F1 2026: 'He took my seat' - Lewis Hamilton heaps praise on Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli

Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari, Mercedes, Montreal, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

'He took my seat' - Lewis Hamilton heaps praise on Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli

The teenager took Hamilton's seat after the Brit left for Ferrari

Chris Deeley

Saturday 14 March 2026 23:45

Lewis Hamilton played the role of proud elder statesman after qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, heaping praise on F1's new youngest ever polesitter.

Kimi Antonelli will start a grand prix from the front of the grid for the first time in his young career at just 19 years old, taking nearly a year and a half off Sebastian Vettel's previous record.

Antonelli did, of course, start last year's Miami Grand Prix Sprint race from pole, but the record is for full qualifying sessions for feature-length races. He was also, clearly, the youngest ever sprint polesitter at the time.

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The Mercedes youngster moved into a full-time F1 seat at the start of last season to replace Hamilton himself after the seven-time world champion's move to Ferrari, and the 41-year-old spoke glowingly in the post-session press conference of his replacement.

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Hamilton: The big lad!!

Speaking when the top three sat before the media on Saturday, Hamilton said: "A big congratulations to this big lad here! To Kimi. It's an amazing achievement to come into... he took my seat and he hit it hard from the get-go. It's really great to see him progressing and he really deserves it."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also praised the teenager – while pointing out that George Russell's technical issues in the session prevented a straight-up battle between the two, which Antonelli benefitted from.

"Many said the kid was too young," Wolff said. "The kid was too young to be in a Mercedes, we should have prepared him otherwise. And the kid did good today.

"I am so happy for Kimi to be on pole but if the kit lets the driver down like on George's side... you want to see them head to head and see what they can do. So it's a shame George couldn't do the lap.

"It looks like it's electrical. We had to power cycle the car three times – it's basically like an iPhone, switch it on, switch it off – and then the third time it went. I didn't think it was going out but then, to my surprise, we still did the lap."

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Lewis Hamilton Kimi Antonelli Chinese Grand Prix