Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: 63.8% of his audience followed him and 22.5% never left Mercedes
One full season after the Lewis Hamilton transfer to Ferrari, the audience data reads 63.8% now with Ferrari, 22.5% still with Mercedes.
A driver changes teams in one announcement. His audience takes seasons. One full year after Lewis Hamilton put on red, 63.8% of the people who name him as their favourite driver support Ferrari and 22.5% still support Mercedes, the team he left. That lag is the part of a transfer no contract prices.
Where the Hamilton audience lives one season after the transfer
The measurement asks each member of a driver audience which team it supports, then indexes every team against the average audience of the sport.
For Hamilton the reading is 63.8% Ferrari and 22.5% Mercedes, with the rest scattered across the grid. More than a fifth of his audience has not followed him.
The two numbers price two different contracts. A Ferrari partner inherited most of the Hamilton audience with the seat. A Mercedes partner kept a fifth of it without paying a cent for him. The gap between the two is what a personal Hamilton deal reaches that neither team contract touches.
Ferrari
MercedesWhy does an audience travel slower than a driver?
Allegiance in this sport is layered. Part of the audience follows the man, part follows the badge he made famous, part follows both and refuses to choose until forced.
A transfer forces the choice and the answer arrives over seasons, not press cycles. The 22.5% still at Mercedes is not an anomaly, it is the measured speed of allegiance.
For a brand that signed a Ferrari deal on the promise of the Hamilton arrival, the lag is a discount nobody disclosed. For Mercedes the same lag is retained value: a fifth of the biggest audience in the sport still inside its tent, a year after the car stopped carrying him.
What the transfer means for his personal sponsors
A personal partner owns the only contract that follows the audience wherever it goes. The brands on his helmet and his wardrobe reached the Mercedes loyalists on the day of the transfer and reach the Ferrari converts today, without renegotiating anything. A transfer that weakens both team readings strengthens the personal one.
The same measurement, taken at the moment of any transfer, tells a brand what it inherits and what it leaves behind. The grid changes seats every season and almost nobody measures the audience that travels, which is the entire commercial meaning of the word transfer.
Frequently asked questions
Did Lewis Hamilton fans follow him to Ferrari?
Mostly. One full season after the transfer, 63.8% of the people who name him as their favourite driver support Ferrari. 22.5% still support Mercedes, the team he left.
What does the Hamilton transfer mean for Ferrari sponsors?
A Ferrari partner reaches the majority of the Hamilton audience through the team contract. It does not reach the fifth of his audience that stayed with Mercedes, which only a personal Hamilton deal covers.
Does Mercedes still profit from Hamilton?
In audience terms, yes. 22.5% of the Hamilton audience still supports Mercedes a season after his exit, retained reach the team keeps without carrying him.
How is driver audience transfer measured?
Each member of a driver audience declares which team it supports. The shares are indexed against the average audience of the sport and read one full season after the transfer.
Want this reading on your own brand?
The full report behind this article, with the split by team audience, market composition and the change across the season, is available to teams, brands and agencies.
Source: BoxBoxd, the motorsport social network. The Brand Recall Index is measured on the BoxBoxd audience through the 2026 season, where a blurred sponsor logo is shown with no name attached and three questions follow: name the brand, name the team, place the branding on the car.