Kimi Antonelli brings home gold at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, here’s how much the driver earns.
With his triumph at the Shanghai GP, Kimi Antonelli is the youngest driver to ever secure pole position and the second to ever win a Formula 1 race, after Max Verstappen at 18. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the full name of the 19-year-old who brought gold back to Italy, which, despite several records, had not won first place since 2006. That’s the same year Antonelli was born, and he seems truly destined for success. He appears to have demonstrated his talent and passion for motorsports from a very young age, hopping on go-karts at just 2 years old and independently driving a "Delfino" kart (designed specifically for younger drivers) at just 5.
He never stopped, getting his driving license when he was already making a name for himself with racing cars, and managing to balance his studies with motorsports. He graduated on schedule, in 2025, from a Relations and Marketing institute in the province of Bologna, studying while traveling long distances to take part in races. Success followed success, until yesterday he achieved every driver’s goal, racing with the number 12 in honor of Ayrton Senna (despite sharing a name with Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen).
"A lot," Antonelli told his fans on social media, celebrating his strong performance, enthusiasm, and spontaneity despite his professional and financial achievements. Speaking of which, let’s see how much the Italian driver earns.
How much does Kimi Antonelli earn
At the Formula 1 GP, Kimi Antonelli certainly fulfilled a dream, but he’s not yet starting to reap the rewards of his hard work. Last year, he was already among the 10 highest-paid Formula 1 drivers in the world in Forbes’s ranking, despite having just debuted in the championship with Mercedes.
According to the magazine’s estimates, Antonelli would have a salary of approximately 12.5 million euros per month including bonuses in 2025.
A very high figure, especially for a rookie driver, but it still doesn’t represent 100% of his earnings. Professional drivers also earn money thanks to the personal sponsors who support them during races, so the estimate should be revised upwards, but it’s difficult to quantify. These are certainly high amounts, reflecting not only the promising career of the young Antonelli but also the thriving moment that Formula 1 is experiencing. The prize money for his team’s position in the standings will exceed 120 million dollars, but it will be split among the team.
Growth and Obstacles for Formula 1
In recent years, the F1 Circus’s revenue has grown exponentially, reaching a record figure of nearly $3.9 billion in 2025, a 14% increase that has inevitably impacted team and driver salaries, as is the case in all sports. Therefore, 2026 will see even more generous rewards for the entire sector, especially for Antonelli, who brought Italy back to the top at the Chinese Grand Prix, just as he hoped.
On the other hand, growth will be partially limited by the geopolitical situation. On the very day of the Shanghai Grand Prix, Formula 1 announced the official cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prixs. War and tensions in the Middle East prevent the competitions from being held safely and efficiently, a necessary decision that risks being very costly for the Circus, which made the decision independently. The Middle Eastern races, which were scheduled to take place in April, would have generated revenues of around $100 million (based on previous years) and will not be compensated even partially, given that no replacements have been planned.
It’s unlikely that this year’s growth will match the previous year’s levels, especially considering that the cancellations impact the most thriving market, the European one. These are unavoidable challenges today, but they certainly won’t prevent the perhaps more modest increase in driver salaries, especially for Antonelli, buoyed by his success in China, which places him second (with 47 points) in the F1 driver rankings.
Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Quanto guadagna Kimi Antonelli, il pilota italiano che ha vinto il suo primo gran premio di Formula Uno?
