Lewis Hamilton in the lead and Max Verstappen fourth in the social ranking of alternative drivers

Lewis Hamilton had to wait for a record eighth Drivers' Championship, dealing with last-lap heartbreak in 2021 before enduring a W13 nightmare this season just ended. But his meteoric popularity remains within the F1 community, as a recent study proves.

Zoomph, a digital measurement platform for social audience intelligence, sponsorship measurement and evaluation, has given F1 fans a glimpse of the most talked about drivers on the grid throughout the 2022 season. Ranked by total social media engagements, Hamilton is still comfortably at the top of the tree. Ranked by total social media engagements, Hamilton is still comfortably at the top of the tree.

In the last F1 campaign, there were 114 million entries, with Charles Leclerc's 88.3 million being the second highest tally. The Mercedes icon had 268 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.07%, far from the highest, but it also topped the charts for impressions (1.9 billion) and social value ( £48.5m).

Back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen is only third in the entry standings, behind Hamilton, Leclerc and, perhaps surprisingly, Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (60.7m). Verstappen had 59.9 million engagements, but his 755 posts were the most of any top 10.

JUST IN: Red Bull's huge FIA bill surfaces after Christian Horner appeal

The Dutchman also finished fourth in impressions with 828.1m, with Hamilton leading, Leclerc second (1.1bn) and Lando Norris replacing Perez - fifth with 719.8m - in third with 837.6m . The McLaren star's successful Twitch streaming account will no doubt contribute to his popularity on social media

Although Verstappen's 7.23% engagement rate is higher than Hamilton's, Pierre Gasly sits atop the top 10 with a whopping 9.63%. In terms of engagement totals, fifth through tenth place: Norris (53.8m), Carlos Sainz 51.1m, George Russell 40.6m, Daniel Ricciardo 37m, Gasly 29.9m and Mick Schumacher 23.3m.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton left Max Verstappen's ally thinking it was 'time to go'

Sports Dec 16, 2022 0 50 Add to Reading List

Lewis Hamilton in the lead and Max Verstappen fourth in the social ranking of alternative drivers

Lewis Hamilton had to wait for a record eighth Drivers' Championship, dealing with last-lap heartbreak in 2021 before enduring a W13 nightmare this season just ended. But his meteoric popularity remains within the F1 community, as a recent study proves.

Zoomph, a digital measurement platform for social audience intelligence, sponsorship measurement and evaluation, has given F1 fans a glimpse of the most talked about drivers on the grid throughout the 2022 season. Ranked by total social media engagements, Hamilton is still comfortably at the top of the tree. Ranked by total social media engagements, Hamilton is still comfortably at the top of the tree.

In the last F1 campaign, there were 114 million entries, with Charles Leclerc's 88.3 million being the second highest tally. The Mercedes icon had 268 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.07%, far from the highest, but it also topped the charts for impressions (1.9 billion) and social value ( £48.5m).

Back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen is only third in the entry standings, behind Hamilton, Leclerc and, perhaps surprisingly, Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (60.7m). Verstappen had 59.9 million engagements, but his 755 posts were the most of any top 10.

JUST IN: Red Bull's huge FIA bill surfaces after Christian Horner appeal

The Dutchman also finished fourth in impressions with 828.1m, with Hamilton leading, Leclerc second (1.1bn) and Lando Norris replacing Perez - fifth with 719.8m - in third with 837.6m . The McLaren star's successful Twitch streaming account will no doubt contribute to his popularity on social media

Although Verstappen's 7.23% engagement rate is higher than Hamilton's, Pierre Gasly sits atop the top 10 with a whopping 9.63%. In terms of engagement totals, fifth through tenth place: Norris (53.8m), Carlos Sainz 51.1m, George Russell 40.6m, Daniel Ricciardo 37m, Gasly 29.9m and Mick Schumacher 23.3m.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton left Max Verstappen's ally thinking it was 'time to go'