Hamilton congratulates his successor at Mercedes on pole: 'Amazing lap!'

Andrea Kimi Antonelli spectacularly secured pole position for the sprint race in Miami. He was the fastest driver on the grid on Friday. Lewis Hamilton congratulated the young Italian on this result.

"Amazing lap @kimi.antonelli, so happy for you guys @mercedesamgf1" Hamilton posted on his Instagram story.

In February 2024, Lewis Hamilton broke the internet with the announcement that he would leave Mercedes for Ferrari. The Brit has since participated in five Grands Prix with his new team, and the collaboration is not going as hoped.

Hamilton, just like in his last years at Mercedes, struggles with qualifying. On Sundays, the seven-time world champion often manages to gain some places, but he usually has to start from far back, making a strong result elusive.

In the week between the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton went to the Ferrari factory to learn some things. “Yep, spent some good time in Italy. We went through a lot, did some good sim running. There are things that we’ve made adjustments to. We'll see how they work this weekend.” Hamilton said about this before the Grand Prix weekend in the American city.

For the sprint race in Miami, the Brit qualified in seventh place, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was chosen as his successor a few months later. While initially hiring a young, inexperienced driver for a top team like Mercedes seemed risky, it appears to be paying off. The Italian has received his own Netflix documentary about the process of joining Mercedes. It is available for streaming from May 5th.