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In Formula 1, the significance of social media has boomed, particularly since Netflix's docu-series Drive to Survive was first released.

It has introduced a younger audience to F1, increasing the need for drivers to have a strong following. This is due to F1's younger fans absorbing and turning to social media for content.

Teams have increased their presence on social media dramatically in recent years, recognising the importance of engaging with their younger audience.

For Ferrari, life is simple, as Lewis Hamilton is comfortably the most followed F1 driver on Instagram.

Hamilton obliterates the grid with his 41.5 million followers, double the number of the next most-followed driver in the championship.

That driver is Charles Leclerc, who has an Instagram following of 20.9 million. While Max Verstappen completes the top three, the Dutchman has almost 25 million fewer followers than Hamilton – the four-time world champion boasts 16.6 million followers.

At the bottom is both Racing Bulls drivers. Liam Lawson has the fewest Instagram followers on the grid with a following of 1.2 million, slightly less than Isack Hadjar with 1.4 million.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll tops the bottom three, as a result of the Candian having 1.6 million followers on Instagram.

Check out the full table below, with each driver's following rounded to the nearest hundred thousand!

Lewis Hamilton obliterates F1 rivals in online battleground
Pos.	Driver	Team	No. IG followers
1	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	41,500,000
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	20,900,000
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	16,600,000
4	Carlos Sainz	Williams	12,100,000
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	10,800,000
6	George Russell	Mercedes	7,600,000
7	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	7,600,000
8	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	5,900,000
9	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	5,500,000
10	Franco Colapinto	Williams	5,000,000
11	Alex Albon	Williams	3,900,000
12	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull	3,800,000
13	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	3,600,000
14	Oliver Bearman	Haas	3,300,000
15	Esteban Ocon	Haas	2,800,000
16	Nico Hulkenberg	Stake F1	2,700,000
17	Gabriel Bortoleto	Stake F1	1,800,000
18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1,600,000
19	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	1,400,000
20	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1,200,000

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Sam Coop, Fergal Walsh and Nick Golding, as they look back on last weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix. Lando Norris' crushing victory is a lead talking point, as is Max Verstappen keeping himself firmly in title contention.

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