Kimi Antonelli makes Lewis Hamilton discovery that he ‘didn’t expect’ in huge Mercedes boost | F1 | Sport

Kimi Antonelli has suggested Mercedes may not have to tear up the rules next year after making a key discovery. The teenager is preparing to replace Lewis Hamilton when he moves to Ferrari next season.

Antonelli will have big shoes to fill, but he believes the transition won’t be too much of a problem for Mercedes. The data shows that he rides in the same style as Hamilton, meaning his engineers won’t have to make any drastic changes to the setup next year.

“I didn’t expect that, he is very nice and talks to me a lot,” Antonelli told Sky Sport Italy as he discussed the prospect of replacing Hamilton. “When I look at the data, his driving style is similar to mine. I was in Singapore and listened to his conversations with the engineers. I learned a lot.”

Antonelli still has a lot to learn at the age of 18 and is already taking steps to familiarize himself with the way things work at Mercedes.

“What I will have to get used to is hearing all the technicians through headphones, because I am someone who talks very little,” he added. ‘But when they talk, it is to provide useful information. I’ll have to learn the procedures properly.

“If you press the wrong button, it’s a mess. I’ll soon get a pilot’s seat at home to learn how to start and the different procedures. Also because you have to know where each button is without having to look.”

The young Italian has already taken part in an extensive testing program with Mercedes and made his FP1 debut at Monza earlier this year. Things didn’t quite go to plan, however, as Antonelli hit the wall early in the session.

“During the private tests, due to the high speed at which I reached the limit, I initially had difficulty with the race pace, but after a test in Spa they saw a clear step forward and were convinced,” he said.

“Two days later the call came saying they were taking me for 2025. Nowadays in F1 you have a lot of data to look at, there’s live telemetry and they can tell you what to do. They let me do a lot though.

“I had a great test in Spa, where I learned to anticipate tire degradation. I feel ready for F1. At speed level I won’t have any problems. I will have to adapt to the procedures.”