Formula 1 conversation accelerates on Twitter

Formula 1 conversation has been revving up on Twitter, with the sport taking on a new lease of life as fans flock to their feeds for insights and action. With high octane action on the track and the chance to binge behind the scenes drama on Netflix – F1 fandom is on fire.

With the 2022 season about to get underway in Bahrain, the Twitter buzz is set to accelerate even further. Following the twists and turns of last season’s showdown in Abu Dhabi where Max Verstappen (@max33verstappen) claimed his first World Championship, all eyes will be on his front-row rivalry with Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton).

Uniting Twitter Fans Around the World

Globally, there were 71 million Tweets about F1 in 2021, a massive 64% increase on 2020. The world’s most prestigious racing competition is attracting a young audience too with 65% of those Tweeting under the age of 35. 30% of authors were female – a solid 2 million women sharing their passion for the sport on Twitter¹.

The dramatic climax of last season in Abu Dhabi, ignited a wave of engagement on Twitter, racking up over 4.8 million Tweets in just one day, and securing its place as 2021’s highest daily F1 Tweet volume by a factor of 3. But it didn’t end there, the conversation continued with a further 1 million Tweets the next day, as fans digested the action².

As the home of several high profile F1 teams, it’s probably not surprising that the UK hosts one of Europe’s biggest F1 fan bases. More than half of all F1 fans in the UK use Twitter to share in the thrills and spills of the F1 season³. Out of 8.7 million F1 Tweets from the UK last year, the nation’s top emojis revealed the joy , support , comradery , love of the sport and belief in their F1 heroes.⁴

While @F1 drove the most mentions in the UK the top handles reveal the battle for the finish line with @lewishamilton and @max33verstappen going head-to-head – and @mercedesamgf1 and @georgerussell63 weren’t far behind⁴. Of course the season’s much talked about final showpiece was also the most Tweeted about race in the UK, with almost three quarters of a million Tweets on the day of the Abu Dhabi GP in the UK alone⁵.

Driving Twitter Fandom with a Netflix Favourite

The F1 fanbase is vast, global and diverse. The sport’s official handle, @F1, boasts over 7.1 million followers globally and over 1 million of those are in the UK. Their diversity is reflected by their interests, which span the full spectrum from entertainment to politics, including football, music gaming and television.⁶

As fans revel in a brand new season of Netflix’s F1 extravaganza, ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ – it’s impossible to discount its impact on F1 fandom. In 2021 Twitter conversations around the series rose 141% over the previous year, and we’ve seen that trend continue in 2022, almost 4 times more Tweets in the first six weeks of 2022, compared to the build up to 2021’s season launch. Providing new fans with an inside look at the F1 drama, the number of unique authors more than doubled, growing by 129%, showing the growth in interest around the world. The conversation had quite a young skew too, with 82% of authors under the age of 35.⁷

As we prepare for the lights to go out in Bahrain, we're expecting the F1 conversation on Twitter to continue to accelerate. As the fanbase grows, there’s no better time for brands to buckle up and join the F1 conversation.