Historic Lewis Hamilton F1 car given to Mercedes REPLACEMENT ahead of 2025 debut

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Austria, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News

Historic Hamilton car given to Mercedes REPLACEMENT ahead of 2025 debut

Hamilton previously dominated in the car

Originally written by Kerry Violet. This version is a translation.

Tuesday 21 January 2025 15:00

Mercedes have handed the metaphorical keys of a record-breaking Lewis Hamilton Formula 1 car to his replacement ahead of the 2025 season.

Hamilton has now left the team and joined Ferrari, with the Silver Arrows putting their faith in Italian teenage sensation and Mercedes junior star Kimi Antonelli to fill the void.

READ MORE: Hamilton set to ditch key partner

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It brings to an end a tremendously successful 12-year partnership between the Brit and Mercedes, with Hamilton having won six of his seven drivers' championships with the team.

The last of those wins came in 2020, with Hamilton making history with a seventh drivers' title, equalling the record set by F1 icon Michael Schumacher.

Kimi Antonelli has joined Toto Wolff's F1 outfit for 2025

Lewis Hamilton is now a Ferrari F1 driver

How much F1 driving has Kimi Antonelli completed?

And, as per their report, Mercedes recently wheeled out the W11 in Jerez to further aid the young Italian's preparations, giving him a taste of their last championship-caliber machinery.

All eyes are now on testing in Bahrain to see how Antonelli has improved since his last official F1 outing at the Italian Grand Prix.

In his debut Free Practice session, the Italian crashed into the barriers just moments in, marking a horrific debut at his home track.