Lewis Hamilton praises Kimi Antonelli
It cannot be said that Lewis Hamilton did not give Andrea Kimi Antonelli the credit he deserved for the pole position achieved in the sprint qualifying session during the Miami weekend. The seven-time world champion, now with Ferrari, published an Instagram story on the same day of the 18-year-old Italian’s performance on the flying lap to congratulate him and his former team. Then, when asked about it by the official Formula 1 website, Sir Lewis Hamilton explained the reasons behind his public praise for the Bologna-born talent.
Bono’s Redemption
“I posted on social media because I saw the video – Lewis Hamilton said during the Miami GP weekend – where Bono (his long-time former track engineer, Peter Bonnington, now alongside Antonelli) and Toto were. And it genuinely warmed my heart. I was in that team for a very, very long time, Bono is simply the best, and I know there were many questions about whether it was a good idea to take on a more experienced driver. From that point, continuing to work hard and managing to get a pole position is one of those things that silences all criticism.”
No Advice for Kimi
The 40-year-old Ferrari driver did not, however, want to give specific advice to Kimi Antonelli, his successor in the Mercedes seat: “I love seeing these things in an underdog, this was really a great story. Advice for Kimi? I would just tell him to keep doing what he’s doing right now. I think he’s aware of what he’s doing. And he should enjoy it.” The two know each other very well: Kimi is a young Mercedes driver since 2018, when he was recruited by Toto Wolff at just 11 years old, while racing go-karts. Because of this, Kimi Antonelli has often had the chance to see Hamilton in action during the seasons when he raced with the Brackley team.
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