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Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton came out at the top as the most marketable athlete in the annual list released by SportsPro. Fans took to the social media platform X and reacted to the Briton topping the list, as they questioned the ranking and how Hamilton beat the top athletes from other sports.The 2025 Most Marketable Athletes annual list, curated by SportsPro, was the 16th edition of it. According to the list, it applies an advanced evaluation model and marketability to determine which athletes offer the most value to the brands. The list is made in collaboration with NorthStar Solutions Group, which helps assess the marketability in the world of sports.Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton topped the list and beat the likes of Simone Biles, NBA star Steph Curry & LeBron James, and Portuguese soccer forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc also featured on the list, ranked #25. McLaren star Lando Norris was ranked #41, and was the only other F1 driver on the list apart from the two Ferrari drivers.Lewis Hamilton was signed by Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season, with the announcement about his move coming out in early 2024. Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver in the history of the sport, and is arguably a brand in himself. As a result, when the announcement of Briton's move to the Scuderia was made, the stock price of Ferrari went up by about 10% on different stock exchanges around the globe.As the list was shared on the social media platform X, fans took to the comments section and reacted to it. Some raised fingers at Hamilton's form with Ferrari, while others pointed at how the drivers are only marketable while actively racing.“So was Danica Patrick when she was racing,” commented a userAnother wrote, “Also the worst performing Ferrari driver of all time!”Jason Mellet | Full Stack Marketer @JMellet77LINK@GazzettaFerrari @Motorsport Also the worst performing Ferrari driver of all time!“LOL, how many wins or podiums this year?” mentioned a fan on XSome fans came out and questioned the ranking and detailed how Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't as marketable or more marketable than Lewis Hamilton.“I love lewis but he's nowhere near Ronaldo's and Neymar's brand sorry. And how is Simon ahead of Lebron ???” commented a userAnother wrote, “The big word here is "Marketable" but I believe CR7 is the number one for me yeh Lewis can be second, Steph Curry......”“😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. What a joke!” mentioned another userSchwarzer_Abt @abt_schwarzerLINK@GazzettaFerrari @Motorsport 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 What a joke!Lewis Hamilton’s positive outlook about the SF25 after the US GPF1 Grand Prix Of United States - Source: GettyLewis Hamilton has struggled with the SF25 since the beginning of the season, more so since the rear suspension upgrades were introduced in Belgium. However, the Briton started to get on top of the car in the last couple of races, with a strong result at last weekend’s US GP.Hamilton started the race in P5 and overtook George Russell on the first lap, getting up to P4. The Ferrari spent the remainder of the race. This position keeps championship leader Oscar Piastri at bay. Speaking about the performance of the SF25 after the US GP, Hamilton said,“I’m finally feeling like I’m on top of the car. I think we still have some improvements we could make. We can definitely extract more, particularly on my side, because Qualifying wasn’t as good as I had hoped and the start wasn’t great.There are always areas to improve, but it’s positive going into the next race, so I hope we can have an even better weekend.”With five races left in the calendar, Ferrari is fighting Mercedes and Red Bull for P2 in the championship.
