Formula 1 witnesses a fall in social media growth due to Red Bull’s dominance in 2023

Max Verstappen's 2023 season has led to a decline in F1's growth on social media.

Formula 1 witnesses a fall in social media growth due to Red Bull’s dominance in 2023

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Formula 1 has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. The sport has had millions of new fans watching races in the past few years. However, there were concerns that Max Verstappen and Red Bull‘s historic domination would hinder F1’s growth in 2023. Now, it turns out that the pinnacle of motorsport has suffered a drop in its social media engagements.

As per an analysis by Buzz Radar, Formula 1 has gone through a decline in mentions on social media this year. Firstly, the study suggests that the 2021 season led to a massive rise in F1’s reach courtesy of the championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The new regulations in the following year led to the sport reaching its peak in terms of interest in 2022.

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Buzz Radar did an in-depth analysis including AI data to look over Formula 1’s engagement on social media over the past decade. As it stands, the sport has seen its first major drop in interest in the past few years. So much so, that a massive 70.2% fall in mentions was seen in the first five months of this season compared to the numbers from 2022.

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The report stated, “The comparison of data between 2022 and 2023 revealed significant declines in the overall mentions of F1, along with disheartening numbers in the growth of new account followers.”

202120222023
Mentions3.19M6.14M1.83M
Followers624.27K911.15K489.37K
Social Reach35.63B61.73B22.16B

Also Read: Adrian Newey explains Max Verstappen’s frequent Red Bull teammate change, calls Gasly and Albon ‘not quite at that level’

More fans on social media are using negative adjectives for F1

Moreover, Formula 1 saw a 49.29% decline in terms of new followers. However, this drop does not stop just with the numbers. Buzz Radar revealed that more users are now labeling the sport with more negative terms such as ‘boring’ and ‘annoying’. Max Verstappen and Red Bull annihilated the competition. These terms are seen to be replacements for positive adjectives such as ‘exciting’ and ‘interesting.’

Max Verstappen heads out of the garage at the Japanese GP
Max Verstappen heads out of the garage at the Japanese GP (Credits: @sultanesian/Twitter)

Buzz Radar reported, “The social data of 2023 also allowed us to understand a fundamental change in conversations on F1: an evident surge in the use of negative adjectives associated with this sport. Words like ‘boring’ and ‘annoying’ are becoming high-frequency descriptors, replacing once positive words like ‘interesting’ and ‘exciting’.”

The analysis mentioned that it was 2016 that was the most popular season before being overtaken by 2021. 2016 saw one of the most iconic teammate rivalries in the sport’s history with Lewis Hamilton battling it out with Nico Rosberg. Eventually, it was Rosberg who emerged victorious at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

As such, Formula 1 is said to be in another decline in terms of growth on social media. The sport will have to wait until another team can truly challenge Red Bull in the future. It seems that F1 can regain its growth only when a driver can put an end to Max Verstappen’s historic dominance. Although, the sport has continued its efforts to gain new fans throughout this year as well.

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