He has already been dubbed the “Black Beckham”, but Lewis Hamilton is in pole position to surpass the earning power of Britain’s richest sports star after one race in Formula One. As Hamilton was climbing out of the cockpit of his McLaren Mercedes after claiming a spectacular third place in his first grand prix, the money men had their calculators out to estimate how much this affable young man from the village of Tewin, Hertfordshire, could be worth.

Even the most cautious could not help themselves forecasting that Hamilton will bring in more money in sponsorships, image rights and publishing deals than David Beckham — and go on to beat the $1 billion (about £515 million) banked over his career by Michael Schumacher, Formula One’s last superstar.

It is an awesome label to stick on a youngster of 22 who has only one 90-minute race — at the Australian Grand Prix yesterday — under the belt of his silver race suit. But everyone in Formula One — from Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s ringmaster, to Martin Brundle, the ITV pundit and former grand prix racer — agrees that a rare talent has taken to the world sporting stage.

And the clamour to buy a piece of Hamilton will be overwhelming. Dominic Curran, director at Karen Earl Sponsorship, one of the world’s leading sports marketing agencies, said: “Lewis has everything — looks, poise, he is articulate and we cannot escape the fact that he is also the first black driver in Formula One and that alone will mean an enormous amount in the market place. He will make a huge amount over a long career, easily in the Beckham class and beyond.”

Hamilton’s timing also appears to be immaculate. Just as Formula One was mourning the loss to retirement of Schumacher, Hamilton has appeared to fill the publicity void, keeping television viewers around the world focused on Formula One, pleasing sponsors and maintaining Ecclestone’s grand prix circus as the most profitable sport on earth. Being Formula One’s first black driver in a sport that has been populated mostly by white faces, only strengthens Ecclestone’s hand as he tries to widen the appeal of Formula One into new markets, such as India and the Far East.

Hamilton’s emergence also could not be better for Vodafone, which pulled out of a shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United and ended three years of sponsoring Beckham to sign up with McLaren, Hamilton’s team. The deal to have the flanks of Hamilton’s dramatic, silver McLaren Mercedes car painted with Vodafone logos is said to be worth £100 million — more than the company put into football — and this morning, thanks to Hamilton, appears to be worth every penny. Instead of Beckham, it is Hamilton who will now be the face of Vodafone around the world.

“Lewis is a ground-breaker,” David Wheldon, Vodafone’s head of global marketing, said.

“If he fulfils his potential, he can be as big as Beckham.”

The former England captain has recently signed what promises to be the biggest single contract in sport, worth an estimated $250 million over five years, with Los Angeles Galaxy. But if Hamilton starts winning, McLaren will have to raise his salary into Schumacher territory to keep him, which means that the youngster could be earning more than £20 million a season even before the marketing men sign him up to lucrative sponsorship deals that will cover everything from high-priced wristwatches to expensive colognes and cars — and with a career that could, like Schumacher’s, last for a further 15 years.

It is a long way from sleepy Tewin, between Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage, with its church and two pubs. The most exciting weekly adventure there is the guided walk around the village each Thursday. So far, Hamilton’s £1 million mansion does not appear on the itinerary, but soon the guides will be unable to resist pointing out where their local hero resides.

Racing certainty

— Lewis Hamilton made his first public appearance on Blue Peter in 1991, aged 6, “driving” a remote-controlled car

— His distinctive yellow helmet with red flashes was designed by Anthony, his father, because he wanted to be able to see his son was safe in the mêlée of junior kart racing

— Michael Schumacher, the son of a builder, raced for 16 seasons, being paid at his peak £22.5 million a year Hamilton is thought to be earning less than £500,000 in his first season

— Schumacher failed to finish his first grand prix, in 1991, when his Jordan broke a clutch

— Ladbrokes shortened odds on Hamilton to win a grand prix to 2-5 yesterday and made him second favourite at 5-1 behind Andy Murray to be the 2007 BBC Sports Personality of the Year