Lewis Hamilton named most marketable motorsport athlete, rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the top 50 overall

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been named the most marketable motorsport athlete in SportsPro's annual list of the world’s 50 Most Marketable (50MM) athletes. This is the 12th time the seven-time world champion has topped the list as he came in 11th overall in 2024.

The British driver, who is arguably the most famous driver in the F1 paddock, has legions of fans across the globe and has reputed brands flocking for his signature. Apart from being an ambassador of brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, IWC Watches, Sony, he also added Dior and Corporate Finance Institute as two new brands in his kitty.

As per Motorsportweek, Lewis Hamilton is followed by rival Max Verstappen on the list, who has been named 31st overall, just ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The Red Bull driver is the highest-paid driver on the grid with an annual salary of over $50 million and has brands like ViaPlay and EA Sports in his basket.

Leclerc is behind the two in both annual earnings and on the SportsPro list as he is named 33rd. The Ferrari driver has brands like RayBan, Richard Mille, Puma, Peroni and Bang & Olufsen as partners. Other F1 drivers to feature on the annual list were the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished 37th and 47th respectively.

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F1 pundit comments on Lewis Hamilton's impending move to Ferrari

Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz stated that both Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari were having inconsistent seasons as evidenced by the former's DNF at Austin last weekend and the Italian team winning at the track.

While appearing on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Kravitz said the Brit believed that he had made the right choice and vice versa despite Hamilton's recent struggles. He said (via Crash.net):

“Even if Ferrari weren’t winning races, he’d think it's not [the wrong decision]. It changes doesn’t it from race to race? You can say when Mercedes had a great grand prix but Ferrari [didn’t]. You get races where Ferrari are not doing great and Mercedes are.

"You think Lewis might be thinking about what’s going on at Ferrari? And the same thing, if you’re Ferrari, you look at a race where Lewis is having a shocker and might think ‘what’s going on with Lewis’. The next race, Lewis is doing fantastic and Ferrari will think we've won, we’ve got a winner."

He added:

“Everything is fine. Listen, I don’t think they are worrying about it. Lewis can’t wait to get going with Ferrari - he says that in press conferences whenever we ask him. Ferrari can’t wait to have him. It’s all good, they’re looking forward to it.”

The 39-year-old will join the Italian team on a multi-year deal that would see him race for them until the end of the 2026 season at least.