Lewis Hamilton is heading into the new Formula One season as the favourite to seal his third world championship , but the Briton is only the fourth-most marketable driver in the sport . According to a survey released by Repucom on the eve of the curtain raiser in Australia , Hamilton fails to make the top three , which is headed by Fernando Alonso . Alonso has been ruled out of the season opener in Melbourne after he sustained concussion during a testing crash in Barcelona last month . Fernando Alonso , who will miss the season opener in Australia , is the sport 's most marketable driver . Defending champion Lewis Hamilton , pictured at the BRITs with singer Ellie Goulding is fourth on the list . Alonso heads the top 10 with his former team-mate Felipe Massa and four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel completing the podium places . But the McLaren driver ’ s popularity in his native Spain sees him top the 'most marketable ' list ahead of the Williams driver of Felipe Massa , with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel snatching the final podium spot . ‘ 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 , ’ said Nigel Geach , Senior Vice President of Motorsport . ‘ 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 , pictured playing Aussie Rules on Wednesday , is third on the list of most-marketable drivers . Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel completes the podium places in the Repucom survey . Hamilton , who is in the final stages of contract discussions with Mercedes over a deal to seal his foreseeable future with the team , is the highest climber in the survey which is based on the perceptions of people from the racers ’ native countries . Ninety-three per cent of Britons know of Hamilton , according to the survey . This compares to 98 per cent of Spaniards for Alonso , and a whopping 99 per cent of Brazilians who are aware of the former Ferrari driver . Jenson Button is fifth on the list , with Nico Rosberg , Daniel Ricciardo , Romain Grosjean , 17-year-old Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez completing the top 10 .
Fernando Alonso is most marketable driver , according to Repucom survey . The McLaren star has been ruled out of the season opener in Barcelona after sustaining concussion in a pre-season crash at the Circuit de Catalunya . Lewis Hamilton was fourth on the list , but was the highest climber . Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel completed podium spots behind Alonso . CLICK HERE for all the latest Formula One news .