‘It brought warmth to my heart’ – Hamilton explains how it felt watching ‘Bono’ and Antonelli after Sprint pole success in Miami

Lewis Hamilton has shared the pride he felt at seeing Kimi Antonelli achieve a major milestone in his burgeoning F1 career at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Italian driver storming to pole position for the Sprint.

Teenager Antonelli replaced Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season following the seven-time World Champion’s decision to join Ferrari – Toto Wolff continuing to put faith in the Silver Arrows’ long-time protégé.

While some questioned the timing of Antonelli’s promotion, given his relative lack of experience and rapid ascension through the junior ranks, he has impressed with a series of mature displays so far in his rookie campaign.

After scoring points in four of his opening five race weekends, Antonelli wowed the crowds at the Miami International Autodrome by claiming P1 in Sprint Qualifying – becoming F1’s youngest pole-sitter in the process.

2025 Miami GP Sprint Qualifying: Antonelli crosses the line to seal pole for the Sprint

In response, Hamilton posted on his Instagram stories to congratulate Antonelli, as well as his former Race Engineer Peter Bonnington and former Team Principal Toto Wolff.

Asked about that tribute, Hamilton said: “I posted because it made me… I saw the video of Bono and Kimi and Toto, and it genuinely just brought warmth to my heart.

“I’ve been in that team for a long, long time. Bono is just the best, and I know there was a lot of question [marks] around whether or not to take on a more experienced driver.

“To then continue on and continue to work hard and get a pole – it kind of silences all the critics. I love to see that in an underdog. It’s such a great story.”

Antonelli ‘over the moon’ after becoming youngest F1 pole-sitter in history

Antonelli’s time at the front in the Sprint was short-lived, the youngster losing ground at Turn 1 via a wheel-to-wheel scrap with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, before colliding with Max Verstappen in the pits when the Red Bull driver was released unsafely.

Hamilton, though, sympathised with Antonelli for dealing with “the trickiest of conditions” and still coming away with a couple of points – before placing third in the main Qualifying session and finishing sixth in the Grand Prix itself.

As for what’s next in Antonelli’s journey, Hamilton added: “I would just say to continue doing what he’s doing. I think he knows what he’s doing – and just continue to enjoy it.”

Antonelli sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship after the first six rounds of the season, with his points tally of 48 contributing to Mercedes holding second in the Teams’ Standings.