Lewis Hamilton described the morning he learned his long-held Mercedes seat would pass to Kimi Antonelli as surreal and deeply moving.
Lewis Hamilton revealed he was moved to learn that the seat he has held at Mercedes F1 since 2013 will be occupied by Andrea Kimi Antonelli starting in 2025. The seven-time world champion had already received this information, but its realization touched him.
“I’ve known for a long time,” Hamilton stated. “But the morning of the announcement, I knew it would be made at Monza, and I woke up and it was really surreal. Having the official confirmation that my seat was taken while I had been in it for so long, it was very moving.”
“But I am really happy for Kimi and for this team. I know Kimi will do a good job. He’s a great kid, he has a wonderful family around him, he’s level-headed and very talented. He will succeed. I’m very excited for him.”
Asked how he feels with a few races to the end of the season, Hamilton admits he feels emotional at every race since Bahrain: “It’s been the case all year. I love my team so much, and we’ve been through a lot together.”
“That’s why it will be emotional at every race, because each race we do is the last time at that particular race and each race gets closer and closer to the last time I will be in a Mercedes and it’s tough, it will definitely be tough.”
“My goal now is to try to do the best job possible for the team and to finish strong. I have to find myself for the qualifiers in some way. My race pace is excellent, I just need to find a way to get back to what I was before.”
Antonelli thanks the “great guy” that is Hamilton
Antonelli recalled his first meeting with Hamilton at Monza in 2018, when he was a grid kid before the start: “It was 2018, I was a grid boy. It was crazy because they assigned me to Lewis. I was already very excited. Just before that moment, they had just finished singing the national anthem.”
“And as Lewis was returning to the car, I remember calling out to him and telling him – ‘remember, you are the best, you can win this’ because the battle was tight with Ferrari. I remember telling him that, and he ended up winning the race. It was a great feeling to be able to congratulate him just before the race.”
He does not feel like he is replacing Hamilton and praises the Briton and his demeanor: “I have to be honest, no one can ever replace Lewis because he is a great driver, a great figure in the sport. He has helped me. Before my first testing session, he came over, congratulated me, and told me to enjoy as much as possible.”
“During weekends, we sometimes meet up, we talk a bit about how the session went, and sometimes he gives me advice, like to keep working hard and to believe in myself because my time will come. He’s a great guy, and I’m really grateful to have built a relationship with him. He’s a very good driver and he’s also very kind.”
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Hamilton’s Surreal Morning at Monza Unveiled Hamilton’s Surreal Morning at Monza Unveiled
