Aussie Daniel Ricciardo Seventh Most Marketable F1 Driver

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 02: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and team Red Bull poses for portraits at the Circuito De Jerez on December 2, 2009 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

As he approaches one of the most anticipated races of his life in Melbourne this weekend, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has been named one of the top 10 most marketable F1 drivers in the world by Repucom.

Australian, Daniel Ricciardo who makes his debut in the rankings after a successful season cementing his place as a formidable F1 driver at Red Bull. Ricciardo sits in seventh position, knocking France’s Romain Grosjean into eighth spot.

The results are based on the perceptions of people from the racers’ native countries using Repucom’s Celebrity DBI index, with Alonso once again been crowned as the ‘Most Marketable F1 Driver’, as he was ahead of the 2014 season. In Spain, over 98% of people know of Alonso, 88% of which say they see him as an effective brand endorser and 83% saying they trust the two-time World Champion.

Alonso is followed by ex-team mate and current Williams’ driver, Felipe Massa, Ferrari’s four-time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel and reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton.

The biggest climber in the rankings is the UK’s Lewis Hamilton who jumps into 4th place and shows the biggest positive shift in terms of his overall marketability which has grown by two points from 81.69 ahead of the 2014 season, to 83.68 today.

Nigel Geach, senior vice president of Motorsport, Repucom, said: “There have been big changes in terms of team personnel during the F1 season break and whilst there are some shifts in the top 10 most marketable rankings, it is important to see how brands are reacting to 2015’s new grid line up.

“We are seeing a heightened level of consumer brands becoming involved in F1 in 2015, some which are changing allegiances. Ultimately it is them who will benefit most from the marketability of drivers. New consumer focused partnerships include CNN’s sponsorship of McLaren Honda, Hugo Boss’s deal with Mercedes AMG and Williams Martini partnerships with Hackett, Unilever and Rexona.

“Consumer brands will gravitate naturally to where the leading drivers are and with the dominance of Alonso’s profile off the track, a strong first season at McLaren could well see him pull even further from the pack. However, this season, the one to watch is Lewis Hamilton. With a host of personal endorsements to his name already and being a part of a team everyone was chasing last year, Hamilton has an opportunity to grow his reputation internationally as potentially one of F1’s finest. He has a high profile domestically brands will be watching the performance of this driver in 2015 very closely.”

Felipe Massa retains his spot as the second most marketable driver, supported mainly by his high and positive profile in his native Brazil. Some 99% of all Brazilians know of the driver, 89% of which saying they like him.

Another newcomer to the ranking includes 17 year old, Max Verstappen from the Netherlands.

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