Antonelli says message Hamilton left him upon leaving Mercedes “filled my heart”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has put a farewell message Lewis Hamilton left him on his wall for inspiration.

The 18-year-old took the Mercedes seat vacated by the seven-times champion at the start of this season. He said Hamilton left a motivational message behind for him, after he left the team to join Ferrari.

“I think it tells a lot about how Lewis is as a person,” said Antonelli. “I could see a lot of the human side of Lewis, not only the driver and reading the message, it filled my heart to receive such a message from such a figure in the sport.

“He has done so much and he’s still right there giving his best and he’s one of the best in history. To receive such a message, of course, is amazing. Also in the message it contains also some advice and I use it as motivation as well to go out there and do my best.”

Antonelli said he’s pinned the message to a wall where he will notice it. “I’ll keep it there, because I think the message is so nice that I just want to leave it there because every time I enter the room I can see the message. It’s a really good reminder.”

The two drivers are separated by seven points in the championship after six races, Antonelli leading. This will be his first F1 race in his home country and may be his only chance to race at Imola, a short distance from his home city Bologna, before the track disappears from the calendar.

He expects the weekend will be “emotionally and mentally draining” because of the attention.

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“A home race in front of the Italian fans, my family and friends will be attending so it’s going to be very important to manage the energy, especially in those moments where I can, and try not to waste energy in something that is not useful.

“Definitely it’s going to be important to stay on top of that because it’s really easy to hit the bottom of the pack before the end of the weekend. Already a normal weekend is very tiring and draining so this is like double.”

This article will be updated

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