Kimi Antonelli watched Lewis Hamilton closely at Mercedes. Toto Wolff signed the Italian as an 11-year-old, and he accompanied the team around the world for much of last season.
Hamilton had announced in the off-season that he was leaving to join Ferrari. Even though he hadn’t yet started his Formula 2 career, and was only 17 years old, Antonelli quickly emerged as a contender.
It wasn’t until the start of September that Wolff confirmed his promotion. But it had been clear for months that Antonelli was in line to get the seat, with Carlos Sainz – the only realistic alternative – instead shopping the midfield market.
2024 certainly wasn’t Hamilton’s finest season. George Russell thrashed him 19-5 in qualifying – ominous for Antonelli, perhaps – and he produced some of the poorest Sundays of his career too.
But his replacement will surely have benefitted from the chance to study him up close. He could, for instance, listen to Hamilton’s technical feedback in the team’s debriefs.
Hamilton left a message for Antonelli inside the Mercedes facility in the F1 paddock. The two are likely to compete against one another during the upcoming season.
Kimi Antonelli admits he ‘cheered on’ Sebastian Vettel over Lewis Hamilton
Speaking to Bild, Antonelli confirmed that he’d been taking notes from Hamilton’s ‘working methods’. He called him an ‘incredible driver’.
However, he revealed that, as a child, he supported one of the Briton’s greatest rivals. Hamilton fought Sebastian Vettel for the title in 2010, 2017 and 2018.
Antonelli was just four years old when Vettel won his first championship. But he loved the similarities he saw between the ex-Ferrari driver and Ayrton Senna.
| EVENT | ANTONELLI AGE |
| Vettel makes Formula 1 debut | 10 months |
| Vettel joins Red Bull | 1 year old |
| Vettel wins first F1 championship | 4 years old |
| Vettel joins Ferrari | 8 years old |
| Vettel retires from Formula 1 | 16 years old |
Antonelli idolises Senna even though he was born long after his passing.
“Lewis is an incredible driver and I’m glad that I’ve been able to study his working methods up close in recent years,” he said. “But if I’m honest, I cheered on Sebastian Vettel as a child.
“He always impressed me with his driving style and his character. Just like Ayrton Senna.”
Why Helmut Marko didn’t allow Sebastian Vettel to return to F1 in 2025
Vettel, a four-time world champion, retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season. He’d spent two concluding seasons with Aston Martin after losing his Ferrari drive.
In 2018, Vettel saw right through Fernando Alonso when he retired. He knew that his long-time foe was planning to come back eventually, and it’s now emerged that the German tried to do the same.
Helmut Marko blocked Vettel’s return to F1 as Max Verstappen’s teammate. Marko feared he’d tarnish his reputation as a legendary driver by trying to beat his symbolic successor at the age of 37.
In a rather brutal verdict, David Coulthard says Vettel would be ‘delusional’ if he thought he was still quick enough for F1. The 53-time Grand Prix winner tested a Porsche hypercar last year but hasn’t yet announced any plans to return to racing in a different discipline.
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