F1's biggest stars are cashing in on millions of fake followers on Instagram, with Lewis Hamilton pocketing a staggering £27,924 per sponsored post from his army of 11.6 million bot accounts.
Despite a challenging debut season at Ferrari with no podiums to his name, Hamilton's social media empire remains unmatched.
The seven-time world champion boasts 41.6 million Instagram followers, more than double Charles Leclerc's 21.2 million, but analysis by Fanatix reveals that almost 28% of his followers are fake accounts.
This translates to an eye-watering £100,302 per Instagram post for Hamilton, with over a quarter of that sum – £27,924 – coming directly from his phantom fanbase.
To put this in perspective, the average UK worker would need to toil for 2,287 hours, equivalent to 14 months of full-time work, to earn what Hamilton makes from bots alone on a single sponsored post.
Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc ranks second in the fake follower earnings table, potentially raking in £8,143 per post from his 3.37 million bot accounts.
Despite having one of the lowest proportions of fake followers among top drivers at 15.93%, the Monegasque driver's massive following still nets him significant bot-generated income.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, F1's highest-paid driver with his £52 million Red Bull contract, sits third with £7,502 per post from fake followers.
The Dutchman's 16.7 million Instagram following includes 18.63% bot accounts, adding to his already jaw-dropping annual earnings.
Carlos Sainz, now at Williams, completes the top four with nearly 22% of his 12.1 million followers flagged as fake. The Spaniard could be earning £6,416 per post from his 2.66 million bot army alone.
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Fernando Alonso holds the dubious honour of having F1's highest proportion of fake followers. More than one in three of the two-time champion's 7.6 million Instagram followers – 34.55% – are bots, translating to approximately 2.63 million phantom fans boosting his estimated earnings by £6,331 per post.
The Aston Martin driver's bot percentage dwarfs even McLaren's official team account, which leads all F1 teams with 28.98% fake followers among its 16.2 million total following.
The Woking squad tops the fake follower charts among F1 teams, with almost 29% of its 16.2 million followers identified as bots.
Williams Racing (27.17%), Racing Bulls (26.95%) and Aston Martin (26.66%) aren't far behind, each battling over a quarter of their followers being flagged as fake.
Red Bull maintains the cleanest following despite having F1's largest team presence at 30.7 million followers; only 23.10% of their fanbase consists of bots, suggesting more authentic audience engagement.
Check out the top 10 drivers earning the most from fake followers below!
Top 10 F1 Drivers Earning the Most from Fake Followers
| Rank | Driver | Fake Followers | % Fake | Earnings per post | Earnings from Fake Followers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 11,581,440 | 27.84% | £100,302 | £27,924 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | 3,377,169 | 15.93% | £51,120 | £8,143 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 3,111,210 | 18.63% | £40,268 | £7,502 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | 2,660,790 | 21.99% | £29,177 | £6,416 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | 2,625,800 | 34.55% | £18,324 | £6,331 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | 1,779,970 | 16.33% | £26,289 | £4,293 |
| 7 | George Russell | 1,656,800 | 21.80% | 21.80% | £3,995 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | 1,323,960 | 22.44% | £14,225 | £3,192 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | 975,150 | 17.73% | £13,267 | £2,352 |
| 10 | Franco Colapinto | 767,550 | 15.05% | £12,304 | £1,852 |
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