Hamilton Could Earn £100m As F1 World Champion

British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton’s immediate earning potential for next season has been estimated at close to £100m off the back of his victory in winning the F1 World Championship title following an exciting conclusion to the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

On top of Hamilton’s multi-million pound contract with the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team, the 23-year old also stands to rake in many millions more in win bonuses from the team’s sponsors and additional commercial contracts with other brands.

Hamilton, who already has lucrative personal sponsorship contracts with the likes of Santander and Tag Heuer, has fast become the most visible driver in F1 after only two full seasons in the sport.

Following his victory, the British driver to also likely to be in a position to renegotiate the financial details of his driving contract with McLaren moving forward ensuring further increases in his personal wealth.

While many predict the economic recession will take its toll on F1 as a whole, the uniqueness of Hamilton’s appeal should ensure that he is still in a position to take advantage of a commercial boost to his personal coffers.

Hamilton became the first Briton to win the F1 World Championship since Damon Hill in 1997 when he overtook Toyota driver Timo Glock on the rain-soaked final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

Hamilton needed to finish in the top five to secure the title and was pushed into sixth with 3 laps to go when Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel overtook him as the rain began to pour. However, by overtaking Glock with only a handful of corners of the race remaining, Hamilton ensured the World Championship was his.