Alonso still F1’s most marketable driver

Reuters/MelbourneFernando Alonso will be missing from Sunday’s Australian season-opener but the Spaniard remains Formula One’s most marketable driver, according to a survey released yesterday. Germany-based analysts Repucom said the double world champion, who left Ferrari for McLaren at the end of last year, had retained top position in their ranking based on domestic perception. “In Spain, over 98 percent of people know of Alonso, 88 percent of which say they see him as an effective brand endorser and 83 percent saying they trust the two-time World Champion,” the report said. The Spaniard is absent from Australia on doctors’ orders after crashing heavily in Barcelona testing last month. McLaren expect him to return at the next race in Malaysia. Alonso’s former Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa, now with Williams, was second on the list ahead of four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel and double world champion Lewis Hamilton. Repucom said Hamilton’s recognition had grown to 93 percent in Britain, with the 30-year-old now ahead of compatriot Jenson Button after winning his second title with Mercedes last season. Dutch 17-year-old Max Verstappen, who will become the youngest ever Formula One driver when he makes his race debut with Toro Rosso in Melbourne on Sunday, was listed ninth. The Repucom ranking is based on public perceptions of the drivers in their native countries, measured against eight metrics to give an overall marketability score.Van der Garde wins court ruling against Sauber An Australian court yesterday ruled that Dutchman Giedo van der Garde can drive for Sauber at the season-opening Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend. Van der Garde had claimed he was guaranteed a drive for the 2015 season but that the Swiss team reneged on the deal and instead handed births to Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson and rookie Brazilian Felipe Nasr. He originally took his case to a Swiss arbitration tribunal which ordered Sauber to keep him on the team, and Supreme Court Justice Clyde Croft backed that ruling, enforcing it in Victoria state. The decision opens the door to the 29-year-old driving at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, giving him just two days to prepare for Friday’s pre-race practice sessions. Sauber lawyer Rodney Garratt had argued it would be “reckless” to let him compete in an unfamiliar car and without going through the two-week custom seat-fitting process. He said such a move would put other drivers and support staff at an “unacceptable” risk and it would be “reckless and dangerous”. But van der Garde’s lawyer Tom Clarke said in 2012, a Formula One driver was fitted with a seat just three days after being granted a drive by an emergency ruling.