When Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari, the Silver Arrows brought in Kimi Antonelli, one of the most highly touted rookies in recent memory. The 18-year-old got off to a solid start, finishing in the points in each of the first three races and even taking pole at the Miami sprint. However, Antonelli has been in poor form recently.
Since his home race in Imola, Antonelli has DNF’d four times in seven races and has only finished in the points once, which happened to be a podium finish in Canada. He struggled again in Spa and was eliminated in the first part of the sprint and regular qualifying. After the race, Lewis Hamilton showed support for the man who took over his spot.
Lewis Hamilton claims Kimi Antonelli was ‘thrown in the deep end’
After making his way through the field and finishing P7 in the race, Hamilton was asked about how he thought his replacement was doing. Hamilton said he can’t imagine stepping into Formula 1 as an 18-year-old, and he thinks Antonelli is doing well despite recent results.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be doing what he’s doing at [18],” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “I think he’s been doing fantastic.
“To be thrown in the deep end at 18. He didn’t even have his driving license when he first started racing…I think it’s a lot on someone’s shoulders and I think he’s doing a great job. And he’s got a lot of great people around him.”
Hamilton spent 12 years with Mercedes and knows the team better than pretty much anyone. His former race engineer, Peter Bonnington, AKA Bono, is now Antonelli’s race engineer, and Hamilton thinks there’s no one better to help coach him through this stretch.
“He’s got Bono by his side. He couldn’t have anyone better.”
Goat-level mentorship 🐐🤝 pic.twitter.com/CxEveWcSn2
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 28, 2025
Antonelli will look to turn things around in Hungary. He has experience at the Hungaroring, having won there in Formula 2 just last season, so we’ll see if he can get back on track this weekend.
Antonelli admits he’s lacking confidence
After another tough qualifying session at Spa, Antonelli was visibly upset during his interview with the media. He was quite hard on himself for his recent performances, saying he’s lacking confidence in the car at the moment.
“[I’m lacking] confidence. It’s a difficult moment for me with the car. I’m struggling to find confidence, and I need to find the light out of the tunnel again.”
We’ve all seen Antonelli’s potential this season. He shone early in the year, and in just 16 races, including sprints, he’s already taken a pole position and finished on the podium. He’s not in his best form at the moment, but the Italian has shown flashes of what he can become with more experience.