Antonelli reveals how Hamilton helps him gain experience

Although he does not "want to bother them during a weekend", Mercedes-bound F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has revealed how he intends to benefit from the experience of Lewis Hamilton and his future team-mate George Russell.

Mercedes announced on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix that their F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli will replace Lewis Hamilton, who had confirmed his departure from the team back in February.

Reflecting on the time since the announcement, the Italian driver reckoned that it was not easy to get over his early crash in the opening practice at the Italian Grand Prix where he lost control of his W15 on his second flying lap.

"So much has happened in the past two months since I was announced as a full-time Formula 1 driver with Mercedes for 2025, I’m not sure where the time has gone.

"I’ve been really busy, and have barely had time to stop and reflect on everything that has happened. Now I have the chance, I wanted to share with you all how my journey is progressing.

"Monza was emotional. It was one of my two home races, and there was so much hype around the whole weekend, and I guess you could say I learned a lesson the hard way with what happened in FP1!

"I enjoyed the couple of laps I did, especially in front of the home crowd. It is a memory I will have for a long time. Mentally it will help me to come back stronger, too. The team helped me so much. They taught me how to face that moment and get through it without worrying too much."

Antonelli was handed his second FP1 appearance with Mercedes at the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of his move to the team in 2025. Reflecting on that session, the Italian reckoned that he purposefully took a “calmer” approach to his second official F1 outing with the Brackely squad.

"When I did my second session in Mexico last month, I had more time to prepare, because it was not an F2 weekend. It was a much cleaner session and was definitely what was needed after Monza. I didn’t want to take any risks, and I learned a lot.

"That’s what the past few weeks have been about: Learning. You will have seen me in the F1 paddock a lot more, as I get used to being trackside, building my relationship with team members and experience how weekends will work next year. The team and I just want to make sure I don’t have any surprises!

Antonelli will partner George Russell next year as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton heads to Ferrari. The Italian has revealed that he has been trying to learn as much as he can from the Hamilton.

"And who better to learn off than drivers like Lewis and George. 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.

"Then there’s Bono. I’ve been working with him and learning from him to be ready for 2025. I’m also building my relationship further with both car crews."

Reflecting on the long break between the Baku and the Qatar rounds of the 2024 F2 season, Antonelli has revealed that he took part in several test runs with older F1 cars, and he also worked in the simulator at Mercedes' Brackley-based factory.

"I’ve been able to get behind the wheel for the team at some TPCs as well, which is really good because there is a big break in the F2 season before the final two races, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

"There have been lots of visits to Brackley as well, working in the simulator and data simulation. I did my first talk in front of all the team members at Brackley and Brixworth as well, which was really nice – everybody was so welcoming and friendly!

"Some of the circuits will be completely new to me next year, so I’ve been learning those and getting used to all the procedures on the steering wheel as well.

"That’s all for now. I still have an F2 season to finish and want to do that in style, but honestly, I am just counting down the days until I start in F1. I am ready to rock, " concluded Antonelli.