He may have also reached the top step of the podium at the China GP, becoming the first Italian to win a World Championship race since Giancarlo Fisichella (who won the Malaysian GP on March 19, 2006), but financially Andrea Kimi Antonelli still has a long way to go if he intends to catch up with his rivals.
A MULTIMILLION-DEBUT FOR THE 19-YEAR-OLD FROM BOLOGNA
According to a ranking reported by Gazzetta dello Sport, the contract with Mercedes guaranteed the Bolognese driver a 5 million salary and a whopping 7.5 million in bonuses, for a total of 12.5 million dollars earned in 2025.
Earnings that allow the 19-year-old driver to close the top ten of the 10 highest-paid drivers. A prestigious result considering his young age but especially the other names in the ranking dominated by Max Verstappen (65 million salary + 11 million bonus) and Lewis Hamilton (70 million guaranteed by Ferrari and 500,000 dollars in bonuses).
THE DRIVERS JUST AHEAD OF ANTONELLI
The climb for Andrea Kimi Antonelli does not seem unlikely: ahead of the Bolognese in the ranking is the Williams driver, Carlos Sainz Jr., who is ahead by “only” half a million dollars. The gap widens to 1 million when looking at eighth place, occupied by Lance Stroll of Aston Martin (the only team, excluding the top teams, to have both drivers in the ranking despite the economic crisis affecting the British brand of the same name). Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s teammate, the English George Russell, has a 15 million salary and 11 million in bonuses, for a total of 26 million dollars.
THE BOOST FROM SPONSORS
But the earnings for the very young Bolognese athlete are not over. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been chosen as a brand ambassador by the Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen and also has a line of Police sunglasses dedicated to him. Then of course there are the brands linked to Mercedes, starting with Adidas which outfits the drivers. Jokingly (but perhaps not too much) Andrea Kimi Antonelli said that in 2025 he dedicated as many as 42 days solely to marketing commitments related to the team.
