Hamilton’s parting gift to Antonelli: A note for the future
As Lewis Hamilton prepares for a new F1 adventure with Ferrari, he leaves behind at Mercedes records and accolades, but also a very special message destined to his successor, Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The story of Hamilton's handwritten note, left on the wall of his driver's room in the Mercedes motorhome after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, is as much a testament to his thoughtfulness as it is to the legacy he imparts to the Silver Arrows outfit.
The room, bathed in the soft glow of the European summer sun, was a sanctuary. A place where the roar of the engines outside faded into a distant hum, replaced by the quiet rhythm of preparation.
It was here, in this tidy space, that Hamilton had spent countless hours, resting, dreaming, strategizing and devising.
As Hamilton stood on the threshold of a new era, his heart heavy with a mix of nostalgia and excitement prompted him to do something special. He picked up a pen and began to write, his words flowing onto the pristine white wall.
Mercedes Race Team Co-ordinator Stephen Lord recently shared the emotional and unexpectedly humorous details of this poignant moment during a recent episode of F1's Beyond The Grid podcast.
“It's quite an interesting insight into Lewis that perhaps people don't see,” Lord explained. “It was after the race in Monza, obviously the last European round. Lewis went upstairs. He did the engineering debrief.
“In Europe we have the race base, where we have like an engineering suite on the top floor and at the back of the engineering suite, the drivers have their own rooms, so they have a room where they have massage beds and all of their kit is laid out ready. Then they have a bathroom with a shower and a toilet.
“Lewis had finished engineering. I think the engineers had left so Lewis was upstairs in the room on his own. I popped up, grabbed a couple of bits, came back down the stairs, and Lewis came down the stairs ready to leave and head home.
“He got to the bottom of the stairs and he stopped, then he turned around and he went back upstairs. I thought 'he's something forgotten,' I didn't think much of it. He came back down about 10 minutes later and he grabbed a guy that works for the team, Carlos, who's our Head of Race Team Logistics.
©Mercedes
“And you could see that Lewis was really quite emotional and he grabbed Carlos and said: 'It's only just occurred to me, I'm never going to see that room ever again. I'm really emotional. I can't leave. 'I feel kind of sad to walk away from that room because I've been in that room for so many years and I'm never going to see it again.'
“He was really quite touched that he was leaving it behind.”
It was only after Hamilton had left that Lord discovered the thoughtful massage that Hamilton had left behind for Antonelli, the 18-year-old rising star set to inherit the room and step into Hamilton's legendary shoes.
“I walked into the room and on the wall there's quite a long, handwritten note,” he continued.
“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.”
Hamilton's words to Antonelli were more than just a kind gesture; they were a passing of the torch, a reminder of the bond shared within the Mercedes family.
While the heartfelt note took center stage, Lord couldn't help but chuckle at another mark Hamilton had left behind.
“I thought I'd just go into the bathroom and make sure that everything's been packed away and we've got all we need,” he recounted.
"I walked into the bathroom and next to the toilet, above the toilet roll holder, was 'Lewis was here' with a big smiley face and I thought, 'okay, I like that.' But the note to Kimi was pretty special.”
It was a small, lighthearted moment that captured the essence of Hamilton: a fierce competitor on the track but someone who never forgot to leave a touch of humanity and humor in his wake.
For Antonelli, the handwritten note on the wall will serve as both a reminder and an inspiration – a piece of advice from one of the greatest to ever sit in the cockpit.
When the young driver takes up residence in the room next season, he’ll find not just a space to call his own but a tangible connection to the legend who came before him.
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