F1 fans shocked as 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton disappears from Forbes highest-paid celebrity list

Lewis Hamilton, the seven time world champion and one of the greatest ever in the sport, has been quite a regular feature in the Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest paid sports stars. The British racer has featured on the list on two separate occasions, once in 2017 when he was placed 10th, and again in 2021 when he was eighth.

Lewis Hamilton apparently had a combined on and off-track earning of $82 million last year, as quoted by Forbes. It equated to around 58.5 million pounds at that time according to the exchange rates.

The cut-off for this year’s top 10 list was $80.9 million. Since Hamilton did not make it on to the list, it is a clear indication that the 37-year-old Briton’s income has fallen over the last year. And this came as a shock to his fans who reacted to the news on Twitter.

[GP Blog]
Hamilton no longer among top ten highest paid athletes in the world#F1 #LewisHamilton #Formula1 #F1Newshttps://t.co/wkTmuOqcUP pic.twitter.com/eYj5EvixdQ

— Podium Db (@podiumdb) May 12, 2022

Other prominent sportsperson in the list include argentine footballing legend Lionel Messi topping the list. NFL Superstar Tom Brady, who appeared alongside Hamilton at a promotional event before the Miami Grand Prix, maintained his place in the list. Hamilton and Tom Brady were spotted playing golf together and conducting a joint interview.

Other people on the list includes NBA stars Kevin Durant and LeBron James, tennis legend Roger Federer and two other footballers – Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Paris Saint Germain’s Neymar.

Hamilton led the F1 pack in terms of earning last year

Forbes also came out with a list of Formula One drivers sorted according to their projected earnings, in July 2021. The calculation of their income included their salary as per their racing contracts plus any bonuses mentioned in the contracts.

Hamilton was the unsurprising leader of that list as well as he came out on top comfortably. He was followed my last year’s World Champion Max Verstappen. Two-times world champion Fernando Alonso completed the podium as the third highest paid F1 driver.

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