Bruno Senna, Lucas di Grassi, Nico H?â??lkenberg… what do the three F1 rookies announced for this year all have in common?
Yep, they’re all on Twitter – joining the likes of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello who started using it last year.
With more drivers using Twitter F1 fans are increasingly able to ask questions directly to their favourite drivers or teams. How long will it be before the entire grid is on Twitter?
Hopefully F1 will not adopt the anti-Twitter practices of some sports. In America the National Football League and National Basketball Association bans competitors from using Twitter and similar social media services for a set amount of time before and after games. Some players have been fined thousands of dollars for Tweeting about games.
With more F1 drivers taking up Tweeting we can hear directly from them. Here’s what the new boy shave been saying:
Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna is only an occasional Twitterer but he did have a few things to say about his move to Campos before it was announced. Nothing yet from him this year but that may change once testing gets started.
Lucas di Grassi
Senna’s compatriot Lucas di Grassi, on the other hand, posts much more regularly and often answers fans directly – even apologising that he hasn’t got time to reply to everyone.
Follow Lucas di Grassi on Twitter
Nico H?â??lkenberg
Nico H?â??lkenberg posts fairly plain updates – it looks like he’s getting someone else to do it for him which is a shame.
Follow Nico H?â??lkenberg on Twitter
Other F1 people to follow on Twitter
New Lotus F1 boss Tony Fernandes is definitely worth following – he’s promised to reveal more details of his team’s plans via his Twitter account.
McLaren’s Twitter account The Fifth Driver often has interesting posts too – like the first picture of Jenson Button in McLaren overalls.
For more F1 drivers on Twitter and other motor racing people to follow, have a look at the F1 Twitter directory
Follow F1 Fanatic on Twitter
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter – I’ve got two accounts you can follow:
f1fanatic_co_uk – This is my main account where I post during race weekends, share links and chat with people.
f1fanticupdate – Follow this to get a Tweet with a link to new articles on F1 Fanatic when they’re added.
Are you on Twitter? Which are the best F1 drivers to follow? Have your say in the comments.
Remember you can use the Retweet button below to share this article on Twitter.
Steve_P83
6th January 2010, 13:05
Thanks for the update. Bruno Senna already has nearly 42,000 followers…that is very impressive.
And you’re right about the NFL limited Twitter for players during games. That is about the only American sport to do it though. The IRL is VERY open and it seems that nearly the entire grid IS using Twitter. Drivers have even posted pictures taken from their cockpits while sitting on the grid or the pitbox. I WISH F1 could get to that level.
DC
6th January 2010, 20:17
Yes, the IndyCar guys seem to tweet a lot, even during special moments like this one with Nelson Philippe and Tony Kanaan: http://twitpic.com/otatr
Beautiful. :)
thestig84
6th January 2010, 13:10
Mclarens fifth driver is great to follow. Hope all the teams try and match Mclarens level of content.
TommyB
6th January 2010, 13:24
Agreed he definitely does a good job of letting you see behind the scenes. Seeing pictures is the best part in my opinion
James Bond
6th January 2010, 14:16
May I ask why Bruno is following Nelson Jr on twitter?
thestig84
6th January 2010, 14:37
Fellow Brazilian? The Brazilians all seem to like twitter and follow each other. Rubens follows Nelson Jr tpp
They are not the only ones. Nelson has 104,000 more than double the new WDC Jenson Button!!
James Bond
6th January 2010, 14:32
5th driver is the best out there. Really surprised to see how Martin Whitmarsh has turned around the entire atmosphere at McLaren.
Its like Soviet Union accepting capitalism!
James Bond
6th January 2010, 13:37
Go Bruno! I’ll probably wear the famous Senna “S” shirt, carry a McLaren fan & display an anti-schumacher placard at silverstone!
ukk
6th January 2010, 13:52
Keith, you can add the corresponding tweet links to the driver’s profiles on the site ;-) another small feature which gets F1F ahead of the other F1 sites :-)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
6th January 2010, 15:04
Good idea. Have added them now, you can find the ones not mentioned above here:
Romain Grosjean
Nick Heidfeld
Rubens Barrichello
Left off Massa’s because although it’s verified by Twitter he doesn’t seem to use it.
ukk
6th January 2010, 21:18
cool :-)
LookingSpiffy
7th January 2010, 12:48
The guy using Massa’s Twitter account – one of Piquet Jr’s mates – has said a few times that he’d hand over the account to Massa once they reached a certain number of followers. Either he hasn’t done that or Massa isn’t interested in Twitter (which I suspect is more likely the case).
If anyone’s up on their Portuguese, I think he explains why here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcPbipnULbs
KateDerby
6th January 2010, 15:32
No one beats Barrichello on Twitter, he posts often in both English and Portuguese, replies a lot and posts pictures both work and family related. He’s well worth following and rightly so has over 300,00 followers!
steph90
6th January 2010, 19:33
Nice to see drivers using twitter from time to time but to be honest I think twitter is best for news updates and to chat with other fellow fans.
Becken
6th January 2010, 20:56
Theres a bunch of tweeter fakes accounts out there, but I think this one looks like a Lewis´s tweetphoto account:
http://tweetphoto.com/user/Carldavidsonf1
Considering how much abused he was by haters since he appeared in F1, I really understand his decision to not have a link with his fans right through the web. What a shame!
Katy
6th January 2010, 22:38
I like that a few of the F1 drivers are on Twitter, but it looks like Di Grassi has biten off more than he can chew. He ran a competition to design a background for his Twitter, and said 1st place wins signed gloves and 2nd and 3rd win a signed visor, but 4 months on and the winners haven’t received their prizes and are losing their faith in Lucas. So much so it looks like they don’t even want to support him any more :( it’s such a shame.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
6th January 2010, 23:50
That’s a shame, but I know from much experience with this site how difficult it can be to keep up with things like that!
Katy
7th January 2010, 0:40
I just remembered that I haven’t received my Jonathan Summerton print that I won off him on Twitter yet either :( he did tell me I had a nice Christmas tree though hehe.
Prisoner Monkeys
6th January 2010, 22:49
Ten points to the first F1 driver to say “for sure” on Twitter.
billatron
6th January 2010, 22:54
I hate it when nando, Ruebens, Roman and Vettel speak in different languages – too hard to follow
TommyB
7th January 2010, 0:20
Fernando and Vettel aren’t on twitter – they are fakes.
raja
8th January 2010, 10:20
why do u say ALONSO a fake… i couldn’t get u
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
8th January 2010, 10:27
He means Fernando Alonso doesn’t have a Twitter account. There’s someone on there pretending to be him.
David H. Chu
7th January 2010, 17:07
Use tweetdeck, a twitter client app, you may translate tweets within the app.
Gman
6th January 2010, 23:16
Keith, I believe for the first time that I can remember, I may disagree with you….
In regards to the NFL, I am third-generation fan of the league who has grown up worshipping the game it plays. I have no problems with guys using twitter after games, as long as they have given their interviews to media members. Outside of that, NFL players have no business- NONE- tweeting at halftime of games. When these guys get in the locker room at halftime, 110% of their attention should be focused on winning the football game, not on screwing around with social media. That’s what they are getting paid tens of millions of dollars to do.
Twitter is a great thing, and if NFL players want to use it to connect with their fanbase, that’s fantastic. But let them tweet after the game, or all day on Tuesday, which is the league’s day off for players. But during games? No way. Those policies came about after some idiot players were ripping into their head coaches- on twitter, during games!! Fans like us don’t shell out money and time to see players put out this trash on Sunday afternoons.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
6th January 2010, 23:49
I see what you mean but in some of these cases they weren’t Tweeting during the game it, was before or after it. I think the reason they’re not allowed to is to protect deals the sports have with media outlets.
Gman
7th January 2010, 2:58
I understand and see your point very well. There were one or two noteworthy incidents in both leagues involving Twitter during games, along with several after games. I really think Twitter is great for athletes to use, be it the NBA, NFL, F1, or any other sport- some drivers even reply back to tweets, which is really cool. I just agree with the leagues banning it during games because, as I said earlier, I think the athletes should be fully focused on the contest at hand.
If you want to look at it another way, some fans don’t like the strict rules regarding parking in parc ferme and the podium.press conference after races. I think the NBA took a page out of the F1 book recently when it adoped a dress code for players and coaches when they appear in post-game interviews. I believe the league took the measure to clean p their image with the media, and I think it has worked quite well- many of the players I have seen interviewed present a great image for their team, their city, and themselves.
Jay Menon
7th January 2010, 0:23
I’m not a fan of twitter or facebook. Although I have an account in the latter, I only use it to keep in touch with mates. It just seems like the world has become so voyueristic, so interested in knowing what type of caramel latte Paris Hilton spilled on her dog.
Having said all this…NICO HULKENBERG IS IN MALAYSIA?!..better start keeping a look out for him..hahaha.
Twitter…its all good..hahaha
Boston F1 Fan
7th January 2010, 0:32
– I don’t really care for Twitter. However, how great would it be if during races or qualifying laps their times were automatically loaded onto Twitter? Probably cool in some technological way.
Terry Fabulous
7th January 2010, 6:30
I would like to suggest that every driver is required to complete a compulsory twitter update during their compulsory pit stop.
They can let us know their race is going and what they are expecting for the second stint.
At the moment they are just sitting around glaring at the jackinniny on the right front struggling to place the wheel nut.
Let’s get a real test of skill, hand them a E71 as they pull in and lets see those thumbs fly!
ukk
7th January 2010, 7:47
you gotta be kidding us! what skill it is when the car is stationary! :-) it must be every lap, or the lap does not count :-) and yes, the pit lane exit is closed if you don’t tweet :-)
Terry Fabulous
7th January 2010, 22:09
ukk between the two of us, we could get this sport working!
Charles Carmichael
7th January 2010, 9:55
i must find Nico. Any info about Nico in Malaysia???
Macca
7th January 2010, 11:55
I don’t care for Twitter that much. What people post on twitter is generaly quite boring to me.
David H. Chu
7th January 2010, 17:04
I would like to see you make Lists on twitter, one for drivers, one for team bosses, etc. So that we can easily follow the lists, while you can update the list anytime there’s a new driver joining twitter.