Mercedes has applauded Lewis Hamilton for being a “fantastic ally” to Andrea Kimi Antonelli amid the difficult moments of his maiden Formula 1 season.
The Italian rookie has experienced mixed fortunes in his debut campaign, having been given the exciting but unenviable task of replacing Hamilton at the German marque.
A pole position for the Miami Sprint Race and a first podium finish in Canada have undoubtedly been Antonelli’s highlights.
But there have been some more difficult moments for the 18-year-old to endure, particularly as the season has progressed.
Much of the European leg of the season has been an unhappy one for Antonelli, culminating in a double Q1 exit in Belgium.
After the weekend at Spa, he revealed that he had received words of encouragement from Hamilton, who told him to “keep [his] head up” in the tougher moments.
Hamilton praised Antonelli afterwards, saying “I wasn’t ready at 18”, adding that he “clearly is” due to the nature of his performances this year.
Mercedes Team Representative and Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord conveyed gratitude and his compliments of Hamilton for taking Antonelli under his wing.
“I think that’s entirely in character and in line with the Lewis that we’ve known for many, many years,” he said at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“Obviously Kimi was in and around the team at the end of last season as well Lewis offered his advice his support and encouragement in that time as well, notwithstanding the fact that it was at points a pretty difficult end to the season for him.
“I think he’s a fantastic ally for young drivers in the sport and has a great understanding – probably no one has a better understanding of what it means to come into the sport with very high expectations and into a top team in a rookie season as well as he did in 2007.
“So no one understands it better and I think his support is also hugely appreciated by Kimi and by the other young drivers that received it as well.”
Mercedes reiterates no doubt on Antonelli’s ability
The W16 has become a far harder car to drive as the season has progressed, leading the team to, in Toto Wolff’s words, throw its much-maligned suspension upgrade “in a bin”.
Lord, like everyone else within the Mercedes camp who have commented on the issue, have observed mitigating factors, such as this, have contributed to Antonelli’s regression.
“We know that a rookie season has ups and downs and it’s full of learning and that’s going to be the positive learnings and the positive surprises and also the more difficult moments,” he said.
“As one would expect where the car has become more difficult, and both drivers are lacking confidence and the ability to commit to the corner with the car, that has been a struggle for him as well.
“It has cost him confidence and the step backwards in performance that we’ve seen has meant that we are more vulnerable to those early exits and qualifying than was the case earlier in the season. So that’s certainly a difficult moment for the team as a whole and for him in particular.”
Lord explained that there is no-one within the team who has lost any confidence in Antonelli’s capabilities, and merely reasoned that his inexperience is the sole issue.
“I think the key thing is we’ve already said this first and foremost it’s the car that isn’t there not any doubt or any lack of anything on Kimi’s side, apart from experience that he hasn’t yet got and hasn’t yet had the opportunity to acquire,” he added.
“So our approach is very much one of encouraging him to take the learning from these experiences rather than focussing on the outcomes and then focussing on what is the process of regaining that confidence and regaining that performance.
“That comes from spending time with the team spending time with the engineers, really understanding what we’re doing with the car and how he can extract the maximum from it. For us, the priority is giving him a car with which he can express the talent that we know he’s got and continue to realise the potential that we know is there as well.
“So there’s full honesty on where we are and what we can improve and then full support on that process of improving and on the technical side to give the drivers the tool that they need to deliver performance and then for them in achieving that delivery.”
Lord went on to say that Antonelli will benefit from the knowledge that he is still very much enjoying the support of the hierarchy as he negotiates this difficult period.
“I think every human being responds positively to knowing they have support of their team and the belief of their team and that group has faith in them,” he underlined.
“That doesn’t stop honest conversations about if things are not hitting objectives and things like that. I’m not saying that’s the case with Kimi, I’m just talking in general terms.
“But yeah every human being responds to that sort of positive feeling of support and being part of a team and being part of a collective endeavour, so that’s been the case all the way through this first season.
“It was the case last season as well as we were building towards it. I think you’ve got to not get too lost in the moment and step back and see this all as part of a learning curve and a development trajectory which is what this year is all about.”
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