Kimi Antonelli issues emotional response to Lewis Hamilton message

Kimi Antonelli has finally read the message left to him by Lewis Hamilton, written during the champion's final season with Mercedes.

The 18-year-old was announced as Hamilton's replacement at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, where the 40-year-old left a handwritten note for Antonelli in his driver’s room.

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Mercedes use the same motorhome for all of their European races, and with Imola the first race on the continent in 2025, Antonelli was greeted by the message for the first time in his room this weekend.

The team captured the moment Antonelli read the message on the wall and shared it on social media, with the Italian visibly bowled over with emotion at the words from the seven-time world champion.

What did Hamilton’s note to Antonelli say?

In a press conference, Antonelli revealed his response to Hamilton’s message and how emotional it made him feel.

“Reading the message, it filled my heart to receive such a message from such a figure in the sport,” he said.

“He’s done so much and he’s still right there giving his best. He’s one of the best in history and to receive such a message of course it's amazing.

“In the message it contains some advice and I also use it as a motivation to go out there and do my best because it doesn’t happen every day.”

When asked if he would keep the letter, Antonelli continued: “Yeah! It's actually on the wall. I’ll keep it there because the message is so nice.

“I just want to leave it there because everytime I enter the room I can see the message and it's also a really good reminder.”

Whilst the exact content of Hamilton’s message has not been revealed, Mercedes' race team co-ordinator, Stephen Lord, has alluded to what Hamilton’s message contained on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

“It was a note to Kimi and it was basically welcoming him to his new room, and it was wishing him the best of luck, saying some really nice things about the team and how, ‘if you care for them, they'll care for you because they're a great team’,” he said.

“I thought, ‘wow, what a nice thing to do.’ And actually we've had glass cut and it's now covered in the room so it will be there forever more."

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