After Formula One finally held its first Grand Prix of 2020 on 5th July, Hookit's monthly data deep dive takes a look at the social media ecosystem of the global motorsport series, including its teams and drivers.
Firstly, BlackBook's official data partner looks at the value generated by the various social media accounts associated directly or indirectly with Formula One during the first half of the year, when there were no official races. Then, Hookit assesses each race weekend, looking at data from the day before to the day after racing.
Overall observations
- The cumulative brand value generated by drivers, teams, and Formula One series on social added up to US$172 million through 20th July 2020
- Eight brands received at least US$5 million in value from the Formula One ecosystem (including the series, teams and drivers)
- Red Bull was the top brand by value received at over US$17 million, nearly 80 per cent more value than the second place brand Mercedes-Benz
- The top ten brands in the F1 ecosystem by value are:
| Brand | Number of posts about that brand | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Red Bull | 2,106 | US$17.4 million |
| Mercedes-Benz | 1,904 | US$9.8 million |
| Petronas | 1,858 | US$9.7 million |
| Pirelli | 995 | US$9.1 million |
| McLaren | 1,396 | US$9.1 million |
| Emirates | 287 |
US$6 million |
| Ferrari | 1,030 | US5.8 million |
| Renault | 1,647 | US$5.4 million |
| Rolex | 589 | US$4.9 million |
| DHL | 329 | US$4 million |
First half of the year with no racing (1st January to 1st July)
- Formula One the series drove the majority of the value at US$85 million
- The top three teams by value generated were Red Bull (US$10 million), Mercedes (US$8 million) and Ferrari (US$4 million)
- The top three drivers by value generated were Lewis Hamilton (US$3.6 million), Daniel Ricciardo (US$1.6 million) and Lando Norris (US$1.4 million)
- Daniel Ricciardo averaged the highest value per branded post, driving nearly US$30,000 per post
- Lance Stroll promoted the fewest brands (3) of any driver or team in Formula One
Round one (2nd to 6th July)
- During the first racing weekend of the year for Formule One, brands received US$13 million in value from social promotion by drivers, teams, and the series itself
- Formula One's own accounts posted 296 times including brand promotion, driving US$9.7 million in brand value over the race weekend
- While Valtteri Bottas stood atop the podium, he finished fourth in most value generated for brands (US$175,000) among drivers behind Lewis Hamilton (US$330,000), Lando Norris (US$270, 000) and Max Verstappen (US$190,000)
- Automotive manufacturing brands earned the largest portion of that value at US$3.4 million followed by oil and gas companies (US$1.7 million) and watch brands (US$1.3 million)
Round two (9th to 13th July)
- During Formula One's second Grand Prix of 2020, brands got nearly the same amount of value (US$13 million) from social promotion
- Automotive manufacturing brand value fell by 26 per cent, but still earned the highest portion of value at US$2.5 million. Beverage brands entered the top three with US$1.6 million in value driven, while watch brands fell to fifth as a category
- Tyre brands saw a 70 per cent increase in value from round one to round two, jumping to fourth place among all segments by value received at US$1.5 million
- Formula One again drove the most value at US$9 million, followed by Red Bull Racing (US$1 million) and Lewis Hamilton (US$420,000)
Round three (16th to 20th July)
- Round three value stayed the same as the past two, coming in again at US$13 million
- While Automotive OEMs kept the top spot with US$2.6 million in value, value for tyre brands fell 62 per cent from round two, down to US$560,000
- Watch brands (up 46 per cent), apparel brands (up 117 per cent), consumer goods (up 51 per cent), and telecommunications brands (up 403 per cent) all saw significant jumps in driven value in round three compared to the previous Grand Prix
- Mercedes ($570,000) edged out Red Bull ($540,000) for the top team in terms of value generated
- Formula One led the field again, beating out the previous rounds in terms of value generated on social at US$10.3 million (80 per cent of the total value generated)
- The top three drivers by value were Lewis Hamilton (US$276,000), Max Verstappen (US$185,000) and Lando Norris (US$132,000)
- The cumulative brand value generated by drivers, teams and Formula One itself on social amounted to US$114 million during the first six months of 2020