How much money does Kimi Antonelli take home for being F1 world champion?
He is the cheapest winner since Nico Rosberg (2016), and less than Norris in 2025
One of the questions that sparks the most curiosity at the end of each year is how much the world champion earns in a multimillion-dollar sport like F1. In the case of Kimi Antonelli, due to his relatively low salary in the ranking because it is his first rookie contract at Mercedes, his total earnings are affected at the end of 2026.
Most lists estimate it at two or three million, but it seems that being in his second year, his base salary is five million for this season , according to what MARCA has learned. Compared with Verstappen’s 65, Hamilton’s 60, or the 38 Alonso will pocket in 2027 after renewing with Aston Martin, it sounds like a joke, but for a second season in F1 it is not bad at all.
That said, Antonelli is going to benefit from a special prerogative that Mercedes does apply and that is not done by almost all teams. The three-pointed star brand provides for a bonus both for the Constructors' World Championship and for the Drivers' World Championship, and it seems to be around 10 million for each crown. The total sum comes to about 25 million for Kimi, at 20 years old, some five short of the 30 that Lando Norris took home for his first title in 2025.
What is curious is that George Russell, with his 15 million annual base salary, will take home an amount very simil ar to that of the young Italian star. Between the two of them, they do not even reach Max’s 65, and that must be a reason for joy for Toto Wolff. It should be remembered that drivers’ salaries are not included within the 205 million euro budget cap established for 2026 by the FIA.
He needs to renew after becoming champion
That said, apparently his initial contract runs until the end of 2026 and he still has a meeting pending with Toto Wolff... and with Susie Wolff, who represents him through the "management" company of which she is an executive. It is not very hard to imagine that Antonelli's new salary could exceed 30 million, so if he is champion in 2027 he will no longer be so cheap for Mercedes.
