Alonso is the most marketable F1 driver globally

Globally, Fernando Alonso is the most marketable driver ahead of the start of the 2014 F1 season. Public perception of Alonso ranks him higher than any other F1 driver, Repucom’s Celebrity DBI finds.

Great Britain’s Lewis Hamilton is the second most marketable whilst the Brazilian, Felipe Massa, four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkönen make up the top 5.

Globally, Alonso is known by 71.14% of people and in his native Spain, 98.35% of the population know of the former F1 champion. In the US, only 12.76% of the population are aware of the driver. However, of the US population who do know of the Spaniard, 84.5% like the driver and 76.74% say that he has some influence over their purchasing intent. Alongside his deal with Oakley in the US, Alonso’s endorsements with Viceroy and Eurocar all add to his international exposure and appeal.

Lewis Hamilton’s new deal with Bombardier in Canada shows too just how far the sport is now reaching. The British driver is known by 63.65% of people globally, almost 10 percentage points more than the four time and current World Champion, Sebastian Vettel (54.3%). Indeed, in his native Germany, Vettel is known of by 97.58% of the population and is seen by Germans as the fourth most marketable person in the world.

Nigel Geach, Senior Vice President of Motorsport, Repucom, said: “It may be a surprise to some that globally, Sebastian Vettel does not score as highly in terms of public opinion as the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Massa. Alonso’s dominance in the rankings is down in large part to his international deals and association with the Ferrari brand. Despite Red Bull’s recent successes, globally, 59% of F1 fans have an interest in the Ferrari team, representing the highest levels of interest in any F1 team and with races screened across 160 global markets to a cumulative global TV audience of 1.8 billion, one can see the importance this can have on perception.

“Take the US market as an example, avid fans of F1 are growing, up from 15% in 2011 to 19% in 2013. Alonso is a very likeable driver and as the global appeal of the sport increases, people seem to be rooting more and more for a new F1 champion and as the results show, Alonso is starting to edge ahead as the fans favorite.

“For domestic markets, these rankings shift somewhat. Alonso scores highly in his native Spain and in Italy, the home of Ferrari, whilst Vettel, Hamilton, Massa, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button are all good examples of the difference domestic perceptions play in local markets.

“The new F1 season is sure to excite and with new car designs and the double points rule coming into play we could well see Vettel’s recent dominance on the track challenged and new audiences thanks to new races playing a pivotal role in global consumer perceptions.”

Domestically, these scores are slightly different. Remarkably, in Massa’s home country of Brazil, he is known by 99.2% of the population, illustrating the highest levels of awareness of any driver based on domestic results. Massa actually only ranks as the 40th most marketable person in the world based on Brazilian perceptions.

Indeed, levels of awareness are not everything. The overall DBI scores are based on eight metrics and although awareness does play a vital role, accounting for 60% of the overall score, how the driver is seen publically by those that know of them produces a final indication of their marketability.