How Hamilton generated Ferrari almost $500k from one photo

Ferrari is getting an almost immediate return on its investment in Lewis Hamilton after a photo shared on Tuesday provided massive value for the team’s sponsorship roster.

The 40-year-old started work at Maranello on Monday, with a series of photographs and video clips to mark the occasion going viral on social media over the early part of the week.

That included the first shot of the seven-time F1 drivers’ champion in his red Ferrari race suit and protective thermal.

First shared by Hamilton himself on Tuesday evening, an analysis of the photo and its reach on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) underlines how lucrative his arrival will be for the Scuderia.

Whilst engagements with the post have reached over 12 million by the time of writing this article, by Wednesday morning Sponsorlytix had estimated the value of its then 8 million interactions.

The financial benefit per company shown is listed in the image below.

Hamilton’s impact transcends on-track results

The overall total for the values listed above is $412,000. In the original post, Sponsorlytix highlighted the importance of logo placement in helping achieve the astounding figure for Ferrari’s sponsors.

“Every logo placement on Lewis’s kit delivers incredible value, showcasing the synergy between athletes’ social media presence and team sponsors,” it read.

Hamilton moving to Ferrari has been widely billed as F1’s most iconic driver of all time joining its most iconic team.

It is, therefore, no surprise that a photograph shared by the British driver of him standing outside Enzo Ferrari’s Fiorano office and next to a Ferrari F40 became the most-liked F1-related post on Instagram, with over 5.4 million after being posted on Monday.

The Italian team and Hamilton have been criticised over his move to Maranello, with many in F1 believing him to be a spent force and past his best.

The doubters include Flavio Briatore and Eddie Jordan, who have argued the Scuderia would have been better served keeping Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc.

Nonetheless, this week’s events show that Hamilton’s impact and influence transcends what he can achieve for the team on the racetrack.