Button first to 1,000 supporters on F1 Fanatic
2012 F1 season
Since F1 Fanatic introduced the ability to pick your favourite drivers and teams, one driver has led the way.
Now Jenson Button has become the first to pass the milestone 1,000 fans on F1 Fanatic – just under one-eighth of the 8,100 active members on the site.
Lewis Hamilton is second ahead of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber. McLaren remain the most popular of the teams.
Button also has the most followers on Twitter out of the active Formula 1 drivers.
With that in mind, let’s take a fresh look at who’s hot and who’s not on the site – and, for the first time, whether those popularity trends are reflected on a much bigger social network.
Most popular drivers on F1 Fanatic
- Jenson Button
- Lewis Hamilton
- 750
- Michael Schumacher
- 530
- Kimi Raikkonen
- 524
- Mark Webber
- 493
- Fernando Alonso
- 471
- Paul di Resta
- 449
- Kamui Kobayashi
- 441
- Sebastian Vettel
- 392
- Robert Kubica
- 366
- Heikki Kovalainen
- 312
- Nico Rosberg
- 301
- Bruno Senna
- 280
- Sergio Perez
- 220
- Felipe Massa
- 174
- Daniel Ricciardo
- 171
- Nico Hulkenberg
- 133
- Vitaly Petrov
- 101
- Timo Glock
- 97
- Romain Grosjean
- 94
- Pastor Maldonado
- 51
- Jean-Eric Vergne
- 49
- Pedro de la Rosa
- 35
- Narain Karthikeyan
- 35
- Charles Pic
- 17
Notes on the most popular drivers:
- The McLaren drivers remain the most popular duo on the grid, though Button has one-third more supporters than Hamilton
- Comeback champions Schumacher and Raikkonen have moved up to third and fourth – the latter gaining eight places since the start of the season
- Alonso has also gained a place but Di Resta has dropped from third to seventh
- The new winners of 2012 are yet to break into the top ten – Rosberg 12th and Maldonado 21st
| Driver | Supporters | Rank | Change |
| Jenson Button | 1006 | 1 | = |
| Lewis Hamilton | 750 | 2 | = |
| Michael Schumacher | 530 | 3 | +1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 524 | 4 | +8 |
| Mark Webber | 493 | 5 | = |
| Fernando Alonso | 471 | 6 | +1 |
| Paul di Resta | 449 | 7 | -4 |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 441 | 8 | -2 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 392 | 9 | = |
| Robert Kubica | 366 | 10 | -2 |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 312 | 11 | -1 |
| Nico Rosberg | 301 | 12 | -1 |
| Bruno Senna | 280 | 13 | = |
| Sergio Perez | 220 | 14 | = |
| Felipe Massa | 174 | 15 | = |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 171 | 16 | = |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 133 | 17 | +2 |
| Vitaly Petrov | 101 | 18 | = |
| Timo Glock | 97 | 19 | -2 |
| Romain Grosjean | 94 | 20 | +4 |
| Pastor Maldonado | 51 | 21 | = |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | 49 | 22 | = |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 35 | 24 | -4 |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 35 | 24 | -1 |
| Charles Pic | 17 | 26 | -1 |
Most popular drivers: F1 Fanatic vs Twitter
| Driver | Jenson Button | Lewis Hamilton | Michael Schumacher | Kimi Raikkonen | Mark Webber | Fernando Alonso | Paul di Resta | Kamui Kobayashi | Sebastian Vettel | Robert Kubica | Heikki Kovalainen | Nico Rosberg | Bruno Senna | Sergio Perez | Felipe Massa | Daniel Ricciardo | Nico Hulkenberg | Vitaly Petrov | Timo Glock | Romain Grosjean | Pastor Maldonado | Jean-Eric Vergne | Pedro de la Rosa | Narain Karthikeyan | Charles Pic | |
| F1 Fanatic supporters | 1006 | 750 | 530 | 524 | 493 | 471 | 449 | 441 | 392 | 366 | 312 | 301 | 280 | 220 | 174 | 171 | 133 | 101 | 97 | 94 | 51 | 49 | 35 | 35 | 17 | |
| Twitter followers (000s) | 941.504 | 808.251 | 331.861 | 529.862 | 117.294 | 51.409 | 145.445 | 153.639 | 407.143 | 190.605 | 87.162 | 26.26 | 66.76 | 70.967 | 68.491 | 40.728 | 190.498 | 19.344 | 129.095 | 102.31 | 11.479 |
Notes on F1 driver popularity on F1 Fanatic and Twitter:
- The popularity of F1 drivers on Twitter compared to F1 Fanatic has much in common. The most striking difference is that the midfield drivers generally have proportionally less support, with some significant exceptions (Senna, Maldonado).
- Button and Hamilton are the most followed F1 drivers Twitter – at least now that Barrichello, with 1.6 million supporters, has gone to IndyCar.
- Not all F1 drivers are on Twitter so there’s no data for Schumacher, Raikkonen, Vettel and Kubica.
- How long a driver has been using Twitter for and what languages they Tweet in will have an effect on their follower count. Alonso has picked up over half a million followers since joining Twitter in March.
- For a list of official F1 drivers and teams Twitter accounts see the F1 Twitter directory
Most popular teams on F1 Fanatic
- McLaren
- 1083
- Ferrari
- 481
- Mercedes
- 406
- Lotus
- 397
- Red Bull
- 388
- Williams
- 322
- Sauber
- 291
- Force India
- 278
- Caterham
- 216
- Toro Rosso
- 102
- HRT
- 61
- Marussia
- 39
Notes on the most popular teams:
- McLaren remain the most popular team
- Success alone doesn’t seem to breed popularity: Red Bull are fifth following their back-to-back championships in the last two years
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.
2012 F1 season
- 2012 F1 season Blu-Ray “Victorious Vettel” reviewed
- 2012 F1 season DVD “Victorious Vettel” reviewed
- New team radio reveals Vettel’s penalty protests
- The complete F1 Fanatic 2012 season review
- What F1 Fanatics thought of 2012: The year in polls
Browse all 2012 F1 season articles
Image © McLaren/Hoch Zwei
Girts (@girts) said on 22nd May 2012, 12:07
Anyone who believes that Button complains / whines too much, should listen to Kurt Busch’s outburst at a recent NASCAR race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_8LsVfFxc
peteleeuk (@peteleeuk) said on 22nd May 2012, 14:35
I tell you what, why don’t we all bang on about the F1F result only being because this is a British site and ignore the fact this bit of fun matches very closely with the very unBritish and totally international Twitter follower stats, shall we?
If you don’t agree with the masses it does not make you right and everyone else wrong. Regardless of what you think if him as a driver (and I think he is awesome and still underrated by many), I think Button comes across a s a thoroughly down to earth, likeable and accessible chap – I’m going to guess that is why he is so many peoples favourite.