The F1 WAGs Power List: From the glamorous art student beloved by luxury brands to the Vogue cover girl with links to the Kardashians and billionaire heiress who's VERY well connected... we reveal the true 'Queen of the Paddock'

Carlos Sainz may have bemoaned TV cameras' focus on the wives and girlfriends of Formula One - but the partners of the drivers at the centre of one of the world's most glamorous sports have never shared more of the spotlight. 

As Daily Mail Sport's Jonathan McEvoy noted last week, Formula One has always featured celebrity sideshows, from Hollywood royalty crammed into the paddock to partners like Nina Rindt waiting nervously in the garages with a stopwatch. 

Now, with the advent of the staggeringly popular Drive To Survive series on Netflix, and the arrival of legions of female fans to a previously overwhelmingly male sport, new characters have risen to prominence on race weekend, alongside their driver boyfriends. 

But as WAGs start to rake in six-figure brand deals and build empires on the back of millions of followers, who is the most powerful of them all?  

Here, Daily Mail Sport runs the rule over the standouts in the paddock - and assesses which stars have more to do to match their heady heights... 

16. Lauren Fitzsimmons 

Age: 26

Dating: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

Follower count: 18.3K (Instagram only) 

One of the most recent additions to the paddock, eagle-eyed fans only clocked that Hadjar was dating influencer Fitzsimmons when the pair posted near-identical photo carousels from a recent trip to Tokyo on Instagram this month. 

A self-described 'extrovert', Fitzsimmons is thought to have started seeing the RB driver at this year's Monaco Grand Prix, with the Ottawa-born model spotted in the background of an episode of his Team Hadjar Canal+ documentary web series. 

'It' factor: 6.5/10 

15. Alicia Torriani 

Age: 25

Dating: Ollie Bearman (Haas)

Follower count: Private Instagram only

Little is known publicly about Torriani, a fact perhaps influenced by Bearman's role in a speculative F1 love triangle during an earlier relationship - when his ex Estelle Ogilvy was reported to have begun dating his rival on the grid Franco Colapinto.

While the 25-year-old can often be spotted accompanying the young Haas prodigy on race weekends, her social media is strictly private. 

But her life comes with more than a tinge of Formula One glamour: a Monaco native, Torriani is the daughter of Anthony Stent Torriani, whose company Monaco Asset Management handle more than $4.8billion of assets.

Torriani herself works for athlete support agency All Time, which was co-founded by her father, Charles Leclerc and his brother Lorenzo. 

'It' factor: 6.5/10

14. Lily Zneimer 

Age: 24

Dating: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

Follower count: Private Instagram only

While Piastri is enjoying a season which could well see him end up crowned world champion, the Australian star - and his partner - have opted not to change a thing about their ultra-private relationship dynamic.

In Piastri's words, the couple are 'private, not secretive', with the opportunity for both of them to live normal lives prioritised. 

The pair met attending the same private boarding school - Haileybury, in Hertfordshire - with Zneimer remaining a top student as her boyfriend began jetting around the world to race, even attaining nine A*s in her GCSEs. 

Not that Zneimer keeps the Piranha Club entirely at arm's length. As well as watching Piastri at a number of grands prix over the course of the season, the university student has also studied for a degree in engineering - with some suggesting she could yet take up a role at Piastri's constructor McLaren. 

'It' factor: 6.5/10

13. Hannah St John 

Age: 22

Dating: Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

Follower count: 202k (Instagram: 74k, TikTok: 128.6k) 

Arizona State University graduate St John has been dating demoted Red Bull star Lawson since 2022, and as the New Zealand-born driver's presence in F1 has increased, so too has his girlfriend's. 

While the California native remains some way off the lofty follower counts achieved by some of the other partners on this list, St John is alone in attempting to forge a path as a behind-the-scenes vlogger on YouTube, perhaps inspired by the success of similar content from WAGs on the tennis tour like Morgan Riddle. 

In her first video, uploaded on the weekend, St John takes fans through her prep for last month's Azerbaijan Grand Prix - with a cameo from a camera-shy Lawson.

'It' factor: 7/10  

12. Eliska Babickova 

Age: 20

Dating: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Follower count: 195k (Instagram: 145k, TikTok: 50k)

Stepping into the shoes of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes is no small task for Antonelli, but the Italian driver has at least done so with the support of his Czech girlfriend of nearly two years. 

Interestingly, Babickova may have more insight into her boyfriend's pressures on the track than most partners, having enjoyed her own successful karting career as a teenager.

Babickova even won the Original Kart class race at the Italian Karting Championship in 2023 - three years after Antonelli won the same championship. Having stepped away from the sport that year, Babickova now hosts a YouTube channel with her two sisters Petra and Tereza, Welcome to the Sisterhood. 

'It' factor: 7/10

11. Egle Hulkenberg 

Age: 38

Married to: Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

Follower count: 42K (Instagram only)

Lithuanian-born Hulkenberg is the only W in F1's WAGs, having been married to her husband Nico since 2021. The pair have a daughter together, Noemi Sky, and are based in Monaco - so far, so F1 - but rather than rest on her laurels, Hulkenberg has thrown her energy into Egle, her eponymous handmade line of crochet resortwear. 

Boasting outlets in St Barts, St Tropez, Cannes, Dubai and the principality, Hulkenberg is her own favourite model, often posing for the brand's campaigns and sporting them trackside. 

'It' factor: 7/10

10. Isabella Bernardini 

Age: 21

Dating: Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

Follower count: 23.1k (TikTok only, private Instagram profile)

Information on computer science student Bernardini is scant, but fans have been treated to behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life with Bortoleto via her TikTok. 

Bernardini's low-key presence on the paddock is fitting, as Bortoleto toils during his rookie year at Sauber. 

This doesn't mean, however, that she is entirely without scrutiny - with social media users keen for more content from the Brazil-born student already creating a handful of fan profiles for her. 

'It' factor: 7.5/10

9. Melissa Jimenez 

Age: 38

Dating: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

Follower count: 640k (Instagram only)

While Alonso may be one of the elder statesmen on the grid at 44, his personal life still attracts feverish interest - and all the more so after the Spaniard began dating a member of the Formula One press pack. 

Jimenez has a long-running background in motorsport journalism, previously working in MotoGP (where she took over from Alonso's previous fiancee Lara Alvarez) before joining DAZN's Formula One coverage in 2022. 

That was the year in which she divorced her former husband, ex-Barcelona footballer Marc Bartra, with whom she has three children. But Alonso and Jimenez are thought to have been dating since 2024, with the latter continuing to look an unruffled presence in the paddock despite her potential for romantic bias. 

'It' factor: 7/10 

8. Flavy Barla 

Age: 22

Dating: Esteban Ocon (Haas)

Follower count: 445k (Instagram: 264k, TikTok: 181k) 

A former Miss Cote d'Azur, Barla hails from Ocon's native France, and the pair are thought to have been dating for two years.

Amid a turbulent season last year for Ocon as he moved on from Alpine, Barla's presence in the paddock almost got lost in the shuffle. With the 29-year-old now settled on a multi-year deal at Haas, Barla is starting to take centre stage. 

What is unique about her budding profile, however, is her desire to share her life as fifth-year medical student as much as the glamour found trackside at Monte-Carlo and Miami.

As well as snapshots of revision sessions, Barla has also amplified initiatives like SAUV Life, a French app that provides registered CPR volunteers with alerts to emergencies in their area before paramedics arrive. 

'It' factor: 8/10

7. Rebecca Donaldson

Age: 29 

Dating? Carlos Sainz (Williams)

Follower count: 682k (Instagram only)

Scottish model Donaldson is thought to have started dating Sainz over the summer of 2023, during the Spaniard's days at Ferrari. Alongside fellow Ferrari WAG Alexandra Saint Mleux, Donaldson became a frequent fixture for trackside photographers, with the pair often featuring on one another's social media. 

While Donaldson and Saint Mleux's Ferrari double act is still mourned among a small corner of social media users since Sainz's move to Williams, the former Vogue cover girl remains a brand-name darling. 

After appearing to close her workout label Muse in May of last year, partnerships with De Beers, Dior Beauty, Michael Kors and Max Mara have followed Donaldson's pivot to influencer.

Whether she cribbed notes from the in-laws of her former flame Scott Disick, also ex-boyfriend to Kourtney Kardashian, remains unknown. 

'It' factor: 8.5/10

6. Francisca 'Kika' Cerqueira Gomes 

Age: 22

Dating: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Follower count: 2m (Instagram: 1.1m, TikTok: 757.7k) 

One of the more established girlfriends present on race weekends, Gomes has particular appeal in her native Portugual, where she works as a model and soap opera actor. 

Having dated Gasly since late 2022, Gomes made her first appearance alongside the Alpine driver at a Paris Saint-Germain match, with the pair scarcely separate since. 

Like Saint Mleux, with Gomes comes her fluffiest accessory, a ginger toy poodle named Simba who she and Gasly travel with. 

But while Gomes' social media presence is loaded with potential, she has perhaps been denied an opportunity to rise higher in this Power List due to her boyfriend's place at one of the teams in the mid-pack on the grid. 

'It' factor: 8.5/10

5. Carmen Montero Mundt 

Age: 27

Dating: George Russell (Mercedes)

Follower count: 691k (Instagram only)

On the arm of modern-day F1 dandy Russell, Mundt completes the picture of a Gen-Z, to-the-manor-born fantasy.

The duo are often lauded as arbiters of 'quiet luxury' chic - if the life of a racing driver could ever be described as 'quiet' - and Mundt has become a pin-up for those on social media misty-eyed for a more regal look trackside. 

Mundt's grown-up credentials are bolstered by her background in finance. The Spaniard previously worked as an investor relations associate at Ruffer LLP in London, and has spoken about her desire to return to university to work towards a second bachelor's degree. 

Now however, full focus is on the brand she has created alongside Russell, with Mundt increasingly featured on Mercedes' team Instagram, and her sharply dressed presence in the paddock is almost non-negotiable. 

'It' factor: 8.5/10

4. Magui Corceiro 

Age: 22

Dating: Lando Norris (McLaren)

Follower count: 3m (Instagram: 2.2m, TikTok: 856.6k)

Their courtship may have been long and not entirely without detours, but since the moment Norris officially announced his relationship with Portuguese actress and model Corceiro, her face has never been far from the Formula One live feed. 

Already experienced in the art of WAGdom from a stint dating former Chelsea star Joao Felix, Corceiro was also named the most influential person on Instagram by Forbes Portugal due to her reach in her home country.

That relationship with Felix came under the microscope at times though - Corceiro was even forced to deny fake rumours of an affair with future Tottenham defender Pedro Porro in 2022.

After a video of the pair at a nightclub circulated online, Corceiro fumed: 'If I wanted to be kissing someone, in an intimate moment, it would not be in a VIP area in view of an entire nightclub. There was no kisses, there was nothing.' 

When Norris discussed in a recent interview with Vogue how Corceiro could empathise with his career due to her own 'crazy life', it was no understatement. A 12-year veteran of the entertainment industry, Corceiro also founded eco swimwear brand Missus alongside her acting and modelling commitments. 

'It' factor: 8.5/10  

3. Kelly Piquet 

Age: 36

Dating: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Follower count: 2.1m (Instagram only)

As the daughter of notorious three-time world champion Nelson Piquet and the sister of fellow ex-F1 driver Nelson Jnr, Piquet has been steeped in the sport since the very beginning. Nor is she new to the WAG scene, having previously dated Daniil Kvyat, with whom she has a daughter.

But linking up in 2020 with the best driver the sport has to offer, Max Verstappen - who also took Kvyat's spot at Red Bull four years earlier - put the Brazilian-Dutch influencer firmly at the centre of the media swirl as the driver's star continued to rise. 

Four world championships later, and Piquet has parlayed continued interest into brand deals with Clarins, Tod's and Tiffany & Co, and a cover shoot for Vogue Netherlands. 

Piquet has been largely absent from the paddock for the 2025 season however, with the 36-year-old giving birth to the couple's first child Lily on the eve of the Miami Grand Prix in April. 

'It' factor: 9/10 

2. Lily Muni He 

Age: 26

Dating: Alex Albon (Williams)

Follower count: 1.8m (Instagram: 1.2m, TikTok: 615.3k)  

While some F1 WAGs have built their brand around keeping their cards close to their chest, Muni He is a breath of fresh air, attracting an army of fans for her personality-stuffed social media presence. 

Muni He is a sports star in her own right, having featured on the Ladies' PGA Tour since 2019. Indeed, she was experiencing her challenging rookie season when she connected with Albon, feeling similarly challenged at Red Bull, with the pair meeting on Instagram. 

Albon has since become a regular feature of Muni He's TikTok content, which spans from app trends to behind-the-scenes snippets of her life on the Tour and on the track. 

The Chengdu native also has her own standout style credentials, but as a Chinese athlete in a marketable sport, she has signed some blockbuster deals, taking in brands like Nike, Evian and tech giants WeChat. 

'It' factor: 10/10

1. Alexandra Saint Mleux 

Age: 23 

Dating: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Follower count: 4.6m (Instagram: 2.8m, TikTok: 1.8m) 

It's no exaggeration to say that if there is a blueprint for a contemporary F1 WAG, it was laid by Saint Mleux. 

A former history of art student and assistant at Monaco-based auction house Hotel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, Saint Mleux has applied her eye for aesthetics to crafting a carefully curated online identity. 

A raft of sponsorships have followed in their wake, with labels carefully eyeing the mammoth engagement Saint Mleux attracts whenever she posts on social media. 

Saint Mleux has inked deals with Hailey Bieber's skincare label Rhode, influencer workout wear behemoth Alo and Australian brand Meshki.

There's no suggestion that Saint Mleux needs to shoehorn Leclerc onto her profile either - she frequently scores over a million likes on posts with no sign of the Ferrari star. 

Saint Mleux has also been a trailblazer on TikTok (where sharing updates of her frequent race weekend companion, the couple's long-haired Dachshund Leo, doesn't hurt), her immaculate - and largely wordless - content in lockstep with her Instagram persona. Critics may decry Saint Mleux's perfectionism, but many more clamour to call her Queen of the Paddock. 

'It' factor: 10/10