Your favourite drivers and teams at the start of the 2012 F1 season
2012 F1 season preview
Jenson Button and McLaren are your favourites at the start of 2012
With the new season almost upon us it’s time to take a fresh look at who F1 Fanatics are supporting in 2012.
We last tallied your support in November last year. Since then F1 Fanatic has amassed over 5,000 active registered users.
Drivers
- Jenson Button remains the most popular driver with almost twice as many supporters as when we last looked at these figures in November last year.
- The three most popular drivers are all British – perhaps unsurprising as 35% of site visits come from the UK. Our second-largest group of users – the 10% from the USA – don’t have a corresponding American driver to cheers on.
- Michael Schumacher has moved up two places to fourth, while Kamui Kobayashi has slipped three places in the list.
- He may have two world championships to his name but Sebastian Vettel ranks only ninth in your affections.
- Kimi Raikkonen wasn’t on the list last year, but now he’s been added he’s instantly received support from almost 200 F1 Fanatics.
- Rookies Jean-Eric Vergne and Charles Pic are yet to gain much in the way of support.
- Jenson Button
- Lewis Hamilton
- 463
- Paul di Resta
- 332
- Michael Schumacher
- 327
- Mark Webber
- 323
- Kamui Kobayashi
- 320
- Fernando Alonso
- 296
- Robert Kubica
- 279
- Sebastian Vettel
- 256
- Heikki Kovalainen
- 236
- Nico Rosberg
- 206
- Kimi Raikkonen
- 198
- Bruno Senna
- 196
- Sergio Perez
- 132
- Felipe Massa
- 131
- Daniel Ricciardo
- 113
- Timo Glock
- 76
- Vitaly Petrov
- 73
- Nico Hulkenberg
- 68
- Pedro de la Rosa
- 27
- Pastor Maldonado
- 26
- Jean-Eric Vergne
- 24
- Narain Karthikeyan
- 23
- Romain Grosjean
- 20
- Charles Pic
- 8
Here’s which of the current drivers have moved up and down since we last looked at who you’re supporting:
| Rank | Change | Supporters | Change | |
| Jenson Button | 1 | = | 638 | +304 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2 | = | 463 | +225 |
| Paul di Resta | 3 | = | 332 | +134 |
| Michael Schumacher | 4 | +2 | 327 | +160 |
| Mark Webber | 5 | = | 323 | +148 |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 6 | -3 | 320 | +122 |
| Fernando Alonso | 7 | +1 | 296 | +154 |
| Robert Kubica | 8 | -1 | 279 | +118 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 9 | = | 256 | +136 |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 10 | -1 | 236 | +116 |
| Nico Rosberg | 11 | = | 206 | +90 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 12 | New | 198 | New |
| Bruno Senna | 13 | -1 | 196 | +83 |
| Sergio Perez | 14 | -1 | 132 | +50 |
| Felipe Massa | 15 | -1 | 131 | +58 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 16 | +2 | 113 | +62 |
| Timo Glock | 17 | +3 | 76 | +41 |
| Vitaly Petrov | 18 | +1 | 73 | +30 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 19 | New | 68 | New |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 20 | +6 | 27 | +17 |
| Pastor Maldonado | 21 | +3 | 26 | +12 |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | 22 | New | 24 | New |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 23 | +5 | 23 | +15 |
| Romain Grosjean | 24 | New | 20 | New |
| Charles Pic | 25 | New | 8 | New |
Teams
- McLaren remain far and away the most popular team with almost twice as many supporters as any other.
- Support is split pretty evenly among the rest of the teams, though Toro Rosso have surprisingly few fans – perhaps a reaction against their cut-throat driver hiring practices?
- McLaren
- 666
- Ferrari
- 314
- Mercedes
- 243
- Red Bull
- 242
- Lotus
- 237
- Sauber
- 201
- Williams
- 200
- Force India
- 188
- Caterham
- 96
- Toro Rosso
- 69
- HRT
- 48
- Marussia
- 13
When you started watching F1
This final graph shows when F1 Fanatics first started following F1.
Unsurprisingly, most have discovered F1 in the last 20 years but there’s a considerable dip in the early 2000s.
| Year | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Number of F1 Fanatics who started watching in this year | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 32 | 19 | 24 | 20 | 48 | 17 | 26 | 20 | 47 | 76 | 58 | 34 | 64 | 63 | 138 | 114 | 82 | 73 | 92 | 73 | 140 | 87 | 125 | 104 | 136 | 55 | 59 | 59 | 67 | 79 | 74 | 147 | 90 | 102 | 78 | 47 | 0 |
Show your support
Want to make sure your driver and team preferences are reflected in these charts? Here’s how to do it:
1. Log in with your F1 Fanatic account. If you’ve not got one, sign up for one here.
2. Go to My Account > Profile > Edit and select F1 teams and drivers.
3. Make your choices and click Save Changes.
Who are you supporting in 2012 – and why? Have your say in the comments.
2012 F1 season preview
- The 2012 F1 season in 20 questions
- Who will win the battle of the team mates in 2012?
- Marussia seeking a lift from last place in 2012
- Another season at the back looms for HRT
- Time for Caterham to join the midfield in 2012
- Williams hoping the only way is up in 2012
- Who’s got the best-looking car in 2012?
- All change at Toro Rosso, the Red Bull kindergarten
- The 2012 rules changes at a glance
- Sauber face tough midfield competition in 2012
Browse the 2012 F1 season preview
Image © Jamey Price/F1 Fanatic
sumedh said on 24th February 2012, 13:19
I can understand why Jenson is so well-liked. He is very smart, very warm towards the media and fans and drives pretty well.
Can’t understand what Lewis and Di Resta are doing so high up. Both talk a lot to the press, mostly immature stuff. One’s driving is seriously bad right now, the other is just starting.
Webber and Perez, these are two drivers I would like to see up there with Jenson. Again, likable characters, smart as well. I hope people have seen the FIA review where Checo pulls a prank on his team during the Japenese Grand Prix
GeorgeTuk (@georgetuk) said on 24th February 2012, 13:23
I must say I like Lewis more than Jenson because I identify with him more especially his recent troubles.
But Jenson has come on leaps and bounds and the more exposure he gets the more friendly he seems.
Paul di Resta is a good driver but just seems so dull. Nice enough but so dull.
Hamilton (@hamiltonjp) said on 24th February 2012, 13:25
Unfortunately, F1 nowadays is full of pay drivers. We’re still waiting for some talented young drivers like Felipe Nasr to create a new impact on the main series of motorsports.
I hope Nasr could join McLaren soon.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 24th February 2012, 13:37
@hamiltonjp We have 6 world champions on the grid this year. You don’t get much more exciting than that!
It seems that half your talent as a rookie is being able to drum up sponsorship.
Mads (@mads) said on 24th February 2012, 13:43
@Hamilton
Who do you classify as a pay driver? I don’t see that many.
Petrov, well maybe, but he has a podium finish. He can’t be all bad.
Maldonardo is GP2 champion. Should be enough to get a seat on merit alone. He brings money as well, but I can’t see him totally unqualified to get a seat.
Senna, despite the fact that I like him, he is probably mostly in F1 for $$$$$ and has yet to prove that he deserves it, if he can.
And then there is Karthikeyan who is a pay driver..
But I don’t think it is nearly as bad as it could be.
I will argue that the first two drivers listed above deserves a seat in F1 of some sort, not great and money surely meant something in their search for a seat, but M. Schumacher paid to get into F1 for the first time as well, so you have to start somewhere.
A pay driver isn’t a new phenomena and in the past we have seen pay drivers so bad that even the worst of the current drivers would seem like Ayrton Senna in comparison.
Hamilton (@hamiltonjp) said on 24th February 2012, 20:33
There are many “species” of pay drivers in F1. Senna is a pay driver, certainly. Maldonado, for sure, is a GP2 champion, but he remains on F1 only because of his $$$ background from Venezuela oil company. In some point, Williams was loooking for Kimi due to atract more sponsors. Petrov is a pay driver.
I know that in some aspects everybody has to pay to enter in F1, but remaining there only because you have money isn’t a good thing for the series.
And yes, i think having six champions on the track is really exciting.
nackavich (@nackavich) said on 24th February 2012, 14:56
I was never really a fan of Vettel after he ran into the back of Webber in the rain in Fuji and Turkey. I appreciate his ability and liked him on Top Gear, but he’s not in my top 5 drivers. Even though Webber & Button are 2 of my favourite drivers (the others being Ricciardo and Kubica), I don’t support Red Bull or McLaren as teams.
I support Lotus and Mercedes, basically because I see them as underdogs in the battle for the constructors title, and I want to see a 5-way battle for the constructors world championship.
Seeing Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus within 30 points of each other by the end of the year would be amazing,
I think it’d be fitting for a season with 6 world champions, not to mention Webber and Rosberg.
SimS said on 24th February 2012, 18:30
Lewis and Vettel.
Ed Marques (@edmarques) said on 24th February 2012, 18:48
I really hope Lewis wins this year. If not him then Vettel or Kimi.
72defender (@72defender) said on 24th February 2012, 19:30
Switching gears here, drivers aside, I feel Mercedes will take the Constructors Title followed by McLaren, RedBull, Force India, Lotus, Ferrari, Sauber, Toro Roso, Williams, Caterham, Marussia and HRT.
Kevin Campos (@kcampos12) said on 25th February 2012, 3:02
I cant see Ferrari being that low. But i do agree with Mercedes being 1 or 2
Kevin Campos (@kcampos12) said on 24th February 2012, 22:37
As always i am supporting my favorite team Williams and my favorite out of the 2 drivers, Bruno Senna.
James (@goodyear92) said on 25th February 2012, 17:27
My driver has to be Lewis. I just love the way he drives always on the edge and always extracting the maximum out of the car. Korea last year is one of my all-time favourite qualifying laps. Sure some of the things he says are abit out of line, I happen to love that outspoken nature though, and I can understand why it might put people off, but I watch for the driving. I could have guessed Button would be number 1, but I’m not a fan. Brundle said it himself, when you watch Jenson’s fast laps, it’s hard to tell them apart from his outlaps. I know it’s just his driving style and it gets him results, but it’s just underwhelming to watch.