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Category: Lewis hamilton news

  • Vasseur says Hamilton has done something ‘mega’ behind the scenes at Ferrari

     

    Lewis Hamilton’s life as a Ferrari driver is in full swing after testing his 2025 challenger for the first time.

     

    The seven-time champion drove the SF-25 at the team’s private Fiorano circuit on Wednesday. Thousands of Ferrari fans showed up at the track – as they did for Hamilton’s first official test in the 2023 car back in January.

     

    Hamilton simply wrote ‘Grazie Tifosi’ on social media to show gratitude to the Ferrari faithful for their devotion and passion. The 40-year-old has struck a chord with the fans and his colleagues already.

     

    Jerome D’Ambrosio says Hamilton’s meet-and-greet immediately won over Ferrari as he shook hands with every employee during his visit to the factory in Maranello.

     

    The Brit has looked to integrate himself into Ferrari as quickly as possible and embrace his new surroundings. Hamilton has been learning Italian to fit in with the team properly – something Michael Schumacher was ‘never liked’ for trying to avoid.

     

    Kimi Antonelli has been impressed by Hamilton’s Italian in the early stages. The Bologna-born driver has replaced the seven-time champion at Mercedes in 2025.

     

     

    Frederic Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton has brought ‘mega enthusiasm’ to Ferrari

    Hamilton has had to wait nearly a year for his sensational Ferrari move to become official. After such a long period, the Brit is more ready than ever to be competitive.

     

    Hamilton says he is invigorated for the upcoming season. The seven-time champion looks more motivated than ever with a fresh challenge -something he needs after a disappointing end to his stint with Mercedes.

     

     

    The Brit’s optimism has radiated throughout Ferrari. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, team principal Frederic Vasseur says Hamilton has brought ‘mega enthusiasm’ behind the scenes.

     

    The Frenchman also touched on the incredible impact the 40-year-old’s arrival had for the team. Hamilton now has the most-liked F1-related Instagram post with his iconic picture outside Enzo Ferrari’s old house.

     

     

    Vasseur could not help but laugh as he recalled the moment: “Yeah, this was an important step into the season probably! That it was a good launch but it’s more on the marketing.

     

    “For sure it was very welcome. He’s bringing a new energy into the team, mega enthusiasm and so on. This is important for sure, even in terms of performance.

     

    “But now we have to turn the page of this and to be focused on proper racing.”

     

     

    Lewis Hamilton received an unbelievable reception at the F1 75 launch event

    The day before his first outing in the SF-25, Hamilton made his first public appearance as a Ferrari driver at the F1 75 launch event at the O2 Arena in London.

     

    All 10 teams revealed their liveries for the 2025 season, with Ferrari coming out second-to-last – the running order was the reverse of the 2024 constructors’ championship standings.

     

    Position Constructors’ Standings Points

    1

    McLaren Racing

    666

    2

    Scuderia Ferrari

    652

    3

    Red Bull Racing

    589

    4

    Mercedes-AMG Petronas

    468

    5

    Aston Martin F1 Team

    94

    6

    Alpine F1 Team

    65

    7

    Haas F1 Team

     

     

    Hamilton received by far the biggest cheer from the crowd as he walked out on stage with Vasseur and Charles Leclerc. The incredible reception left Hamilton ’emotional’ at the event according to his team boss.

     

    Craig Slater noticed several British fans wearing Ferrari clothing – something not normally seen in the UK but perhaps inevitable. Many would have followed Hamilton to Ferrari from Mercedes after his move.

     

    The 40-year-old will make his debut for Ferrari on March 16 at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Hamilton says his Ferrari debut feels like his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007 – and he would love to replicate his podium finish that day.

  • Lewis Hamilton i backed by a $50 million Formula One rival as a possible title challenger, but with one caveat.

    Christian Horner, Lewis Hamilton’s rival team manager, believes that if the Ferrari driver starts off well with the team, he might be a title contender this season.

    The seven-time Formula One world champion shocked many in 2024 when he declared he was leaving Mercedes.

    Beginning in 2013, the driver and the team benefited greatly from their relationship, which dominated the sport from 2014 until 2020.

    One could argue that the driver’s decision to make a shift was influenced by the dip in performance starting in 2022.

    However, there have been doubts about Lewis Hamilton’s probable success with Ferrari.

    The driver is a seven-time world champion, and he would surpass Michael Schumacher as the most-winning Formula One driver if he were to win a championship with the Italian squad.

    On the other hand, his form in 2024 generated a lot of worries.

     

    George Russell held the advantage over the driver most of the time, and the driver did not have a terrific run.

    However, the driver still has supporters since Christian Horner, the manager of the opposing team, is worth $50 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.

    Horner believes that if the driver can start off well at Ferrari, he might emerge as a serious competitor.

    He told Motorsportweek and other media:

    McLaren manager Zak Brown also supported Lewis Hamilton, believing that since Ferrari was so near to the front in 2024, this should happen again in 2025.

    According to the aforementioned publication, Brown backed the British driver to take advantage of the car’s competitiveness:

    Lewis Hamilton would achieve his eighth world championship if he were to win one with Ferrari.

    With seven titles apiece, the driver and Michael Schumacher presently hold the same record, but one more would enable him to surpass the German.

  • Lewis Hamilton flexes new Ferrari luxury item worth more than 30 at Mercedes

     

    Formula 1 and luxury watches go hand in hand, and the sport’s most successful driver has taken things to the next level.

     

    Lewis Hamilton has had to put on a luxury timepiece every time he’s stepped out of a cockpit for the past 18 years, but even he was probably taken aback by his latest at F1 75.

     

     

    Hamilton wore his second of two six-figure Richard Mille watches at the O2

    Hamilton wore his second of two six-figure Richard Mille watches at the O2Credit: Getty

    The Brit and his 19 competitors were unveiled at a star-studded event at the O2 as, for the first time, the entire grid launched their liveries for 2025 in the same venue.

     

    Hamilton was understandably the centre of attention, given it was fans’ first chance to see him in the red of Ferrari after he united with the sport’s most legendary team.

     

    And on his wrist was one of the reasons he may have decided to go there.

     

     

    Eagle-eyed purveyors of luxury goods were keeping their eyes out for one of the most opulent parts of the sport, and GQ were on hand to run us through the watches on display.

     

     

    There, they identified Hamilton’s Richard Mille RM 74-02 Automatic Winding Tourbillon worth a staggering £375,000.

     

     

    The Swiss brand has been involved in F1 for a decent while now, having been brought in by Hamilton’s Monagasque teammate Charles Leclerc, they now sponsor Ferrari and McLaren.

     

    As arguably the world’s premier brand, matching up with F1’s premier team shouldn’t really come as a surprise.

     

     

    However, what may have shocked those of a timepiece persuasion was just how big the drop off was to his old team.

     

     

    Former Mercedes teammate George Russell and Hamilton’s replacement Kimi Antonelli were both wearing models from sponsors IWC Schaffhausen.

     

    Mercedes have long brought style and substance to F1 thanks to both their winning pedigree and Hamilton’s cache as a celebrity, but IWC aren’t quite in the same league as Richard Mille (we’ll still take some freebies if you’re reading though).

     

    You could fit one of Russell’s and Antonelli’s watches on each limb for less than Hamilton’sCredit: AFP

     

    Antonelli, as the greenest newbie on the grid, rocked a Pilot Watch Mark XX worth £4800, while Russell stepped things up.

     

    A three-time race winner who easily beat Hamilton as a pairing last season, the Brit wore a Big Pilots Top Gun Edition Mojave Desert worth £10,000.

     

    The price of both of those combined is nowhere near Hamilton’s latest – in fact, 30 of Russell’s watches would still not match the value.

     

    And if that wasn’t enough of a flex to his old team, it’s not his only timepiece either.

     

     

    In his stylish unveiling at Ferrari’s Marinello headquarters, the 40-year-old wore a pinstripe suit with a double-breasted overcoat from Italian label Ferragamo.

     

    All in black and white like founder Enzo Ferrari, there was one added red touch, another Richard Mille, this time a RM 67-02 ‘Italy’ automatic extra flat edition price.

     

    Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc play chess during F1 launch event

    Worth around £278,000, it’s clear that after almost two decades of British and German excellence at McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton is more than ready to ooze Italian-Swiss class and opulence.

     

     

  • Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari ‘nothing like car I had before’ after Mercedes switch

    Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari ‘nothing like car I had before’ after Mercedes switch

     

    Lewis Hamilton rounds a corner in the Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano

    Lewis Hamilton drives the Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano

     

    Reflecting on his first experience at the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car, Lewis Hamilton said it was a racing machine unlike any other he had before.

     

    Hamilton has embarked on a fresh chapter in his storied F1 career, calling time on his iconic Mercedes association which produced six World Championships, 84 wins, 153 podiums and 78 pole positions, in order to join Ferrari on a multi-year deal.

     

     

    And the seven-time World Champion has been getting to grips with Ferrari machinery ahead of his big debut in less than a month at the Australian Grand Prix, using up his four permitted TPC [testing of previous car] days, before enjoying his first laps in Ferrari’s F1 2025 challenger – the SF-25 – at Fiorano on Wednesday.

     

    And in Hamilton’s first interview as a Ferrari driver, posted on the team’s YouTube channel, he reflected on what it was like to drive a Ferrari F1 car for the first time, after he started his journey by getting behind the wheel of the SF-23 at Fiorano.

     

    Hamilton has always raced in F1 with Mercedes power until now, first with McLaren from 2007-12 and then Mercedes from 2013-24, but Hamilton stressed the Ferrari was something else compared to those cars he previously drove.

     

     

    “It’s nothing like the car that I had before, or the last 10, 12, 17 years,” he said.

     

    “It’s unique in its own. And to feel the vibration of the Ferrari engine for the first time, wow! That’s what I think ultimately put the biggest smile on my face.”

     

    Armed with the SF-25, Hamilton will look to return to the F1 title scene for the first time since 2021, and resume his hunt of that record-breaking eighth World Championship.

     

    However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, when speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, at the launch of the SF-25, would not be drawn into making a prediction over whether this will be a title-worthy Ferrari.

     

    Asked for his level of confidence on that matter, he replied: “I don’t have this approach. I don’t have to be confident or not confident.

     

     

    “I have to do my job. I have to push everybody to do the best and to get the best from what we have, and we will see the result in when we’ll be on track.

     

    “But I don’t have to be confident or not. This is my point of view. It’s not the right approach. And if I am confident, it’s not about the car. I’m confident because the team is improving, that everybody did a good step, between ’23 and ’24 on every single area, on reliability, performance, operation, pit-stop, strategy, and we have to continue into this direction.”

     

    Similarly, Vasseur did not want to make any predictions on the teams that will feature in the F1 2025 title battle, Ferrari having narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ crown last season to McLaren, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship.

     

    Asked if he sees McLaren as the F1 2025 title favourites, or if he thinks Red Bull and Mercedes will pose an equal threat, Vasseur replied: “Last year, it was a very good season for F1 overall, because the first part of the season it was Red Bull [leading], then it was us, then McLaren, then Mercedes, then we came back, and it was like this all the season.

     

    “It means that it’s very, very difficult to make a prediction on who will lead the pack this season, and if someone will lead the pack.

     

     

     

    “We were fighting until the last corner of the season with McLaren. We have to build up the 2025 season on this one, on 2024, but we won’t change the approach because we did well or not, the last 12 or so races of ’24.

     

    “We have to push, to continue to develop the car, to continue to improve in every single pillar of the performance into the team, in every single department. And the approach is this one, and the mood is a good one.”

  • George Russell reveals the most ‘surprising’ aspect of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari

    George Russell reveals the most ‘surprising’ aspect of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari

    For the first time since his one-off cameo alongside Valtteri Bottas at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, George Russell won’t be lining up alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this year.

    Formula 1 fans got their first sighting of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari’s iconic red race suit at the F1 75 launch event on Tuesday evening.

    The 40-year-old has already taken part in several private outings for his new team this year, although thousands turned up to see Hamilton’s first test in January and the same thing happened again at Fiorano on Wednesday when the team officially launched their 2025 car.

    It highlights the obsession Formula 1 has with Hamilton and the expectation already being placed on him to perform with the sport’s most successful team.

    While Hamilton is entering the latest chapter of his F1 adventure, so are Mercedes.

    George Russell is joined by rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 2025 and has the added responsibility of being the team’s leader for the first time.

    Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari was announced more than a year ago, giving him the chance to say goodbye to Mercedes’ fans at every circuit last season before heading to Maranello.

    A special film Mercedes made for Hamilton may never be released to the public but highlighted how important his contribution was to the team over the course of 12 seasons.

    MORE F1 STORIES

    George Russell reveals ‘total bombshell’ reaction to Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes

     Images

    Russell was speaking on Virgin Radio in the build-up to the F1 75 event and was asked about his reaction when he found out Hamilton was moving on.

    He said: “I mean, to be honest, it wasn’t a whisper! I heard it for a fact was the first time I heard it.

    “It was quite surprising to be honest because these things usually have a way of creeping out into the media and it was just a total bombshell.

    “You know, at the end of the day, these things all happen for a reason.

    “The sport’s getting bigger and bigger and as I said, I think it’s great for all.”

    Ferrari already making adjustments for Lewis Hamilton’s maiden season with the team

    On Wednesday, Ferrari officially unveiled the SF-25 to the public and Charles Leclerc was the first driver to take to the track to give it an initial shakedown before testing begins next week.

    Hamilton’s turn followed in the afternoon, but due to Formula 1’s new regulations, they could only complete 100km of running each before heading to Bahrain.

    Ferrari have made big changes to Hamilton’s car, with Loic Serra playing a pivotal role in its design.

    He was also signed from Mercedes and will hope that his previous experience working alongside Hamilton will mean he knows exactly what he needs from this year’s car.

    Hamilton struggled to get to grips with the latest generation of Mercedes’ Formula 1 cars, finding they didn’t suit his driving style.

    The seven-time world champion has already arrived with a lot of speed into corners and been harsh on the brakes, but this didn’t work well with the ground-effect cars.

    Ferrari’s 2025 car should suit him better – given Leclerc’s drive style is very similar – but it won’t be possible to tell how well he’s adapted until the Australian Grand Prix.

  • Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 Ferrari SF-25 revealed in SURPRISE launch

    Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 Ferrari SF-25 revealed in SURPRISE launch

     

     

     

    As Formula 1 wrapped up the F1 75 group launch, Ferrari surprised as they revealed the first renderings of the official 2025 car, the SF-25, ahead of Wednesday’s shakedown.

     

    The team released several pictures of the 2025 car, Lewis Hamilton’s first-ever Ferrari machinery as the Briton has joined Charles Leclerc in a formidable line-up.

     

    Ferrari: ‘Thousandths of a second’ will make the difference

    But will it bring an end to Ferrari’s 18-year title drought?

     

    Ferrari last won a Drivers’ Championship title in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen, and while the Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel came close, the near misses have left Ferrari’s Tifosi hungry for more.

     

    Many are predicting F1 2025 could finally be the year.

     

    While the most striking aspect of the SF-25 is its HP-branded livery that features a prominent HP logo on the engine cover and a blue rear win, this year Ferrari have gone for a darker red with plenty of carbon fibre on display.

     

     

    This year Ferrari have switched to a pull rod front suspension set-up, declaring it would ‘clean up the airflow around the car, while also giving greater scope for further aero development, which had been pretty much exhausted with the previous iteration’.

     

    Designed to maximise the development potential of the car, Ferrari believe F1 2025 will be a season in which ‘thousandths of a second in lap time’ will make the difference.

     

    Ferrari’s Technical Director of Chassis Loic Serra said: “The SF-25 is an evolution of the SF-24, which gave us an excellent starting point to work from. Having said that, we have worked hard, changing 99% of the car, evolving its architecture to maximise performance.

     

    “The pull rod front suspension is only the most obvious of many significant changes.

     

    “We can expect the coming season to be very closely contested, with outcomes decided by thousandths of a second. We are all set to give it our best shot to find those gains, even the marginal ones, that can make the difference. We are looking forward to being competitive right from the very first race.”

     

    “The launch of a new car is a moment of great emotion and pride for the entire team,” added team boss Fred Vasseur. “The SF-25 is the result of months of intense work carried out with great dedication in Maranello, and we are excited to see the fruits of our efforts materialise and be ready to hit the track.”

     

    “Last season saw us fighting for the Constructors’ title until the very last corner, and we are determined to build on that solid foundation with the goal of winning both championships. We have a new driver line-up, with Lewis joining Charles in the team, and we feel ready to take that step forward as a team to become the best.

     

    “We are aware of the challenges ahead, but we are ready to give our best to compete at the highest level, also drawing strength from the passion and enthusiasm of our fans, who are an endless source of inspiration. Now it’s time to focus and let the track do the talking. I can’t wait for the season to begin.”

     

    Ferrari are scheduled to put the first laps on the SF-25 in a shakedown at the Fiorano circuit on Wednesday morning, 9:30am sharp, with Leclerc covering the first laps before handing the car over to Hamilton in the afternoon.

     

    The team-mates are each permitted to cover 100km as per Formula 1’s filming day regulations.

     

    After the shakedown at Fiorano, Ferrari will next be action inBahrain, where the only pre-season test session will be held from 26 to 28 February.

  • GALLERY: Ferrari showcase their new livery for 2025 at F1 75 Live

    GALLERY: Ferrari showcase their new livery for 2025 at F1 75 Live

    Ferrari’s 2025 car livery has made its debut at the F1 75 Live season launch ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s first campaign with the squad.

    Fans were given their first glimpse of the design that will adorn the SF-25 during the evening, with the Scuderia the penultimate team to reveal their look at the event.

    The season will mark a new era for Ferrari, with Hamilton about to pair up with Charles Leclerc as the Italian outfit look to build on their P2 result in 2024.

    Check out all the angles of Ferrari’s new livery in the gallery up top.

    Don’t miss your chance to be at the first Grand Prix of 2025 and experience the season-opener in Melbourne…

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  • Lewis Hamilton feels ‘invigorated’ to be with Ferrari for 2025

    Lewis Hamilton feels ‘invigorated’ to be with Ferrari for 2025

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    Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton (44) celebrates after placing second in the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

    Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton made his first public comments since signing with Ferrari on Tuesday at the F1 75 Live event at the O2 Arena in London.

    Hamilton, who won six of his seven drivers’ championships during a 12-year run with Mercedes, changed teams in the biggest move of the F1 offseason.

    “It’s such a great night to be here amongst all of you,” Hamilton told fans at the event where the 10 F1 teams unveiled their car liveries for 2025.

    “I think the word I’m thinking of is invigorated. I feel so full of life, and so much energy, because everything’s new. I’m just focused on what’s up ahead. I’m so proud to be a part of the team, something new and exciting for me.”

    Hamilton is one of the most iconic F1 drivers ever, having tied Michael Schumacher in 2020 for the most drivers’ championships in the sport’s history.

    Despite his history with Mercedes, he said joining forces with Ferrari was an honor that fulfilled a childhood dream of his.

    “I’ve been lucky enough to have many firsts in my career, from the first test to the first race, podium, win and championship,” Hamilton said.

    “I wasn’t sure how many more firsts I had but driving a Scuderia Ferrari HP car for the first time this morning was one of the best feelings of my life. When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face.”

    Hamilton, 40, has a two-year contract with Ferrari. He is preparing for the new season that begins next month in Australia; Hamilton will drive the SF-25 model Ferrari at the manufacturer’s private racetrack in Italy before moving on to preseason testing Feb. 26 in Bahrain.

    –Field Level Media

  • Hamilton’s Ferrari bow steals the show – on a night Horner will want to forget

    Hamilton’s Ferrari bow steals the show – on a night Horner will want to forget

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    Strutting out in front of 20,000 euphoric British fans, sporting the most striking of Ferrari red race suits, Lewis Hamilton placed a solitary finger to his ear and beamed.

    Entering season number 18 in Formula 1, the 40-year-old knows he is now always the star of the show. And on Tuesday night, as F1 tried an event as razzle-dazzle as it was experimental, the biggest transfer in the history of the sport made certain that F1’s high-rolling London bet came up big.

    And here’s the thing: Hamilton likes a catwalk. Every morning as he enters the Formula One paddock, sporting a high-end fashion outfit from his extravagant wardrobe, onlookers stop and stare. And amid two hours, 10 teams and 20 drivers on stage at The O2 Arena in east London, there was no doubting who the crowd had come to see.

    Hamilton appears with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur and teammate Charles Leclerc (Getty Images)

    Perhaps the only disappointment was the only utterings from the seven-time world champion came and went in under half-a-minute. Frustratingly, there was a tight schedule to keep to. “The word I’m thinking of [for this season] is invigorated,” he said. “I feel so full of life, I have so much energy because everything is new. I’m focused on what’s up ahead and so proud to be part of this team.”

    But while there was no doubting Hamilton’s popularity ratings, Christian Horner could not help but chuckle as the Red Bull boss entered the stage to a chorus of jeers.

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    F1 fans will remember that, 12 months ago, Max Verstappen’s boss was under investigation from a female employee for “inappropriate behaviour.” The complaint was dismissed, twice, but with wife Geri Haliwell present on the red carpet, it was a moment for Horner to shrink in the spotlight. Admirably, the often embattled-team principal soldiered on.

    Most intriguingly, Verstappen (who had months ago joked he would be “ill” for tonight’s event) and new teammate Liam Lawson were the only drivers who did not say a word to the crowd all night.

    Yet those were perhaps one of few snags amid two hours of eye-catching neon lasers and deafening audio. All 10 teams, revealed from last to first as per last year’s standings, bought in fully with the pomp and the spectacle. And Jack Whitehall, the night’s host, did an exquisite job in balancing the often pernickety F1 status-quo with old-fashioned mickey-taking.

    George Russell and Max Verstappen’s squabble? Straight to it. Russell as the sexiest man from King’s Lynn after Martin Brundle? Big W. A love-in for the extremely likeable figure of Williams boss James Vowles? Most popular. From inside the arena, the captivation of fans old and young, male and female, was clear-cut.

    And these were a knowledgeable rabble too. Perhaps the biggest jeer of the evening was saved for the FIA, F1’s governing body, when their logo appeared on-screen. The FIA’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem would do well to take heed, amid an oddly strict clampdown on drivers swearing, amongst other things.

    The show opened with singer Machine Gun Kelly – an odd choice, perhaps, given his run-in on the grid in Brazil two years ago with Brundle – and concluded with Take That, a necessary musical burst amid the cars and personnel. Yet they weren’t the main event: that was left for the cars and the drivers, in a brilliantly executed closing sequence on stage.

    “I can here the purists groaning already,” Whitehall bellowed at the start, energy everywhere. Energy which, to be fair, rarely dissipated. And perhaps it wasn’t a night for the petrolheads. Granted.

    Yet for the wider, more diverse audience F1 has attracted – and continues to attract – in recent years it was a night of splendour, less than one month out from the 2025 season curtain-raiser in Australia. For Liberty Media, F1’s American owners who have changed the game with their Drive to Survive-inspired marketing genius, it was a job well done.

    And as Hamilton took his leave on his private jet to Maranello, ahead of his first outing in Ferrari’s SF-25 2025 car on Wednesday at Ferrari HQ, his ears will be screeching still at the sheer volume in the arena. Amid popular Brits like Lando Norris, George Russell and Ollie Bearman, Hamilton is still the sport’s household name. If he needed any more motivation for a record-breaking eighth title in 2025, he’s now got it.

  • Teen sensation Antonelli adamant he’s no ‘replacement’ for Hamilton

    Teen sensation Antonelli adamant he’s no ‘replacement’ for Hamilton

    London (AFP) – Teenage rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli has played down suggestions he is a “replacement” for Lewis Hamilton ahead of his

    Seven-times world champion Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari created a vacancy at his old team, with 18-year-old Italian driver Antonelli now partnering the experienced George Russell, who finished sixth last season, at the Silver Arrows.

    “I mean I don’t find it right to say that I’m his replacement, I mean he has done so much in the sport and I just feel I am the next Mercedes driver and I really want to make my own story,” Antonelli said at the 2025 F1 season launch in London on Tuesday.

    “But definitely racing for Mercedes is a big responsibility because it’s obviously a top team.

    “At the same time it’s a great opportunity, it’s a privilege to be where I am today and I just try to make the best of this opportunity.”

    Antonelli added he had received advice from Hamilton, telling reporters: “He said mainly to enjoy, not worry about the external circumstances, just work on yourself, enjoy the process.”

    Hamilton had an astonishing rookie season, finishing second in 2007 while driving for McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso, who was coming off successive F1 world titles.

    Antonelli said the most impressive aspect of Hamilton’s “incredible” debut campaign was his consistency.

    “I feel like what he (Hamilton) did really well is starting off well and then keep developing without trying to do too much,” said Antonelli. “That’s why he did an amazing season and that’s what I’m going to try to do. Just enjoy, work hard.”

    Bumpy start ‘part of journey’

    Antonelli was confirmed as Hamilton’s successor at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, one day after his debut on an F1 race weekend ended early with a crash in the opening stages of first practice at Monza.

    “Of course you don’t want to make any more mistakes like this, but it’s part of the journey, it can happen,” said Antonelli.

    “To be honest I wouldn’t like knowing that I’m just holding myself because of being worried about what people might think. So I’m just going to go there on the track and push.”

    Antonelli will now carry the hopes of Italian F1 fans that one of their own could bring glory back to a motorsport-mad nation which has not had a Grand Prix winner since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006.

    The last Italian to win the drivers’ world championship was Alberto Ascari in 1953, although 1978 champion Mario Andretti was born in Italy even if he represented the United States.

    Many Italian supporters, however, will remain devoted to their native Ferrari team, a constant presence throughout Formula One’s 75-year history.

    “I mean the Tifosi (Ferrari’s most committed fans) have a really strong passion for Ferrari but I think they’re very excited for a next Italian driver,” said Antonelli.

    “There’s a lot of hype around already, but I think it’s great there’s such a positive energy. I’m really looking forward to racing in my two home races (Emilia-Romagna and Monza) because many people are very excited.”

    © 2025 AFP