The Most Popular F1 Drivers And Teams, According To The Most Recent Poll

Did Your Favorite Racing Team Make The Podium?

In 2024, Formula One was declared the world's most popular yearly sporting series, reaching approximately 750 million people. Most F1 fans have their favorite teams, racers, and even cars. Let's take a trip back to last season's Formula One series and examine fans' favorite drivers and teams of 2024.

The Poll

This poll, known as the Race Fan Census, sampled 2,300 people from 103 countries worldwide, where fans gave their views on their favorite drivers and teams. The results may surprise you. We've rank-ordered them from least to most popular, saving the best till last.

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The Most Popular Teams

Let's review Formula One's most popular teams according to the fans.

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Alpine

Alpine Racing, or "Renault" as they used to be called until 2021, sits firmly at the bottom of the popularity metrics, mostly due to their lack of performance—unable to compete with the top dogs of McLaren, Ferrari, et al, Alpine received just 1% of the popularity contest. That's just 23 people.

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Sauber

The Swiss motorsport company has been a part of Formula One since 1993, having been founded by Peter Sauber that year. Competing under their own name from 1993 till 2005, Sauber was never able to compete with the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, etc, but did place second and third in the Constructors' Championship after being acquired by BMW from 2006. Sauber has yet to win an F1 championship and is tied with Alpine for 1% popularity.

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Haas

Gene Haas, the American racing driver who founded two NASCAR racing teams, created a Formula One team in 2014, the first F1 racing team in American history, known as the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. Money issues, including a $9 million reimbursement for a cancelled contract in 2024 have plagued the team, leading to their huge lack of success and just 2% popularity rating among fans. While still a relatively new team, being American isn't helpful among a Euro-centric fanbase with teams that are decades old.

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Racing Bulls

Shortening their name to RB in 2024, Racing Bulls is an Italian racing team that has been competing in F1 since 2024, but spent 2020-2023 racing under the name Scuderia AlphaTauri. Its two drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, were holdovers from Scuderia Alphatauri. Last year, Racing Bulls' highest finish was eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix. Their popularity is just 3%, with critics arguing they lack "ambition, identity, and personality" and have "the worst team name in F1 history," according to one critic.

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Aston Martin 

Aston Martin has a long and storied history in Formula One, beginning in 1959, when they entered the field with the DBR4, the first open-wheel race car. They rebranded to Force India in 2009 till 2018, but regained popularity in 2021 when they went back to being "Aston Martin" and introduced Canadian powerhouse Lance Stroll. In 2022, Sebastian Vettel joined the team and in 2023, Fernando Alonso was added. 2023 was their most successful year, with five third-place finishes. Despite the star-studded names, Aston Martin received just 5% of the popular vote, according to the polls.

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Mercedes

Mercedes is one of the old guard of F1. Competing (and winning) their first race in 1954 (thanks to Juan Fangio), they have nine F1 championships as a team. Following the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, the team took a 40-year hiatus from F1 racing, returning in 1994. Inconsistency is to be blamed for Mercedes 10% approval rating among fans in 2024.

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Red Bull

Sharing the 10% spoils are Red Bull, owners of Racing Bulls' team. Red Bull Racing entered the Formula One fray in 2005, racing with Ford Cosworth engines, before switching to more powerful Ferrari engines in 2006. They dominated the field in the late 2000s/early 2010s, thanks to Sebastian Vettel, who won four Driver's Championships in a row between 2010 and 2014. Since then, Red Bull's performance has waned, as has their support.

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Williams

Williams Racing is one of the oldest racing teams still active in F1. It was founded by Frank Williams and Patrick Head in 1942, but didn't race in F1 until 1977 at the Spanish Grand Prix. Despite having not won a Driver's nor Constructors' Championship since 1997, they did attract top talent like Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna. Part of the old guard, Williams is even more popular than Mercedes these days, scoring 14% in 2024's popularity ratings.

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Ferrari

Of course, Ferrari was always going to be in the top two. The most dominant F1 team in history, Ferrari's 2024 season was successful, with the team finishing in second place behind McLaren. A lack of scandal and consistent results for over 75 years sees Ferrari as the second-most popular F1 team, receiving 23% of the popularity vote by fans.

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McLaren

McLaren's 2024 season was an excellent one, achieving 666 points and winning the F1 Constructors' Championship, the company's first since 1998. With British star Lando Norris (one of F1's most popular drivers) coming second in the Driver's Championship behind Max Verstappen. Still, Norris' popularity, combined with that of his teammate Oscar Piastri, was enough to make McLaren the most popular team in F1 in 2024, with 28% of the vote.

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The Most Popular Underrated Drivers Of 2024

Fans are clearly on the lookout for the up-and-coming F1 drivers, perhaps those drivers that carry a team on their backs, but because they're not the big names, they don't get the plaudits they deserve. Let's examine the most popular underrated drivers in 2024.

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Lando Norris

People didn't think Lando Norris was underrated. They recognize talent when they see it. Despite not having the most successful year—losing the Driver's Championship to the legendary Max Verstappen—Norris received just 2% of the "underrated driver" vote. However, he more than made up for it in the fan favorites, which we'll come to later.

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Esteban Ocon

Next on our list of the most underrated drivers, Esteban Ocon competes for Haas Racing and is widely appreciated by F1 fans for his aggressive driving style. On the flip side, he was roundly disliked when at Alpine Racing for not accepting the number two spot behind the legendary Fernando Alonso. Around 3% of F1 fans believed Ocon was underrated—presumably, the rest just think he's full of hot air.

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George Russell

One of the newest newcomers to Formula One is Mercedes' George Russell. The 27-year-old driver won three Grand Prix in 2024: the Austrian and Las Vegas ones, but was shockingly disqualified from victory, despite finishing first, at the Belgian Grand Prix because his car was discovered to be underweight. This act doubtlessly hurt his popularity among F1 fans, with around 4% viewing him as being underrated in 2024.

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Pierre Gasly

Competing for Alpine alongside fellow Frenchman Ocon, there were rumors of a rift between the two drivers. Gasly used to race for Scuderia Toro Rosso, making his debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017. A British government polling service, YouGov, put Gasly at 35% popular among contemporary F1 figures, while 2024 data from The Race Fan Census gave him just a 6% rating in the underrated driver category.

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Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish driver who races for Mercedes. In his 12 seasons in F1, he has won 10 Grand Prix and has the most career points without a Driver's Championship at 1,797. Performing at such a high level without winning a championship gives him a 6% underrated rating among F1 fans.

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Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris' teammate at McLaren, the Australian Oscar Piastri is one of the most recent additions to the F1 roster, signing for McLaren in 2023 to partner with Norris. He's already won two Grand Prix in three seasons. He's also the only driver in racing history to win three consecutive championships at different levels of Formula One racing. His success with McLaren brings him 7% of the underrated vote.

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Carlos Sainz

Ferrari's former racer-extraordinaire, Carlos Sainz signed with Toro Rosso in 2015, debuting for the team alongside Max Verstappen. He's won three Grand Prix with Ferrari at Mexico City, Australia, and Singapore. In 2025, he'll join Williams Racing. Despite this, Sainz is hugely underrated, say 13% of F1 fans.

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Nico Hülkenberg 

Nico Hülkenberg is a German F1 driver who debuted in 2010 at the Bahrain Grand Prix with Williams Racing. He currently races for Sauber. Perhaps it's Sauber's unpopularity that's weighing down a great racer. Fans certainly think so. Hülkenberg is the third-most underrated driver in F1, receiving 14% of the vote.

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Alex Abon

Another Williams Racing starlet is Alex Abon, a British-Thai driver competing under the Thai flag, one of just two F1 drivers from Thailand. The other was a Thai prince, Prince Bira, in 1950. Making his debut in 2019, perhaps fans can see the star that's steadily rising in Abon, with 17% of them thinking he's the most underrated driver in the field.

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Yuki Tsunoda

The most underrated F1 driver according to fans is Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese racer who races with Scuderia AlphaTauri made his debut in 2021. Fans must really see something in the 24-year-old driver, as 19% of them think he's the most underrated driver on the track. Time will tell for Yuki Tsunoda.

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The Most Popular Drivers Of 2024

Now, the part we've all been waiting for: The fan favorites of 2024. Let's examine the most popular drivers of the year.

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Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo has the unfortunate position of being the most unpopular in the top 10 drivers of 2024. His lack of success since leaving Red Bull might be partially to blame for this, but he unfortunately scores just 4% in the popularity rankings.

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Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda may be the most underrated driver of 2024, according to fans, but his popularity isn't up there with his "underrated" scores. Mostly because the Japanese driver is largely unknown to the F1 fanbase, he also scores 4% in popularity.

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Alex Abon

Another newcomer falling victim to the "don't know enough about him" curse (probably), is the likeable Thai-Brit, Alex Abon. Abon does score slightly higher than Tsunoda or Ricciardo though, with a 7% popularity rating.

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Max Verstappen

The legendary Max Verstappen has always been a popular figure throughout his career. Winning his first championship on his F1 debut at the age of just 18, Verstappen has a winning personality and a winning racing strategy—clearly, with four championships won in a row between 2021 and 2024. He receives 8% of the popular vote among F1 fans.

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Carlos Sainz

People really love Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari's young upstart with a promising future ahead of him. Despite not having the pedigree (yet) of others in the field, younger fans might be more familiar with Sainz Jr than, say, Max Verstappen or even legendary fellow Ferrari racer, Michael Schumacher. Sainz received 9% of the popular vote.

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Lewis Hamilton

Britain's best Formula One racer in a generation, prior to the arrival of one Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton's career in F1 began in 2007 and he's been consistently winning for almost 20 years. Not afraid to say what he thinks and certainly not afraid of teammate bust-ups, Hamilton scores a 9% approval rating among fans.

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Fernando Alonso

Another racer with a fantastic, winning history is Fernando Alonso. Despite his many heated rivalries throughout the years, Alonso remains hugely popular with the F1 fanbase, particularly in Spain—where he's something of a national hero. Alonso scored 10% of the popular vote in the poll, besting Hamilton, with whom he had an intense rivalry.

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Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris' McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, is well loved among F1 fans. On par with Fernando Alonso after helping McLaren to a storming F1 Constructors' Championship, Piastri received 10% of the popular vote and was the third most popular driver in 2024.

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Charles Leclerc

The Monégasque driver is one of the most exciting F1 prospects since fellow Monégasque driver Louis Chiron. Leclerc is the first Monégasque to win a Formula One race, which he did at the Belgian Grand Prix, and the first Monégasque driver in the modern era to win the Monaco Grand Prix. The third-place finisher for the 2024 F1 Driver's Championship is hugely popular, receiving 11% of the popular vote, bested only by...

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Lando Norris

That's right. Lando Norris. Britain's next Lewis Hamilton. Born in Bristol, England, Norris made his F1 debut at the age of 20, joining McLaren for the 2019 F1 season. He achieved a podium finish at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix and has won four Grand Prix in seven seasons.

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Other Important Statistics

Let's go over some other important statistics from the 2024 season, showcasing the extreme popularity of one of the world's greatest forms of motorsport. Formula One is nearly 75 years old and just as popular as ever.

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Great Britain Saw The Most Fans Attend F1 Races

To no one's surprise, Great Britain saw the most fans in attendance at F1 races, with 480,000 total attendees for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit in Towcester, England. It hosted the first ever Grand Prix in 1948.

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Australia Achieved Record Attendance For The Country

Among countries where F1 is less popular, Australia performed fantastically, bringing in 432,000 supporters for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

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Total Attendance Grew By 1 Million In Two Years

While many F1 fans were cautious in 2021, following the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the 2022 season saw 5.73 million race attendees globally, with that number ballooning by nearly 1 million people to 6.53 million in 2024.

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The US Is An Emerging F1 Market

Gone are the days when Europe and Asia ruled the F1 market roosts. The Miami Grand Prix absorbed a staggering 3.1 million viewers, almost 2 million more viewers than the entire country of Spain.

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A Problem At The Top Of Formula One

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is the President of the FIA, or Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Formula One's governing body. He's a former racing driver from Dubai who raced in the World Rally Championship. In December 2021, he was made President of the FIA—and then the problems started. 

In 2023, he was placed under investigation by the FIA for interfering with Saudi Arabia's Grand Prix and allegedly blocking the certification of an F1 circuit in Las Vegas. He was cleared of both allegations. According to Sky Sports, the Emirati President is now seeking a rule change at the FIA that would make him personally responsible for judging the merits of all ethical complaints against the FIA, including those against himself.

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Sources:

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