Antonelli: No one can ever replace Hamilton

The announcement of Antonelli came over the weekend of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, after he made his official F1 debut in FP1, which, needless to say, did not go as planned.

An overeager Antonelli crashed the Mercedes W15 after losing control going into the Prabolica, but that did not change Mercedes' decision, he was going to replace Hamilton at Mercedes.

The decision was finally taken before the summer break, Antonelli revealed while speaking to F1's Official Website.

He revealed: "I had a call with Toto [Wolff], Bono [Pete Bonington, Head of Race Engineering], and [technical chief] James Allison.

"Once I got on the call [and saw them all], I thought, ‘Oh, something big must be coming!’ Eventually, they told me I would become an F1 driver. It was such a great feeling."

Having just turned 18, Antonelli now has big shoes to fill, Hamilton's, a seven-time F1 Champion with 105 grand prix wins and 104 pole positions.

He looked back on the first time he met Hamilton when acting as a 12-year-old grid boy at that year's Italian GP; he said: "It was 2018, I was a grid boy.

"It was crazy because they assigned me Lewis Hamilton. I was already super excited for it. Just before this moment, they just finished singing the national anthem, and as Lewis was heading back to the car, I remember calling him and saying, ‘Remember, you’re the best, you can win this’ as it was a tight battle with Ferrari.

"I remember telling him that, and eventually he won the race. It was a great feeling to be able to give him a high five just before the race," he recalled.

Knowing the size of the task he is up against in 2025, Antonelli continued: "I have to be honest, no one can ever replace Lewis because he’s such a great driver, such a great figure in the sport.

"He’s been helpful. Before my FP1, he came to me, gave me a high five, and told me to enjoy as much as possible," he revealed. "During weekends, sometimes we catch up, talk a bit about how the session goes, and sometimes he gives me advice – like to keep working hard and believe in yourself because your time will come.

"He’s such a great guy, and I’m really thankful to have built a relationship with him. He’s such a great driver and super nice as well."

Antonelli's rise through the ranks was turbo-charged into F1, after going from Formula Regional European Championship [FRECA] last year to Formula 2, skipping Formula 3, while becoming a full-time F1 driver in 2025.

That has left many onlookers skeptical about the decisions surrounding his career, especially since his F2 debut has not been that impressive.

The Italian youngster acknowledged how fast things have been moving; he said: "I’m not going to lie, it was really fast.

"Already jumping from Freca to F2 was a really big step. I think I managed pretty well thanks to Mercedes and all the people around me, including PREMA. They have been helping me to not feel the step.

"Already with the jump into F2, there was straight away a lot more talking [about me]. And then with these rumors [of a step up to F1 next year], the talking increased quite a bit.

"I’m not going to lie, I could feel a little bit the pressure building up. After the first win in F2, I was able to release all this pressure.

"Also, I didn’t mind the talking any more, I was just trying to focus as much as possible on F2. Finally the announcement arrived and all these rumors have gone, and it’s a nice feeling," he pointed out.

Antonelli seems to be in a strong state of mind despite his young age and the challenges ahead, and he puts that down to work and preparation done on the way to his F1 debut.

He said: "I’ve been developing a lot as a person, and I’ve done a lot of training with Mercedes.

"Recently, I’ve had some mental coaches, just to talk a little bit about post-race weekends and before race weekends – and also how to manage this pressure.

"Sometimes [my dad] is very strict with me, but it’s good. Sometimes I feel like I really need it," he acknowledged. "The person I became today is also thanks to all these people that really helps me to develop myself and to become the driver and person I am today."

However, the future Mercedes driver is keen to manage expectations in 2025; he continued: "For next year, I don’t expect so much from myself.

"I will just try to make the least amount of mistakes and try to get the best result for the team and myself. The goal, of course, is always to win, but it won’t be easy. We’re on the grid with the 20 best drivers. It’s going to be tough.

"With Mercedes, they are like a second family – they have been trying to advise me and try to make me feel the pressure a bit less. I’m super excited; I’ll try to do the best job as possible," Antonelli concluded.