Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli opened up about the encouraging words he received from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton following a challenging qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The young driver, who struggled on both sides of the track at Spa-Francorchamps, was visibly disappointed after being outqualified by teammate George Russell for the eighth consecutive time.
Antonelli qualified 18th, missing out on Q2 by over three-tenths of a second, a result that left the 18-year-old visibly upset during his post-qualifying media interview. However, Hamilton’s unexpected visit brought a boost of confidence.
Hamilton’s Support Boosts Young Rookie’s Confidence
“He came to say hi to the team, and definitely we had a couple of words,” Antonelli said. “He was telling me to keep my head up and that it’s normal to have bad weekends. And just to keep believing. It was really nice.”
Hamilton, who made his own Formula 1 debut at 22 with McLaren, expressed empathy for Antonelli’s situation.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like at 18 – or try to imagine what it’s like at 18 – to do what he’s doing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “He’s been doing fantastic. But to be thrown in at the deep end at 18… he hadn’t even had his driving licence when he first started racing.”
He praised the rookie’s support system, particularly race engineer Peter Bonnington, saying:
“He’s got a great group of people around him. And he’s got Bono by his side. He doesn’t have anyone better.”
Kimi Antonelli Aims to Improve Qualifying to Start Higher
After starting from the pit lane in the Spa race, Mercedes adjusted Antonelli’s car setup by fitting a high-downforce rear wing aimed at improving stability and confidence. Although Antonelli made some progress during clean air laps, he finished 16th after spending much of the race stuck in traffic.
“Those few laps where I was in free air I definitely had a lot more fun,” Antonelli admitted. “Then being stuck is quite frustrating, because you can’t really unleash the real pace you have. Once I was stuck, I was two seconds slower all of a sudden.”
He acknowledged the need to improve qualifying performance to better his race starts.
“I think I need to work on my qualifying and work to get the confidence back with the car in order to start more at the front. Because in those races where I started more at the front, it was a completely different story.”
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