Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel Take a Tumble in Forbes List

Lewis Hamilton saw his earnings skyrocketed between the 2017 and 2018 Formula One seasons. However, his earnings have taken a huge hit, when he slipped well down the order in Forbes’ list of richest athletes in the world. His rival, Sebastian Vettel was the only other F1 candidate on the list.

Back in 2018, Lewis Hamilton was just shy of the top 10, when he was ranked 12th on the list. However, this time around, the 5-time Formula One world champion drops a place to 13th. According to Forbes, Hamilton’s earnings reached $55million in 2018, solely consisting of his annual salary from Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Vettel’s endorsements rank among the lowest on the whole list, a situation similar to last year. Forbes estimated that his extra income amounted to just $300K, in addition to a salary of $40m.

Currently, Lewis Hamilton is tied with boxer Anthony Joshua in 13th place. In other words, he is no longer the highest paid British athlete, but has to share the distinction. However, his rank may change for the better in 2020, as he signed a new contract with Mercedes. Reports state that Hamilton’s salary jumped to $50m with his new deal for the 2020 season.

Coming to Vettel, he was earlier lying in 18th in the 2018 Forbes list, but has fallen even further now. The German finds himself languishing in 30th place in 2019, especially with salaries of American sports stars rising.

Meanwhile, at the top, Argentina football star, Lionel Messi reclaims top spot from Floyd Mayweather Jr. The boxer had his Las Vegas mega fight with Conor McGregor to thank for sealing number 1. However, Mayweather Jr has dropped out of the leading places on the Forbes list.

Boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, NFL stars Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger and golfing icon Tiger Woods also claw their way into the top 10. Al of these athletes have leapfrogged Lewis Hamilton in the standings.

The two F1 rivals are the sole motor racing representatives in the top 100, with Fernando Alonso dropping out compared to 2018.