Yesterday at 11:05
Mercedes believes Lewis Hamilton's vocal support for Kimi Antonelli
is "entirely within character" as it revealed a fresh plan to aid
the latter's tricky rookie season. Italian protege Antonelli was
picked as Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes after 12 seasons with
the team, which yielded 84 race wins and six world drivers' titles,
with Hamilton opting to join Ferrari for 2025. Antonelli initially
started strongly, with a fourth place on debut in the wet
Australian GP, before going on to take Sprint pole in Miami. He
became an all-time F1 record holder in just his third race in Japan
with the fastest lap and leading for three laps, becoming the
youngest driver to achieve both feats. In Canada, Antonelli banked
a maiden F1 podium, but his form has dipped just as the Mercedes
W16 has suffered a drop in performance, with team leader George
Russell only taking two podiums of his own since Miami, although
one of these was a win in Montreal. Throughout Antonelli's peaks
and troughs, Hamilton has been a vocal defender of his replacement,
insisting Antonelli "is doing fantastic" and that "I can't imagine
what it is like at 18 to do what he's been doing." Antonelli was
announced as Hamilton's replacement during the 2024 Italian GP
weekend, with the Briton's time with the team ending on a
relatively downbeat note, with poor performances in the United
States and Brazil. But despite this, team representative and
communications director Bradley Lord has explained how Hamilton was
still offering advice to Antonelli even amid his own struggles. The
article continues below. Lewis Hamilton support for Kimi Antonelli
"It is entirely within character and in line with the Lewis that
we've known for many, many years," Lord told select media,
including RacingNews365 , of Hamilton's involvement with
Antonelli. "Kimi was around the team at the end of last season,
and Lewis offered his advice, his support and encouragement in that
time, notwithstanding the fact that it was, at points, a pretty
difficult end to the season for him. "He's a fantastic ally for the
young drivers in the sport. He has a great understanding, and
probably no one has a better understanding of what it means to come
in with very high expectations to a top team in a rookie season, as
he did in 2007. "His support his hugely appreciated by Kimi, and
the other young drivers who receive it as well. "A rookie season
has its ups and downs, and it is full of learning, and that is
going to be positive learnings and surprises, but also more
difficult moments. "It is certainly true that, as one would expect,
where the car has become more difficult, both drivers are lacking
confidence in their ability to commit to the corner, that it is
cost him confidence, and the step backwards in performance means
that we are more vulnerable to those early exits in qualifying than
earlier in the season. "The key thing is, and we've already said
this first and foremost, is that the car isn't there, it is not any
doubt or lack of anything from Kimi's side, aside from the lack of
experience that he hasn't got yet, and hasn't had the opportunity
to acquire." The article continues below. "He's a fantastic ally
for the young drivers in the sport." Bradley Lord on Lewis Hamilton
A plan for Antonelli Mercedes and boss Toto Wolff have taken
responsibility for the drop in performance from the W16, which
coincided with the start of the European season. An upgrade at
Imola was subsequently removed from the car, which remains
sensitive to fluctuations in track temperature, preferring cooler
conditions. As the season heads towards its European climax and
towards the long-haul flyaways, Lord detailed Mercedes' plan to aid
Antonelli and what it wants him to focus on learning as opposed to
headline "outcomes." "Our approach is encouraging him to see, to
take the learnings from these experiences, rather than focusing on
the outcomes and then focusing on what is the process of regaining
that confidence," Lord explained. "That comes from spending time
with the engineers, and really understanding what we're doing with
the car and how he can extract the maximum from it. "For us, the
priority is giving him a car with which he can express the talent
that we know he's got and realise the potential we know is there.
"We knew that we were setting a very high bar, and it was a huge
challenge, not just to come in. Coming into Formula 1 full-stop is
a huge thing to do, and to do so in a team with the level of
expectation as Mercedes, it is even bigger. "We knew we took that
decision with open eyes, and our job is to support Kimi to deliver
in that environment and give him the conditions to deliver and
realise that potential. "Obviously, the more you can give a rookie
driver a car they can be confident in, that is predictable, the
easier that process will be, and that is where we have fallen down
in the second quarter of the season, and hopefully we can find a
better direction as we go forward."
