Antonelli reveals Hamilton’s empowering words amid Belgian GP nightmare

Andrea Kimi Antonelli revealed Lewis Hamilton paid him an uplifting visit following the Formula 1 rookie’s poor showing in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Antonelli was outqualified by Mercedes team-mate George Russell for the eighth time in a row on Saturday, again failing to emerge out of Q1 as he took 18th place, 0.355s slower than the Briton. 

The 18-year-old Italian was visibly upset about his result when he tardily attended the media pen following his Q1 exit, but he enjoyed unexpected support from seven-time world champion Hamilton. 

“He came to say hi to the team, and definitely we had a couple of words,” Antonelli recounted. “He was telling me to keep my head up and that it’s normal to have bad weekends. And just to keep believing. It was really nice.” 

Arguably the last rookie to race for a top team on debut, having joined McLaren at 22-years-old with much success in 2007, Hamilton sympathised again with his young peer when Sky Sports F1 suggested he might know what Antonelli is going through in that position. 

“I can’t imagine what it’s like at 18 – or try to imagine what it’s like at 18 – to do what he’s doing,” Hamilton insisted. “He’s been doing fantastic. But to be thrown in at the deep end at 18… he hadn’t even had his driving licence when he first started racing. 

“I think it’s a lot on someone’s shoulders. He’s doing a great job and he’s got a great group of people around him. So, I think you’ve just got to take it in your stride, which I think he is. 

“And he’s got Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington, who formerly worked with Hamilton] by his side. He doesn’t have anyone better.” 

Antonelli started the main Spa-Francorchamps race from the pitlane as the team attempted to sort his confidence issues by giving him a high-downforce rear wing. The goal was to make his W16 more stable; this did help the Mercedes driver feel more comfortable to some extent, though he struggled to make significant progress and finished 16th. 

“Those few laps where I was in free air I definitely had a lot more fun,” he said, having spent most of his race in traffic. “Then being stuck is quite frustrating, because you can’t really unleash the real pace you have. Once I was stuck, I was two seconds slower all of a sudden. 

“It was tricky, but I think I shouldn’t be starting that far back. I think I need to work on my qualifying and work to get the confidence back with the car in order to start more at the front. Because in those races where I started more at the front, it was a completely different story,” the one-time podium finisher concluded.