Charles Leclerc has overtaken Lewis Hamilton to become Formula 1’s most marketable driver in 2026, according to the latest SportsPro rankings. The Ferrari teammates have experienced dramatically different movements in the global standings, with Charles Leclerc climbing into the world’s top 10 most marketable athletes while the seven-time world champion has fallen from first place to 22nd.
The result represents a significant development in the commercial appeal of Ferrari’s two drivers. Although Lewis Hamilton remains one of the most recognisable sporting figures in the world, Charles Leclerc now holds the advantage in a ranking that evaluates brand strength, commercial momentum and future marketing potential.
Charles Leclerc overtakes Lewis Hamilton in 2026 marketability rankings
Lewis Hamilton is no longer the most marketable athlete in world sport, nor does he occupy the highest position among Formula 1 drivers. That distinction now belongs to his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, according to the latest rankings compiled by SportsPro.
In 2025, Lewis Hamilton topped the overall standings with an impressive marketability score of 96.03 out of 100. However, the British driver’s position has changed considerably in the 2026 edition, dropping to 22nd place with a score of 66.63 points, putting him on a similar level to football stars Neymar and Vinicius Junior.
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, occupies ninth place overall with a score of 71.12 points. The Monegasque has climbed 16 positions from his 25th-place finish in 2025, when his score stood at 75.03.
Although his numerical score is lower than last year, his improvement in the overall ranking reflects the relative nature of the assessment and his position compared with other leading international athletes.
The development adds another dimension to the relationship between Ferrari’s two drivers. Their performances and rivalry on the circuit attract considerable attention, but the commercial comparison shows how their individual brands are developing beyond Formula 1 competition.
Where Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and other F1 drivers rank
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are not the only Formula 1 drivers included in SportsPro’s assessment.
Max Verstappen occupies 48th place, a substantial improvement from 81st in the previous edition. The Red Bull driver has therefore strengthened his position in the global marketability standings.
Among the McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri ranks 56th, ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who sits in 78th position despite having won the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the newly crowned world champion, is the lowest-ranked Formula 1 driver among those included in the top 150. The Mercedes driver occupies 126th place after dropping 48 positions compared with the previous year.
Outside Formula 1, MotoGP rider Marc Márquez is the only other motorsport athlete included in the rankings. The Spanish rider occupies 86th place, five positions ahead of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.
Meanwhile, Toni Breidinger and Liam Lawson have dropped out of the list after featuring in the previous edition.
Who are the world’s most marketable athletes in 2026?
At the top of the overall SportsPro rankings is Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, who leads a list featuring some of the biggest names in international sport.
Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu occupies second place, followed by Greek basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo in third.
Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland ranks fourth, while Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz completes the top five. The geographical distribution of the 150 athletes highlights the importance of several major sporting markets. American athletes account for 32% of the rankings, while British and Indian athletes each represent 7.3%.
Football is the most heavily represented sport, with 33 athletes accounting for 22% of the total. Motorsport, with eight representatives, occupies sixth place among the sports included in the assessment. It ranks behind tennis and cricket but ahead of golf and boxing.
For Formula 1, the presence of several drivers demonstrates the championship’s ability to generate commercial opportunities beyond traditional motorsport audiences.
How SportsPro calculates athlete marketability scores
The SportsPro marketability rankings are based on three principal factors: brand equity, momentum and commercial trajectory.
These measures are calculated using several hundred data points and information covering more than 3,000 commercial partnerships recorded between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
Each factor evaluates a different aspect of an athlete’s commercial appeal:
- Brand equity: Measures the strength of an athlete’s personal brand and the level of trust associated with it.
- Momentum: Assesses how quickly the athlete’s commercial value is growing.
- Commercial trajectory: Evaluates the potential for future commercial growth and the opportunities that may still be available.
The commercial trajectory component carries the lowest weighting in the overall calculation, while the scores themselves are relative rather than absolute measurements of an athlete’s financial value.
This distinction is particularly important when analysing the difference between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Why Charles Leclerc ranks ahead of Lewis Hamilton
Charles Leclerc achieves a higher brand equity score than Lewis Hamilton, although the British driver performs better in the momentum category.
The decisive difference comes from commercial trajectory, where the Monegasque benefits from a stronger assessment of his future commercial potential. Age and expected career longevity are important considerations within this component. At 41, Lewis Hamilton is among the oldest athletes included in the rankings, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.
While his extraordinary achievements and global recognition remain valuable, the assessment takes into account the fact that the British driver is approaching the later stages of his sporting career. Charles Leclerc, by contrast, receives a particularly strong commercial trajectory score because his personal brand is considered to have substantial potential that has not yet been fully converted into commercial returns.
His brand equity is also supported by several important characteristics, including his personal style, public presentation, audience size and the level of engagement generated by his followers. The Ferrari driver’s ability to attract attention and maintain relationships with major commercial partners contributes to his strong position.
His wider appeal is also reflected in his commercial activities alongside his Ferrari teammate, including their involvement in a promotional campaign featuring Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
NorthStar president explains Charles Leclerc’s commercial strength
Chris Collins, president of NorthStar, the company providing the data underpinning the SportsPro rankings, offered further insight into Charles Leclerc’s commercial appeal during an interview with BlackBook Motorsport.
According to Chris Collins, the Ferrari driver possesses one of the strongest established personal brands among athletes worldwide. The Monegasque ranks second out of the 247 athletes assessed for brand equity, underlining the strength of his image independently of the overall marketability classification.
Chris Collins explained that this position reflects the way Charles Leclerc presents himself publicly, his compelling personal story and the premium commercial partners that continue to choose to work with him.
Audience engagement is another important factor. As one of the most-followed drivers on the Formula 1 grid, Charles Leclerc naturally achieves strong audience-related scores. However, the assessment goes beyond the number of followers he attracts.
His supporters also interact actively with his social media profiles, helping strengthen his brand’s commercial value. Chris Collins additionally highlighted the breadth of the driver’s international audience, a characteristic that benefits Formula 1 competitors because of the championship’s global reach.
These elements have combined to make Charles Leclerc one of the most commercially attractive athletes in the world.
Lewis Hamilton’s age influences his position in the rankings
Chris Collins also addressed the reasons behind Lewis Hamilton’s absence from the top 10, despite his established status as one of the most influential athletes in international sport.
The NorthStar president stressed that the British driver’s lower position was not primarily caused by weakness in his personal brand. Instead, the decisive consideration was time.
At 41, Lewis Hamilton has fewer years remaining in his professional racing career than younger competitors. Because the rankings are partly designed to assess future commercial potential, this inevitably influences his position.
Chris Collins explained that a forward-looking evaluation must recognise when an exceptional sporting career has entered its later stages, regardless of the strength of the athlete’s existing reputation. The difference between Ferrari’s two drivers therefore does not necessarily mean that Charles Leclerc has become more famous or commercially successful than Lewis Hamilton in absolute terms.
Rather, SportsPro’s methodology identifies greater future growth potential for the Monegasque while continuing to acknowledge the considerable value of the seven-time world champion’s established brand.
For Ferrari, the results underline the commercial strength of its driver line-up. Lewis Hamilton remains a globally recognised sporting icon, while Charles Leclerc has developed into one of the world’s most marketable athletes, with considerable opportunities for further growth.
The latest rankings show that their rivalry extends beyond Formula 1 results, with Charles Leclerc now leading the comparison in a category increasingly important to athletes, sponsors and international brands.
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