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 Australia 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 .