THE FUSE

In September 2025, Sportico confirmed what the paddock had been quietly calculating for months. Lewis Hamilton had become the first Formula One driver in the sport's 75-year history to earn $100 million in a single calendar year. The figure arrived not from the racetrack alone but from the convergence of a record Ferrari contract, an endorsement portfolio that has only grown more powerful since his departure from Mercedes, and a film production company that co-produced a movie which earned $633 million at the global box office. The timing was ironic. His first season in the famous red car had been, by his own admission, a nightmare. Ferrari handed him machinery that was not yet built around him. He finished the 2025 season sixth in the drivers' championship, without a race win and without a title challenge. He also finished it richer than any racing driver who had ever lived.