Hamilton Supports Antonelli at the Belgian Grand Prix
Andrea Kimi Antonelli revealed that Lewis Hamilton visited him at Mercedes to offer words of encouragement before the Belgian Grand Prix.
The young 18-year-old driver showed signs of frustration after being eliminated in Q1. Antonelli’s arrival in Formula 1 comes after Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari this season.
Hamilton was seen leaving one of the Mercedes race trucks on Sunday, hours before the race.
“He came to greet the team and we definitely had a couple of words,” Antonelli said about Hamilton’s visit. “He told me to keep my head up, that it’s normal to have bad weekends and to keep believing. It was really nice for me.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli admitted that his rookie season has taken “a step back” since his first F1 podium at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.The young pilot has had a year full of events, including passing his driving test and finishing his school exams, at his mother’s insistence.
By joining Mercedes, Antonelli has integrated into the team where Hamilton achieved most of his success in Formula 1.
Hamilton, 40 years old, also had a difficult week at Spa-Francorchamps and apologized to Ferrari after finishing the race in seventh place, while his teammate Charles Leclerc achieved a podium.
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After the race, Hamilton expressed to Sky Sports F1 his admiration for the performance of his replacement at Mercedes.
“I can’t imagine what he’s doing,” said Hamilton, referring to Antonelli’s age.
“I think he’s done fantastically. Being thrown into the deep end at 18 is… he didn’t even have a driver’s license when he started racing, so I think it’s a lot of responsibility for someone and I think he’s doing a great job. And he has a great group of people around him. He has Bono [Hamilton’s former race engineer, Peter Bonnington] by his side, he couldn’t have had anyone better.”
