F1 champion Lewis Hamilton opened a company in Malta with the apparent aim of hilding Income deriving from sponsorship deals, the Paradise Papers leaks have revealed.

Hamilton’s links with Malta in what is being dubbed as the second Panama Papers are being reported by the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

The Guardian is one of several partners working with the Investigative Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which is sharing the leaks obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The UK newspaper reports that Hamilton used an Isle of Man scheme to avoid paying taxes on his £7 million jet. It is estimated that he avoided paying some £3.2 million in tax.

Hamilton acquired the Bombardier Challenger in 2013 through a series of companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The Guardian reports that, in March 2015 he incorporated 44IP in Malta. The company’s stated purpose was to hold “image rights … trademarks, royalties, copyrights”. Its shares were held by Inday Rose Ltd, the BVI company that also ultimately owns his jet, and BRV.

The latter rents the jet and also holds the F1 driver’s contract with employers Mercedes.

"The purpose of 44IP appears to be to channel income from sponsorship deals via Malta, which charges foreign shareholders a 5% corporation tax rate," the Guardian said.

Hamilton has lived as a tax exile since 2007, first living in Switzerland and now Monaco. His worth is estimated at £131 million.