Kimi Antonelli shares how ‘amazing’ Lewis Hamilton has helped him behind the scenes before Mercedes move

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Kimi Antonelli faces one of the most daunting tasks in Formula 1 history next year. He will succeed Lewis Hamilton, the most decorated driver the sport has ever seen, at Mercedes.

What’s more, Hamilton’s partnership with the Silver Arrows is unparalleled. They’ve delivered a record six world championships together, as well as 84 race wins.

And yet, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff passed up a multiple race-winner in Carlos Sainz, the victim of Hamilton’s Ferrari move. Instead, it always looked like he’d place his faith in Antonelli – assuming he couldn’t prise Max Verstappen away from Red Bull.

His soon-to-be Mercedes teammate George Russell spent three years learning at Williams before he replaced Valtteri Bottas. Antonelli, on the other hand, joins the frontrunning team as a rookie.

Wolff has limited expectations for Antonelli on his debut in Australia, and indeed in his first season. He’s willing to show patience with a teenager who’s clearly raw but has shown superstar potential in his ascent up the junior ladder.

Antonelli is one of four rookies confirmed for the 2025 grid. He joins PREMA teammate Oliver Bearman (Haas), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and the newly-signed Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber/Audi).

Lewis Hamilton is helping Kimi Antonelli understand ‘the way he works’

Speaking to the official Mercedes website, Antonelli shared his interactions with both drivers ahead of his debut. He’s found it ‘super cool’ to see how Hamilton operates.

He’s reluctant to ‘bother’ either of the drivers during a race weekend, but he will ask them about their thought processes when he sees fit. Mercedes have likely granted him access to their briefings.

Antonelli will have to learn from the mistakes that have been made on Hamilton’s side of the garage in recent times. He trails Russell 15-6 in qualifying this year, and has only beaten him six times in the races too.

“Who better to learn off than drivers like Lewis and George?” he said. “Building a relationship with George will be important for next year, and seeing how Lewis works with the team has been super cool to watch because he has so much experience. He really helps you understand the way he works.

“I don’t want to bother them during a weekend, but sometimes I ask for advice or ask for why they made a certain decision. They are both amazing. It’s been great to work with them both.”

Juan-Pablo Montoya warns Mercedes face ‘serious problem’ with Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli crashed just 10 minutes into his FP1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix, 24 hours before he was unveiled as a 2025 driver. He carried too much speed into the final corner and lost control of the car, sliding into the wall at high speed.

The F2 ace would return to the car at the Mexico City GP, where he put together a more stable session. He was 13th fastest, 1.2 seconds off Russell, but crucially he competed 19 laps this time.

Peter Windsor found Antonelli’s performance ‘odd’ but suspects Mercedes deliberately changed tact after the events of Monza. In addition to his FP1 appearances, he’s also been testing the 2021 and 2022 cars in private.

Former F1 driver Juan-Pablo Montoya has a ‘serious’ concern about Antonelli. He says the team clearly ‘killed’ him for crashing, then by prompting him to ‘drive slowly’ – he needs to find the middle ground ahead of 2025.