When Lewis Hamilton wrote a handwritten note to Kimi Antonelli: “If you care for them, they'll care for you”

It wasn’t just Lewis Hamilton who was emotional after parting ways with Mercedes following 11 memorable years — 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli also experienced a heartfelt moment. Before Hamilton left the team and began his new journey with Ferrari , he penned a touching note to the young driver, offering encouragement as Antonelli stepped into the spotlight. The seven-time world champion left behind a 'special' message for the teenager, marking the end of an era at a team where Hamilton achieved remarkable success in his F1 career.

Lewis Hamilton’s sweet gesture for Kimi AntonelliKimi Antonelli recently etched his name in history by becoming the youngest ever driver to claim an F1 pole position during the Miami Grand Prix on Friday. Mercedes' Race Team Co-ordinator Stephen Lord, one of Hamilton's closest colleagues at the team, shared insights into the emotional farewell in a special episode of F1 Beyond The Grid podcast.

Lord revealed how Hamilton was heading home but returned to his room a few minutes later and had a word with their Head of Race Team Logistics. He further revealed Hamilton's touching gesture for Antonelli.

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

"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. 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 ‘Lewis was here’ with a big smiley face and I thought, ‘okay, I like that.’ But the note to Kimi was pretty special," he added.

Also Read: “Won't be easy, will give my everything”- Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli reacts after creating history with F1 pole in sprint race

Antonelli, the son of sportscar racing driver Marco Antonelli, pipped both McLaren drivers to secure the top spot. He edged out championship leader Oscar Piastri by just 0.045 seconds, while Lando Norris took third in the sprint qualifying.