Lewis Hamilton gesture speaks volumes as F1 rival left in awe of Ferrari star
Lewis Hamilton raised eyebrows with a gesture towards an F1 rival.
Kimi Antonelli revealed that Lewis Hamilton's message 'fulfilled his heart'. The seven-time world champion left a handwritten message on the Mercedes motorhome room that the Italian teenager has only just discovered. Team motorhomes are the central activity hub for drivers and team personnel during race weekends, but due to transport limitations, teams use different ones for the flyaways than they do for the European leg of the season.
In his final weekend in the European facility in 2024, Hamilton wrote a message on the wall of his room for Antonelli to discover. The 18-year-old was called up to replace the Ferrari-bound Hamilton as George Russell's new team-mate for 2025 and beyond, marking a new, exciting chapter in the history of one of F1's most decorated teams.
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Antonelli discovered his message from the legendary Brit ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. “I think it tells you a lot on how Lewis is as a person,” he said. “I think I could see a lot of the human side of Lewis, not only the driver. Reading the message, it fulfilled my heart to receive such a message from such a figure in the sport.
“He has done so much. He’s still right there giving his best, and he’s one of the best in history. To receive such a message, of course, it’s amazing. In the message, it contained also some advice, and I use it as a motivation as well to go out there and do my best because it doesn’t happen every day.”
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Asked if he planned to keep the message, Antonelli replied: "Yes. It’s actually on the wall. I will keep it there because I think the message is so nice. I just want to leave it there because every time I enter the room, I can see the message. It’s also a really good reminder.”
While the exact contents of Hamilton's message are unknown, director of communications Bradley Lord offered an insight into the 40-year-old's words during an appearance on the Beyond the Grid podcast last season.
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“I walked into the room and on the wall there’s quite a long, handwritten note," he explained. “It was a note to Kimi and it was basically welcoming him to his new room.
"And it was wishing him the best of luck, saying some really nice things about the team and how, ‘if you care for them, they’ll care for you because they’re a great team.’ I thought, ‘wow, what a nice thing to do.’ And actually, we’ve had glass cut and it’s now covered in the room so it will be there forever more.”
