.therealF1.wordpress.com
Girts (@girts)
19th January 2012, 9:42
Thanks for the list, just unfollowed ‘Kimi Raikkonen’ – the only one who got me because some of the really real guys that I follow retweeted one of his tweets.
I wonder what is going to happen if some driver who actively uses Twitter now (for instance, Checo) replaces Massa in 2013.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 9:47
@Girts I do find it amusing that Ferrari presume to lecture everyone on making F1 more accessible (“this sport must become more user friendly and more accessible to the general public”), yet are the only team who deny their own fans the ability to follow their drivers on Twitter.
phildick (@phildick)
19th January 2012, 11:00
Maybe Ferrari is a fake? ;)
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:42
Even odder is that Jules Bianchi, current Ferrari development driver, appears to be allowed his own Twitter account. Will he have to close it if he gets promoted to Ferrari F1 racer?
Anthony Currie
19th January 2012, 9:45
I think you’re doing the right thing by pointing out the fakes that are pretending to be real, but it might also be useful to list the fakes that are openly fake as some of them are very funny! @MarkWibber, @charlie_whiting, @fakebernie, @Emperor_Jean, and @fakemaxmosley are all great. @LewisHamilton is a real account, it just looks like an illiterate 13 year old has hacked into the account sometimes!
Hairs (@hairs)
19th January 2012, 9:48
it’s probably better advice just not to take twitter seriously in the first place.
In similar news, @mrsstephenfry isn’t actually married to Stephen Fry. *gasp*
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 9:50
@Hairs
Not really, since it’s usually the first place you find breaking news these days. Case in point – Peugeot quitting the WEC yesterday.
Hairs (@hairs)
19th January 2012, 13:35
oh I don’t dispute it’s useful at times. But I don’t take it seriously. It’s entirely possible 60,000 people aren’t being duped, they’re just having a laugh.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 13:57
@Hairs Not in these cases – these aren’t people admitting to being fakes and making jokes. These are just frauds.
Hairs (@hairs)
19th January 2012, 17:36
True, but I’m struggling to find a reason why anyone’s going to be devastated to hear that @nandoalonso is actually a fake.
#srsbizness
verstappen (@verstappen)
19th January 2012, 13:04
@Hairs I know what you mean. I’m trying twitter profesionaly but even only following only 30 accounts amounts to so much gibberish, people tweeting links to things I’ve already seen and poor attempts at humor. I continue my test for 6 months and try to be open, but it’s hard.
Now, I’m not à journalist, so I’d rather have à Nice full story than à 140 character corporate news flash.
And I’ve said before: all important things Will be published online, or even in print…
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:46
The trick is finding the right 30 people to follow. With a few well-worded searches, the people who are worth reading only for specific content don’t need following.
Twitter’s a useful tool for conversations and clarifications – some of the Autosport journalists (particularly @eddstraw) have been particularly helpful in that regard.
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:47
Sorry, that should be @eddstrawF1.
Banburyhammer1
19th January 2012, 10:10
Is it wrong of me that I read that as Ralf Schumacher?
Alex W
19th January 2012, 10:14
me too!
Fixy (@)
19th January 2012, 20:33
Me as well!
Shimks (@shimks)
19th January 2012, 10:18
Very wrong!! :O)
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
19th January 2012, 12:27
I think it’s now been proved beyond all doubt that Ralf Schumacher was not the genuine article. ;)
celeste (@celeste)
19th January 2012, 17:25
ouch!
Bernie_Ecclestone
19th January 2012, 10:27
What kind of saddo masquerades as someone famous??? Now where’s that £14billion I left on the sideboard….
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
19th January 2012, 13:38
Smooth!
Nixon (@nixon)
19th January 2012, 10:40
Thank you Kieth.
But, how did you know that they are fakes? ( I have no intentions of insulting you )
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 10:52
@Nixon Various means – sometimes through direct confirmation from the teams or other people related to them. Or in some cases because the people they’re claiming to be already have Twitter accounts!
Nixon (@nixon)
21st January 2012, 9:05
Thanks
TommyB (@tommyb89)
19th January 2012, 14:15
I can’t believe 100,000 follow that Fake Vettel account.
Normally accounts get verified when they are the real deal.
I also imagine the real Sebastian wouldn’t go for such a naff background and the very first picture of himself that comes up on Google Images.
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:50
Occasionally there are also fakes that reveal themselves by being oddly fluent in a language one would not expect that particular driver to know, or have the location written in the profile as a place where the driver in question has never lived…
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
19th January 2012, 10:42
@fia
I wonder whether this one is legit. Does anyone confirmed it?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 10:54
@Cyclops_PL
It is, that’s why it’s in the F1 Twitter directory.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
19th January 2012, 11:02
Thanks Keith, it looked strange to me, since it’s not mentioned on fia.com whereas their facebook profile is.
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:51
The Facebook page mentions the Twitter one. Still, you’re right – it is strange for the FIA to mention some of their social networking addresses and not others.
maxthecat
19th January 2012, 11:26
Sadly Twitter has become a bit of a joke in recent years with the verifying of fake accounts and most of the ‘real’ celeb accounts run by PR and not the people themselves.
Lets hope F1 continues to use it to connect with the fans.
katederby (@katederby)
19th January 2012, 13:31
I love the notion that @AussieGrit could be a corporate PR product. Did you see his response to @NataliePinkham’s question about Spa only being used every other year? “**** idea, stinks”.
Not too mention his very personal pictures and comments.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
19th January 2012, 13:40
@katederby He was also talking about a ‘special’ fish based meal with Jenson Button over Christmas. I won’t post it up here but it was a little weird!
Regarding your post, maxthecat, I do think that having the verified tick is a good idea. For some reason I follow Tom Cruise, but that’s just PR all the time.
katederby (@katederby)
19th January 2012, 15:52
Yes the fish sperm chat between Webber and @JensonButton was twitter at it’s best! Both men come across as genuinely good blokes; well worth following.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th January 2012, 17:53
And I think Webber also retweeted that Gif of him squirting on the podium girls last week.
mr apex
19th January 2012, 20:42
http://i.minus.com/ib28hZWmVnTIEL.gif
lol this^^^?
Zsoltiy
19th January 2012, 11:34
Fake Felipe Massa account which pretends to be the Brazilian driver:
https://twitter.com/#!/felipemassa10
“Twitter Oficial do Felipe Massa, os outros que existirem são fake!” – This means “Felipe Massa’s official Twitter, all the other existing profiles are fake!”
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 12:16
Thanks for that one too!
Alianora La Canta
20th January 2012, 11:53
Well, I suppose the last bit of the statement is true… …pity everything else about it is misleadingly false!
aka_robyn (@)
19th January 2012, 11:37
I’ll admit that I was fooled by the fake Kimi — but, in my defense, Lotus Renault GP retweeted that account on November 29, back when they announced they had signed him!
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
19th January 2012, 12:48
See, I thought that, too!
How odd that they’d publicise a fake account for their own driver.
Hamster79
19th January 2012, 16:43
Yep, I was fooled by that too! Dont understand why they’d promote a fake account? Very strange…..
Kimster
19th January 2012, 18:12
Kimi’s fake account also started following Williams when talks were going on. Even tv commentators were talking about it.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
19th January 2012, 19:23
As it’s kimi, I wouldn’t be suprised if it was the real Kimi Raikkonen pretending to be a fake. :lol:
Richard (@dream28)
19th January 2012, 12:03
Gosh, how many followers would I get using @absoluteascari?
GeorgeTuk (@georgetuk)
19th January 2012, 13:15
I still don’t get why people bother?
I mean yeah 66000-odd followers is great but its not for you and why would you want to pretend to be someone else?
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
20th January 2012, 9:21
I also wonder how many of those 66000 know it’s a fraud, but still follow the account.
GeorgeDaviesF1 (@georgedaviesf1)
19th January 2012, 13:26
agree that fake accounts that acknowledge they are fake are funny, @TheFakeVettel is very amusing
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
19th January 2012, 13:42
Why do Ferrari ban their drivers from being on Twitter anyway? what difference does it make for them?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th January 2012, 8:26
@Fer-no65 From a round-up last year:
sato113 (@sato113)
19th January 2012, 14:40
the only one i follow is the fake charlie whiting account. it’s very witty.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
19th January 2012, 15:46
I unfollowed him when he started publicly flirting with a female F1 journalist. It would have been alright if he didn’t make it so the tweets appeared in the timelines of those who weren’t even following said journalist, but the fact he made it so visible irked me and I gave up on him!
aka_robyn (@)
19th January 2012, 21:27
Ugh, yes. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who found that really annoying.
fyujj
19th January 2012, 15:58
Keith, lighten up a bit.
Some like Kimi’s or speciallly diResta’s are really pretending to be the real one (and that’s quite funny IMO) but it’s easy to find out who’s who these days.
@NandoAlonso, for instance is admittedly fake (it’s even in Portuguese).
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th January 2012, 16:27
Not easy enough, apparently, because I am constantly being asked who is and isn’t fake. And as you can see from some of the earlier comments, there were some people mistakenly following these accounts because they believed they were real.
In the case of the examples above, none of them are the people they claim to be and all of them were hiding that fact when I wrote the article.
Several of them had written posts that were obviously designed to be mistaken for real updates from the people they claim to be. And none of them appeared to be comic or parody accounts.
As I already said in a reply to an earlier comment, I’m aware there are many accounts of the ‘fake-so-and-so’ variety. I’m not objecting to people who make it clear they are fake and run spoof accounts. The accounts described in the article are all people who intended to mislead.
And, as I also said in the article, when confronted with the fact that they are fake they often change what’s written in the account to give the appearance that they always admitted they were fake.
SoLiDG
19th January 2012, 20:27
A good way to see if an account is real, is check if they post selfmade pics.
Drivers uploading pics from their cell is a good way to spot the real ones.
Matthew
19th January 2012, 20:36
Although it’s a fake, I love the tweets that come from @charlie_whiting, some brilliant F1 humour!
Lilla My
20th January 2012, 0:41
Hello Keith,
I was wondering whether@keithcollantine is your private account or is it just somebody who happens to be called just like you (or is pretenading to have your name)? :)
BasCB (@bascb)
20th January 2012, 7:45
It’s Keiths private account.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th January 2012, 7:49
Yes, that’s my personal account. See:
https://www.racefans.net/community/f1-fanatic-twitter/
There’s not much about motor racing in there, just as there isn’t much that’s not about motor racing on the F1 Fanatic account.
Lilla My
21st January 2012, 0:47
Thanks :))
Tom (@newdecade)
20th January 2012, 12:04
The Nico Rosberg helmet-search PR account was just plain surreal. Sadly it seems to have been removed now…
Autopulated (@autopulated)
20th January 2012, 16:56
I’m convinced that @KeithCollantine is a fake ;)
Geo
21st January 2012, 14:41
I think the self confessed fake twitter accounts are funny and it’s always good to have light hearted humor in the twittersphere.
What I don’t understand is why some people have clearly put alot of effort into setting up and maintaining fake twitter accounts for various famous people.
It’s quite sad really and the people who do it have mental issues in my view. Very strange and pathetic indeed that they need people to think they are famous, or they ‘get off’ on fooling people.
Mark H
15th March 2012, 3:12
Can anyone confirm the legitimacy of the @Mic_Schumacher account which popped up a few weeks ago? Thanks
Sam B (@sb360)
11th April 2012, 9:54
Are Ferrari still not allowing drivers on Twitter. Because @alo_oficial is followed by a lot of F1 pundits and drivers and has the verified tick.
Lilla My
11th April 2012, 9:58
Ferrari have changed their attitude towards Twitter. All their drivers have TT accounts now and they are very active ;). @alo_oficial is the real Fernando Alonso and @Felipe1Massa is real Massa :). Fisichella is also there but he’s not as active as Alonso, Massa or @InsideFerrari
top dog
10th June 2012, 10:25
Fake mansell was me. 27k followers at one point.
Delta Golf Sierra (@cumulonimbus)
11th September 2013, 21:47
Another fake Kimi account is @K_RaikkonenF1.
Ray Kingsbury
29th December 2013, 23:58
Maybe someone should tell Lotus F1 Team and Sahara Force India that they are following the fake Fernando Alonso… lol.