Antonelli form pushing Hamilton ‘to want to level up’

Lewis Hamilton says the performance Kimi Antonelli is achieving at Mercedes is pushing him to want to improve his own level, as he seeks a first win for Ferrari.

Antonelli has won five straight races to take control of the drivers’ championship in the early part of this season, with Hamilton moving into second place after back-to-back podiums in Montreal and Monaco. With Antonelli the driver who replaced him at Mercedes, Hamilton says what the Italian is achieving so early in his career is extremely impressive, and pushes him to take the fight to the championship leader.

“He’s doing a phenomenal job,” Hamilton said. “He’s got an amazing team around him with Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington], with Toto [Wolff] and the whole team. And I’m really happy to see them doing what they do best. And then for him in this moment to be delivering on the level that he’s delivering at, it’s awesome to see.

“It just encourages me to want to level up and I think encourages everybody wanting to level up. And he’s only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him. But I’m going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year.

“It’s a real privilege to witness it, and to be on the podium [in Monaco] with two of the youngest guys here. Very much kind of remind me of me when I was back in 2007.”

Hamilton believes his recent performances have been partly due to his increasing influence at Ferrari, as the team adapts to his preferences when it comes to the 2026 car.

“The real truth is, last year I inherited a car that had been … there had been other drivers that had worked on it – Carlos [Sainz] and Charles [Leclerc] – and I got into a car that wasn't really suited for me and something I didn't like. And while it was such a hard year, in the background we did a lot of work to develop and sit down with the engineers and tell them where I wanted to go, for example, with this car, things we needed to have on the car, and they listened and they put the things that I wanted on the car.

“And then to come into the season, lots of things have changed. Also for Fred [Vasseur], I begged Fred for certain changes and I was like, ‘Dude, I need you – please, I'll give everything, I’ll do anything for you to do these things,’ and he moved heaven and earth for me. So for that I'm really grateful, and I hope that he's proud of these last two race results.”

Hamilton’s podium on Sunday was his eighth in Monaco, drawing him level with Ayrton Senna for the record for most top-three finishes in the principality, although he remains three adrift of the legendary Brazilian’s benchmark of six victories.

“I’ve been here a long time and still haven’t got to his level on that, but I’m going to be here for a while, so I’ll keep chasing it," Hamilton said. "And just to be in his presence, in the sense of the eight podiums, for example, is very cool. I still remember being young and watching Ayrton, and still today he’s my favorite driver. So, it’s really cool.”