Lewis Hamilton left a message for Kimi Antonelli before leaving Mercedes which the Italian had to wait until the first European race weekend of the season to read
Mercedes have published footage of the emotional moment Kimi Antonelli finally got to read a message left for him by Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion said at the end of last season that he had penned a not to the man who was to take his place at Mercedes.
Hamilton left that message in the Mercedes motorhome. However, as the team only uses it at European races, Antonelli has had to wait for a chance to read the message left for him by the Brit before he joined Ferrari.
He finally did so on Thursday as he arrived in the Imola paddock ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. And Mercedes have put out video of the moment on social media.
In it, Antonelli is seen arriving in his room at the Mercedes hospitality unit and says: “Oh, the famous message!” He then stops to read it before continuing: “Thanks, Lewis. Really nice. I’m getting emotional! Thank you, I really appreciate it. Really nice from you, thank you so much.”
The contents of the message are not revealed in the video, but it does show the piece of paper bearing Hamilton’s handwriting which is framed and attached to the wall in Antonelli’s room.
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And the 18-year-old said he will draw inspiration from what Hamilton wrote to him as he races at an Imola track which is 20 miles from his home in Bologna this weekend. “It says a lot about Lewis as a person,” he said of the note.
“I can see a lot of the human side of Lewis – not only the driver. And reading the message, it made my year to receive such a message from such a figure in our sport.
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“He has done so much and he’s still right there giving his best. And, he is one of the best in history. To receive such a message, of course, is amazing. It contains some advice and I use it as motivation as well to go out there and do my best.”
Regarding the decision to attach it to the wall in his room, Antonelli added: “I’ll keep it there because it is so nice that I just want to leave it there because every time I enter the room I can see the message. It’s a really good reminder.”
Italian fans will be cheering on Ferrari as usual but Antonelli’s presence will give them another figure to cheer. He is only the second driver from his homeland to feature in F1 since 2011, the other being Antonio Giovinazzi who started 62 races for Sauber.
Antonelli said: “For me, a home race in front of the Italian fans, my family and my friends who will be attending – it’s going to be very important to manage the energy, especially in those moments where I can and try not to waste energy in something that isn’t useful.”