He has not won the Formula One World Championship yet - and his sternest critics say that he may never achieve that - but Lewis Hamilton is Britain's highest paid sportsman. In addition to his £75 million basic salary from McLaren Mercedes over the next five years, Hamilton is about to sign a personal sponsorship deal with Reebok, the sports equipment manufacturer, that is thought to be worth £10 million spread over a minimum of three years.

Taking this into account, Hamilton's combined earnings take him just past David Beckham, whose salary with the Los Angeles Galaxy football franchise, plus lucrative commercial endorsements, is estimated to be a little more than £16 million a year.

However, Hamilton looks set to leave Beckham in his rear-view mirror in the near future, if negotiations on a separate personal sponsorship deal thought to be with Pepsi, the drinks manufacturer, reach agreement. This could be worth the same as the Reebok contract, or substantially more.

Those close to Hamilton and his father, Anthony, who manages him, believe that the five-time grand prix winner who came second in his rookie season in Formula One and is lying joint second in this year's championship, could command career earnings of more than £500 million. To date, the richest Formula One driver in history is Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion, who is thought to have earned in the region of £500 million during a 17-year career in the sport.

The Reebok deal will make Hamilton, 23, one of the company's “global brand ambassadors” in a similar arrangement to its contracts with Thierry Henry and Andriy Shevchenko, the footballers, and Amir Khan, the boxer. In return for the money, Hamilton will be expected to fulfil appearance commitments and other duties, in addition to the work he undertakes on behalf of McLaren and the team's principal sponsors.

An intriguing element in the leak of the Reebok deal to a website yesterday was how quickly McLaren confirmed its existence. A spokesman for the team said: “We can confirm that Lewis Hamilton's father and manager Anthony has been in discussions with Reebok with regard to a personal sponsorship for Lewis.” The spokesman added that McLaren have been in close contact with Hamilton Sr during the negotiations and that any marketing work undertaken by Hamilton on behalf of Reebok will be “fully consistent” with his existing obligations to McLaren.

In the past the team led by Ron Dennis has been well known for not allowing drivers to sign personal image rights deals in addition to the company's sponsorships. The late Ayrton Senna famously broke this rule by endorsing a Brazilian bank. In this case McLaren are believed to accept that Hamilton is in a class of his own in Formula One as a new world superstar - even without World Championship titles to his name - and are not stopping him maximising his earnings.

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