LEWIS HAMILTON penned a “heart fulfilling” private note to his Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian prodigy, 18, reacted to Hamilton’s personal message for the first time ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton wrote a handwritten letter to Kimi AntonelliReuters
Antonelli took over from Hamilton after the Brit announced he was ending his 12-year stint under Toto Wolff to fulfil his dream of racing for Ferrari.
And as Mercedes use the same motorhome for European races only, Antonelli only got to read the letter when he arrived on Thursday.
Opening up about it, the young Italian, who was born down the road in Bologna – which is a 30 minutes drive away from the Imola circuit – said the note was “motivational”.
Antonelli said: “It says a lot about how Lewis is as a person. I could see a lot of the human side of Lewis, not only the driver.
“Reading the message, it fulfilled my heart to receive it from such a figure in the sport.
“He has done so much and he’s still right there giving his best. He’s one of the best in history.
“It was amazing. It also contained some advice, and I will use it as motivation to go out there and do my best — because it doesn’t happen every day.”
Quizzed on if he’ll keep the letter, Antonelli added: “Yeah, it’s actually on my wall. I’ll keep it there.
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“The message is so nice that I just want to leave it there. Every time I enter the room, I can see it. It’s a really good reminder.”
Antonelli has hit the big time in F1 and is now keen to bring his school pals along for the ride.
On media day, he rolled out the red carpet for his family and classmates to get an exclusive taste of the trackside action at Imola.
He even joined in the festivities in his hometown on Wednesday evening as its football team clinched their first silverware in over half a century.
Antonelli has dreams of bettering his record-breaking Sprint pole achieved last time out in Miami, and sits just above Hamilton in sixth in the drivers standings.
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