Lewis Hamilton, the departing Mercedes driver, will not participate in the first practice lap at the Mexico Grand Prix because teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be taking his place the following year.
Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli will drive in Lewis Hamilton’s place during the first practice session of the Mexico Grand Prix.
The 39-year-old Hamilton has had a mixed season and earlier this year announced that he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the season. After colliding with the gravel on his third lap, the British driver was unable to finish the US Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old Antonelli, who will compete in his second FP1 session of the season in Mexico City, will take the seven-time world champion’s place.
On the Friday in September, Antonelli was also a Mercedes driver in Monza. However, a crash in the fifth session abruptly ended the gifted teen’s session.
When he joins Ferrari for the upcoming season, the Italian is expected to take Hamilton’s place for Mercedes. He recently disclosed that Antonelli has received a lot of support and encouragement from the Formula 1 legend, who has been a huge help behind the scenes.
Additionally, he made an effort to downplay rumors that he was taking the Brit’s place, with Antonelli stating that Hamilton is simply irreplaceable. Last month, he stated: “I don’t think Lewis Hamilton can be replaced.
“I don’t want to [be seen] as his replacement because he is such a great figure in today’s sport and has accomplished so much in his career.” I’m really looking forward to being the next Mercedes driver in 2025.
Toto Wolff, the principal of the Mercedes team, defended Hamilton after his accident in Texas, stating that the driver expressed regret for not finishing in the United States.
“There was an unexpected incident in that corner today,” Wolff said. He wasn’t exerting himself. Therefore, in my opinion, Lewis is not at all to blame. That’s not to say I’m shielding him; that’s obvious.
“We want to finish strong before Hamilton moves to Ferrari, but his attitude and the team dynamics are as strong as they have ever been. He apologized for the incident right away. As I previously stated, I do not believe he was at fault. He was caught off guard by something.
“I am confident that we will celebrate and end it on a high note. It would be amazing if we could do it while driving the car really well. If not, however, we will try our hardest. We believe that the red car is fast, and I believe he will be examining what they are.”
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