Formula 1 has always seen young talent rise from the grassroots, but only a few manage to grab the spotlight right at the start of their careers.
One of them is 19-year-old Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix and became the second-youngest race winner in F1 history, behind only Max Verstappen, who won his first race at the age of 18. But who exactly is Kimi Antonelli? What is his F1 2026 salary, how did he rise through the ranks to world's most thrilling motorsports, and what do we know about his life off the track? Here's everything you need to know.
The young Italian created history on Saturday by becoming the youngest pole sitter in Formula 1 history after qualifying first in Shanghai, ahead of his teammate George Russell. On race day, Antonelli did not make a mistak, leading the field that incuded seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, and other star drivers.
Hamilton finished third, while Russell held on to second place, giving Mercedes another 1-2 finish early in the 2026 season. The result followed the team's strong start at the season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, where Antonelli had already finished second.
For Antonelli, it was the first Formula 1 victory of his career, a moment every driver dreams about. And when the reality finally hit him after the race, the young Italian struggled to hide his emotions.
"I'm speechless," Antonelli said in the post-race interview. "I'm about to cry, to be honest. Thank you so much to the team because they helped me achieve this dream."
Who is Kimi Antonelli?
Antonelli first entered the spotlight in the F1 world in 2025 when Mercedes announced him as the replacement for Lewis Hamilton. The decision immediately sparked debate across the paddock. After all, Hamilton had spent more than a decade with Mercedes and won six of his seven world championships with the team.
So the big question was obvious, who was the teenager replacing one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history?
Mercedes surprised entire F1 fraternity by promoting an 18-year-old rookie, showing just how much faith team principal Toto Wolff had in the young Italian.
Antonelli made his Formula 1 debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix at 18 years and 203 days old. That made him the third-youngest driver ever to start an F1 race, behind Max Verstappen, who debuted at 17 in 2015, and Lance Stroll, who was 18 years and 148 days old when he debuted in 2017.
Toto Wolff's Trust
His first-ever outing in F1 didn't start smoothly at the Albert Park. Antonelli qualified only 16th on the grid, but on Sunday, in a chaotic rain-affected race, he fought through the field to finish fourth. The result made him the second-youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history and justified Mercedes' bold decision.
After that drive, Wolff's gamble no longer looked risky, it looked visionary. Now, the only question for some was, where did this young driver come from?
Antonelli was born on 25 August 2006 in Bologna, Italy. Motorsport was already part of his life from the beginning. His father, Marco Antonelli, is a former racing driver and the owner of the Antonelli Motorsport team.
He started karting at the age of seven and showed exceptional pace. By the time he was 12, he had already caught the attention of the Mercedes driver development program and joined the Mercedes Junior Team in 2019.
Between 2022 and 2023, Antonelli dominated the junior categories, winning multiple titles including the Italian Formula 4 Championship, the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, and the Formula Regional European Championship.
His performances were so strong that he skipped Formula 3 entirely, unlike other drivers. In 2024, he stepped straight into Formula 2 with Prema Racing. Despite being the youngest driver on the grid, he quickly proved he belonged there, taking victories at Silverstone and Budapest.
The biggest moment of his junior career came on 31 August 2024 during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, when Mercedes officially confirmed that the 18-year-old would replace Hamilton for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Since making that leap, Antonelli has continued rewriting the record books. He ended the 2025 year as the highest-scoring rookie ever with 150 points.
At the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying on 14 March 2026, Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history, breaking a long-standing record previously held by Sebastian Vettel.
Kimi Antonelli's F1 salary and net worth
Antonelli's financial profile has must have grown following his promotion to one of Formula 1's biggest teams. However, his base salary at Mercedes is reported to be around $2 million per year (roughly £1.5 million). Apart from the salary, the drivers earn from performance bonuses and incentives.
By 2026, big brands like Adidas, IWC Schaffhausen, and Police Lifestyle inked with the young Italian driver. With bonuses included, Antonelli's total earnings for the 2026 season could reportedly reach as much as $12.5 million. His total net worth, however, is not confirmed yet.
Does Kimi Antonelli have a girlfriend?
Off the track, Antonelli has largely kept his personal life private, but as of now, the Mercedes driver is believed to be single. He was previously in a relationship with Czech karting champion Eliska Babickova. The couple had reportedly been together since October 2023, but the relationship ended in February 2026. Babickova later confirmed that the two decided to part ways due to different long-term priorities.
The teenager still finishing school
Despite racing at the highest level of motorsport, Antonelli was still completing his final year of school during his rookie F1 season in 2025. The young driver remained viral on social media for his least interest in mathematics. The fact that he sometimes asked his teammate George Russell for help with homework while traveling between races, kept fans entertained and made him one of the most likeable character in the sport.