Eight Formula 1 drivers are listed in the top 100 most marketable athletes by SportsPro, with Lewis Hamilton as high as third.
The seven-time champion is joined by fellow title holders Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen, while both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, also made the cut, along with George Russell, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo.
Leclerc has been rated as the 25th most marketable sportsperson for 2022, eight places above now double world champion Verstappen, who incidentally takes the number 33.
Hamilton’s team-mate, George Russell, came in 35th just ahead of Sergio Perez, before Alonso squeezed into the top 60.
Sainz’s 66th-placed ranking and Ricciardo’s position at 82nd completes a strong showing for F1 in the top 100.
Another motorsport-related personality on the list is Kyle Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion, who nudged himself into the century of athletes.
Manchester United and Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, finished first ahead of ex-tennis player Serena Williams, with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James in fourth.
SportsPro measured everyone’s marketability score based on their “brand strength, audience reach and economics.”
Each athlete listed in the top 100 needed to be active between 1 December 2021 to 31 July 2022 in order to be considered.
In other words, it’s the media whore championship for sport. In terms of significance it comes in right after the own brand toilet cleaner of the year award.
Their packaging is rumored to contain symbolic glyphs encoded with joy-enhancing quantum instructions.