Lewis Hamilton launches his bid for a fifth world title this weekend armed with a 1,000-horsepower engine and £100m in sponsorship deals.
The 33-year-old begins his 12th season in the sport knowing a successful defence of his crown will move him within two of Michael Schumacher’s record haul. Hamilton starts as the overwhelming favourite to do just that given the recent supremacy of his Mercedes team.
The Silver Arrows have won every drivers’ and constructors’ championship since 2014 – a period of dominance which has seen the Silver Arrows establish incredible financial pulling power, the full extent of which can be revealed by Sportsmail.
Hamilton will take to the grid in Australia on Sunday in a race suit emblazoned with the logos of 12 sponsors boosting the team’s coffers by £112m collectively in 2018.
To put that into perspective, Premier League champions-elect Manchester City’s kits will feature around £95m worth of sponsorship from next season through deals with Puma, Etihad and Nexen.
Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas are Mercedes’ title sponsor and provide almost half of their kit income — around £50m per year.
Meanwhile, audio giant Bose, clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger, drinks-maker Monster Energy, UBS (finance), Qualcomm (wireless technology), Epson (printing and communications), IWC Schaffhausen (Swiss watches) and Wihuri (packaging products) are all seven-figure contributors.
Tibco (analytics software) pay the smallest amount — approximately £1m — for which they receive a spot just above Hamilton’s elbow.
Hamilton also has separate personal endorsements with several of the companies — including Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Bose and Monster Energy — adding around £10m to his annual income.
The Briton will sign a new three-year contract worth £120m with Mercedes in the coming weeks.
Hamilton’s current deal expires at the end of the year and negotiations over an extension started before Christmas.
Team boss Toto Wolff suggested interests outside the sport were a key factor in those discussions for Hamilton, who became Tommy Hilfiger’s global brand ambassador last week.
‘He’s a good negotiator in the same way that he’s a good racing driver,’ said Wolff.
‘We’ve discussed our visions for the future, how Lewis sees himself in the sport going forwards, his other interests and our expectations.
