Hey friends!

Welcome to Part Two of my deep dive into fan engagement in the Formula 1 social media sphere. In case you missed it, Part One was an overview of the social landscape, and Part Three will be an exploration of how teams are using social tone and the “admin” persona to build relationships with their fans.

But right now we’re in Part Two: a look at how teams are using WhatsApp and/or Instagram Broadcast channels to share information and build relationships with fans.

At over 3,000 words, this is a bit of a long one, so feel free to use the buttons below to jump to the sections that most interest you (or join me over on LinkedIn where I’ll be sharing a condensed version in the near future!).

Jump to:

• Some notes on data

• WhatsApp Channels

  • Teams

• Instagram Broadcast Channels

  • Teams

• Further thoughts

Some notes on data

Before we get into the fun stuff, a few points on the data that I’m using.

Dates

The content analysed is a snapshot shared by the teams who had active accounts on these platforms between Monday, 9th June and Tuesday, 17th June 2025 (the Canadian Grand Prix race week, plus an extra two days to cover the NYC premiere of the F1 movie). Final snapshots of followers and post reactions were taken on Friday, 20th June 2025.

Data collection

As always, I manually collected all of my data by checking each channel twice a day and taking screenshots of new posts. When counting posts, I classified each post that fans were able to react to as its own entity, even if they were technically an image and its caption.

Calculating Engagement

When looking at engagement, both platforms make the number of post reactions visible (although on Instagram you do need to do some adding up - WhatsApp makes it much simpler!). I then averaged that number across all posts during the period, and used that average to calculate an engagement rate based on their number of channel subscribers (reactions/subscribers*100).

Instagram also shares the number of people who have “seen” the last post in a broadcast channel, so using that, I was also able to calculate an engagement rate based on those who had “seen” the post for Haas and Aston Martin. When I was collecting the data for Williams, I forgot to grab the seen number when calculating the reactions, and didn’t realise until a few days later. This would have skewed the data in comparison to the other two teams, so unfortunately we’re missing that data point. As you’ll see further down, I couldn’t do this for McLaren and Sauber as neither team posted to their channel during the period.

Survey Data

This post also includes data from a survey I shared, inviting fans to add their thoughts. I received 35 anonymous responses, with 34 including legitimate information. The questions were not compulsory, so response numbers varied by section. The number of respondents to individual questions has been noted in the caption of the relevant graph.

While we cannot take this data as any kind of representative sample, the responses contribute to our understanding of how fans engage with the accounts.

WhatsApp Channels

Background

WhatsApp Channels were rolled out as a global feature from September 2023. These channels live within a separate part of the app to your regular conversations, however, the selling point to organisations is that you’re reaching fans directly in a more “personal” space than other forms of social media.

Within F1, Mercedes were an early adopter of the feature, two months before launching their official partnership with the platform in November 2023. In the almost two years since the feature became available, we have seen a total of five F1 teams sign up, with the most recent being Williams in January of this year (the other three teams - Alpine, Aston Martin and Red Bull).

Teams

Alpine

Channel started: 26th June 2024

Members: 128.3K

Posts during period: 25

Unique Posts: 0

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: 898 (0.7%)

Notes: Alpine made good use of their WhatsApp channel during my observation period, however, all of the content shared could be found across their other social channels. Alpine have previously claimed their channel would include “exclusive content not seen on any other channels”, but that wasn’t true this particular week.

That said, they do have the highest reaction-based engagement rate out of all of the teams on WhatsApp, so even though it’s still sub-1%, fans are engaging to an extent.

Aston Martin

Channel started: 11th September 2023

Members: 210.7K

Posts during period: 0 (last post 2nd June 2025)

Unique Posts: N/A

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: N/A

Notes: While Mercedes got all of the buzz for the early adoption of their WhatsApp channel, Aston Martin actually started theirs on the very same day. That said, their early start has not translated into continued use.

I joined the channel towards the end of February, and they have posted just 40 times since the 25th of that month (with no posts during my nine-day observation period). Considering Mercedes posted 68 times during this period, it’s clear Aston Martin do not see WhatsApp as a priority channel.

Mercedes

Channel started: 11th September 2023

Members: 6.1mil

Posts during period: 68

Unique Posts: Multiple, including live race updates that differed from those shared on Twitter and Threads.

Interactivity: Polls used - one with 18,500 responses, another with 20,000 responses.

Avg. Engagement: 1,954 (0.03%) (0.3% for polls)

Notes: Mercedes shared the highest number of posts during my observation period, and were also the only team to use an interactive feature, as well as live-post during the race.

Their use of polls provides an interesting data point, as it shows 10 times the engagement of their other posts.

It’s important to remember that Mercedes are sponsored by WhatsApp, and so their additional effort is very likely contractually obligated. It’s been a very effective partnership, but sponsorship dollars can bring a lot to the table in terms of resourcing and ability to commit time to a channel that those without such a collab lack. But still, it gives an idea of how other teams could be using their channels, should they have the capacity.

This is a side note, but I do have a few questions about how Mercedes reached 6.1 million followers on WhatsApp, given the next closest team hasn’t even cracked half a million. I’m guessing their sponsorship really raised awareness and conversion in a way the other non-sponsored teams haven’t been able to manage, but it’s almost a Spiders Georg level of outlier when looking at these channels.

Red Bull

Channel started: 10th September 2024

Members: 415.5K

Posts during period: 12

Unique Posts: 0. Images shared were all posted across other social channels, however, some of the accompanying text was changed in minor ways.

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: 1,611 (0.3%)

Notes: When Red Bull launched their WhatsApp channel, they claimed it would be filled with “exclusive moments”, but the reality, much like most other teams, is that it’s the same content recycled from their existing social channels.

Yes, captions are changed, but that’s not the same as unique content or exclusive posts.

While Red Bull have the second-highest follower count out of the teams using WhatsApp, their engagement rate is quite low, perhaps reflecting the fact fans have likely already seen the content they’re sharing on other channels.

Williams

Channel started: 2nd January 2025

Members: 123.3K

Posts during period: 22

Unique Posts: 0

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: 596 (0.48%)

Notes: Williams have managed decent growth since they launched their WhatsApp channel in January (almost matching the subscriber count of Alpine who launched six months before them). Like most other teams, they’re not using the channel for exclusive content, but rather are sharing the same assets used across their other social channels.

From the survey

On the role of WhatsApp: “I don't feel whatsapp channels provide enough engagement or value to a brand the way other platforms do”

“I followed the Mercedes one for a time but it was the absolute biggest waste of a follow ever. I am no longer on the channel, but at the time there was little info/content and there seemed to be no purpose. I’m not sure what the answer is for WhatsApp channels, but it feels no different than the Instagram broadcast channels, and those are no different than a combo between the regular Instagram and threads feeds with a voice memo thrown in.”

On the brand/private division of chat channels: “Social media is difficult enough with so many platforms, I choose to keep WhatsApp clear for friends and family instead.”

“I don’t use it. Firstly cause my team doesn’t have one. Secondly, cause I don’t think I NEED another place to engage with a team, specially on a platform I mostly use to communicate with people I know in my day to day”

Instagram Broadcast Channels

Background

Instagram Broadcast Channels were initially announced as a feature in February 2023, spreading to the US in June of that year, and then the UK in September.

While every F1 team has an Instagram account, only five have added a broadcast channel to the mix: Aston Martin, Haas, McLaren, Sauber and Williams (Aston was the first to join in March 2024).

Teams

Aston Martin

Channel name: Aston Martin Aramco

Channel started: 5th March 2024

Members: 138K (2.8% of total insta followers)

Posts during period: 6

Unique Posts: 1 - race day prompt to send messages of support to the team (this may have been shared to their Insta stories, but I wasn’t able to confirm this at the time).

Interactivity: Aston Martin were the only team to use the prompt feature during this period, where they asked fans to send race day messages of encouragement. This prompt had an engagement rate of 0.59%.

“Seen” rate: 41%

Avg. Engagement (followers): 2,919 (2.11%).

Avg. Engagement (seen): 7.47%

Notes: While Aston Martin seem to have given up on their WhatsApp channel, they are still posting to their Instagram Broadcast channel…although most of their posts are direct re-shares from their Instagram feed. They were the only team who took this approach, and honestly, it makes the channel feel like a box-ticking afterthought.

Haas

Channel name: Behind the Bearcon

Channel started: 17th February 2025

Members: 43K (1.3% of total insta followers)

Posts during period: 4

Unique Posts: 4

Interactivity: N/A

“Seen” rate: 61.62%

Avg. Engagement (followers): 2,505 (5.8%)

Avg. Engagement (seen): 7.4%

Notes: Haas have one of the smaller channels on the grid, however, they are the only team who share 100% unique content. They only posted a couple of times during this period, but it was nice to see some content that hadn’t already been featured elsewhere on their socials.

McLaren

Channel name: Chat of Champions; Papaya Family (from 10th March 2025)

Channel started: 9th December 2024

Members: 410.9K (2.7% of total insta followers)

Last Post: 28th April

Posts during period: 0

Unique Posts: N/A

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: N/A

Notes: McLaren started their Instagram broadcast channel immediately following their World Constructor’s Championship win in December 2024. At first, it was quite active, however, six months later, it seems the channel is abandoned. As noted above, the last post from McLaren to the channel was at the end of April, which is a shame as they had amassed over 400,000 followers and were using a wide range of features to engage with their fans. I’d love to know why they seemed to go all-in only to then abruptly stop, but I’m assuming it comes down to resourcing issues.

Sauber

Channel name: The Stakeout

Channel started: 11th February 2025

Members: 29.4K (1.05% of total insta followers)

Last Post: 5th May 2025

Posts during period: 0

Unique Posts: N/A

Interactivity: N/A

Avg. Engagement: N/A

Notes: Like McLaren, Sauber seem to have given up on their Instagram broadcast channel experiment less than halfway through the season. They haven’t shared an update in almost two months, despite an enthusiastic start to the platform.

Sauber’s early content was some of the more “exclusive” on the grid, and it’s a shame to see it stop, especially as they have limited other touch-points to truly engage with their fans.

Williams

Channel name: Admin’s Camera Roll

Channel started: 29th January 2025

Members: 124.4K (2.8% of total insta followers)

Posts during period: 7

Unique Posts: 0…ish

Interactivity: 0

“Seen” rate: 60.45%

Avg. Engagement (followers): 4,474 (3.6%)

Notes: Williams were the only team who actively used both their WhatsApp and Instagram Broadcast Channels during the period of observation, and there was a clear difference in the strategy of the two channels which I appreciated.

The name of the Williams channel reflects its theme, with “Admin’s Camera Roll” meaning they don’t post any designed graphics or posts directly from their Instagram feed. That being said, it doesn't take much detective work to find the exact same pictures (or near identical versions as was the case in some video stills shared) on their other platforms. This strategy really leans into the potential of Instagram Broadcast Channels…but still stumbles as the content isn’t quite unique or BTS enough. Still, it’s a start!

From the survey

On channel purpose: “I think broadcast channels fall flat for teams and brands, but they are a great idea for drivers. Lando and McLaren had the right idea with voice memos, but that can’t be all you send, and a simple “hello” is boring. The content needs to be genuinely exclusive, otherwise why am I here?”

On channel use: “Feels like lots of teams made them and then they basically got abandoned or are mostly forgotten about. Teams also need to be more clear on their goals for the channel, sometimes it feels like the bounce back and forth between being a silly little group chat and a full on business/promotional/professional announcement page.”

On what fans want to see: “They have to be used as a “plus” from the content posted in the feed. They also need to be used to enhance the feeling of closeness”.

Further thoughts

I’ll give teams the benefit of the doubt and believe that they honestly created these channels with the intention of them offering something different for fans. However, we can very clearly see that they have become de-prioritised within the wider social strategies and fan engagement efforts.

As I always say, I am very aware that marketing teams are stretched thin, and are increasingly asked to do more, more, more with extremely limited resources (and are often working with talent who are sick of being asked to participate).

But the question remains: how could – and should – these channels be used?

Some lessons from football

Scott Goodacre has written a fair bit about how football (soccer) clubs are using WhatsApp channels.

In addition to the longer post from 2023 that I’ve linked above, he also provides regular updates on Twitter about how football teams are using WhatsApp as a communication channel. Some of these include teams using their channels specifically for match-day guidance (and here), creating channels for educational off-pitch activities, providing live updates, and those who have outlined a clear WhatsApp strategy

Back in September 2023 when both of these platforms were still fresh, Scott also wrote a piece about how he viewed them working within football. Now, there’s a key point of differentiation between football fandom and Formula 1 fandom, and that’s to do with proximity and attendance. A vast majority of football fans are located in relatively close proximity to their favourite team, and many are members who attend a majority of games. This means informative channels based on logistics make a lot more sense in this space than it would in the world of Formula 1 where most fans will never attend a race.

So, if it’s not about information, how should teams approach these channels?

What could innovation look like?

Access-based competitions

Back in April, Mercedes launched a competition for a fan to win a WhatsApp call with Kimi Antonelli. It’s not too much of a stretch to see how they could run something similar in a chat format. Away from F1, Lia Haberman has explored the work Offball is doing through WhatsApp group chats with sports fans. Now, these are different to broadcast channels, however, they offer a glimpse at what such a competition could look like for Mercedes - or any other F1 team. Pop a group of fans in a chat with a driver to group watch a race that driver won/did well in, complete with insider commentary. Or, if a full race is too much of a time commitment, there are endless other ways a similar format could be used.

And competitions don’t have to be limited to prizes that use channels themselves - you can also offer competitions that are only advertised through your broadcast channels to give fans a reason to feel like their continued participation is valued, and like they’re getting something for sticking around.

Driver participation

By now, you all should know that I’m a huge proponent of celebrity-centric marketing for F1 teams, and these channels have so much potential for driver participation and unique content that just aren’t being realised.

There is a feature within Instagram broadcast channels where multiple individuals can be admins/moderators. This is a feature that has been used in Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Ollie Bearman’s driver channels.

When the drivers have posting privileges (even if it isn’t actually the drivers posting), an additional degree of connection is introduced. The chat moves from being from a brand to feeling like a personal space with real access.

The drivers rarely pop up in these marketing channels (this post from Lando was his last appearance in the chat and is from February, for example), so if the drivers were added to the team channels it wouldn’t be a massive commitment from them. In fact, limited participation can even be a benefit, with random appearances rewarding continued engagement.

And if you can’t add the drivers as official collaborators…at least find ways to include them more. McLaren received early praise for posting voice-notes in their channel…until fans realised they were mostly cut from existing interviews and content. If you’re already creating content with them, it shouldn’t be hard to take ten seconds to get an additional unique message for your fans.

Ultimately, fans don’t owe teams/brands a subscription to another channel, especially one that lives in what is usually considered a “personal” space. Organisations need to be sure they’re adding value through the channels and not just ticking a box to say they have a presence everywhere. It is possible for these channels to be more than just another place to share the same graphics that can be found on every other platform, but despite some early bright signs, we’re yet to see any team fully crack the code in the F1 space.

With only one team posting across both broadcast spaces, and three teams seemingly abandoning them (or being on their way to doing so), only time will tell if anyone without sponsorship $$ will stick around.

(However, as I finalised this post, I saw news that TikTok is launching a similar feature, so I guess watch this space!)

Okay! 3,000 words later, part two is done! Stay tuned for part three - a look at the “admin” persona and tone of voice - in the coming weeks!

‘Til next time!