Hamilton delivers emotional message for 2025 replacement

It has been revealed that Lewis Hamilton left a heartfelt message to the man set to replace him at Mercedes next season.

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion raced with the Silver Arrows for the final time at this month's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, producing a stunning drive to finish fourth despite having started the day back in 16th.

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After the race, several emotional tributes were paid to the 39-year-old from the team with whom he spent 12 trophy-laden seasons.

Hamilton will make the move to Ferrari in 2025, where he will aim to once again be in contention for world championships alongside Charles Leclerc, after enduring a challenging last few years at Mercedes.

Hamilton leaves 'special' note for Antonelli

There had been much speculation over who would replace Hamilton next year, with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen linked with the seat.

But team boss Toto Wolff opted to put his trust in young Italian Kimi Antonelli, who has been part of the Mercedes Junior team since 2019.

The 18-year-old showed glimpses of what he can do during the 2024 F2 season, and will now have the opportunity to step up to the top tier as team-mate to George Russell.

And speaking on the Beyond the Grid Podcast, race team co-ordinator Stephen Lord revealed that Hamilton left a message for Antonelli in Monza back in September, ahead of his upcoming promotion.

"I walked into the room and on the wall there’s quite a long, handwritten note," Lord said. "It was a note to Kimi.

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"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."

He continued: "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.

"I walked into the bathroom and next to the toilet, above the toilet roll holder, was [written] ‘Lewis was here’ with a big smiley face and I thought, okay, I like that.

"But the note to Kimi was pretty special."

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