The Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team has reportedly earned an impressive revenue of over $58 million (€50 million) due to Lewis Hamilton‘s arrival at the team in January. The seven-time world champion made his Ferrari race debut at the Australian Grand Prix this year.
Hamilton’s bombshell move to Ferrari was highly anticipated after the announcement was made ahead of the 2024 season. This was not only for sporting reasons, but also given the iconic nature of the partnership in the premier class of racing.
However, apart from the Briton’s sprint race victory in China, he has been struggling to extract maximum performance from Ferrari’s SF-25 F1 car. The most recent race at the Hungaroring saw him finish in P12, his worst in the 2025 season thus far.
Despite the ongoing challenges on the racetrack, Ferrari has been making major gains financially through its partnership with Hamilton, as reported by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport. The report stated:
“Hamilton’s presence has increased sponsorship revenues by around €50 million annually. In April 2024, following the announcement of the driver’s signing, an agreement was signed with HP for €80-90 million: the Reds returned to having a title sponsor after three years.
“This and the other contracts, signed prematurely, are not affected by the disappointing results. The other lever is brand exploitation (fashion, merchandising, licensing).” [Translated by Google]
The revenue would have been higher if Ferrari and Hamilton had delivered better results. Speaking on the financial boost for Ferrari, Giovanni Palazzi, president of StageUp, said:
“The increase in merchandising and the increase in sponsorship revenue can be explained by Hamilton’s appeal, as he’s not just a driver but a living sporting legend. His image transcends Formula 1 and speaks to a global audience, bridging sport, fashion, and pop culture.
“This global charisma, combined with the legend of the Prancing Horse, created an irresistible combination for fans and brands at the time of the announcement and then the start of this season, resulting in record sales and top-level partnerships.
“Naturally, there’s a weakness: if the negative results persist, the legend could also suffer, impacting enthusiasm and commercial returns.”
Ferrari needs to outperform McLaren on the racetrack to increase its revenue further. Team principal Fred Vasseur revealed that Ferrari must remain consistent on race weekends to compete with the dominant Papaya outfit. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
“I think that the advantage that they [McLaren] have today is that they are always there – it doesn’t matter [the conditions]. OK, in qualifying, we were a bit faster, but it was marginal, and they are performing in every single condition when we are a bit more inconsistent during the weekend.
“We need to be very consistent in every single condition. In the free practice to have a good preparation for the race, in Q1, Q2, Q3, with all the sets in the race, with the different compounds and so on. I think it’s where today they are a bit more performant than us.”
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