Antonelli shares thoughts on 'weird' Hamilton experience

Kimi Antonelli has labelled his impending F1 debut "surreal" and "weird" on account of sharing the Albert Park Circuit with the likes of Lewis Hamilton.

The young Italian's first grand prix will be the season-opening round in Melbourne and he explained how it felt transitioning from seeing his race heroes on the TV to now fighting alongside them.

At just 18 years of age, Antonelli is one of the youngest rookies ever to grace F1 and is widely considered the most highly-touted prospect since Max Verstappen started his F1 career in 2015, aged 17.

The Mercedes driver's first task of the weekend was to share an official FIA press conference with the man whose cockpit he is stepping into and the driver Hamilton has replaced at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz.

When asked for his feelings on previously working with the seven-time F1 drivers' champion and now competing against him on track, Antonelli spoke to the magnitude of the experience in front of him.

"First of all, it feels pretty surreal to be able to race with someone such as Lewis [Hamilton]," Antonelli told media including RacingNews365 ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. "I mean, I've been growing up, and also once I joined Mercedes, looking at him.

"He's been incredibly successful, so it feels kind of weird that I'm going be sharing the track with him, but also with Carlos [Sainz], with all the drivers at the end of the day, because when you're used to see them on TV, and then finally you're able to share the track with them, it is an incredible feeling."

Antonelli on Hamilton: 'He's not only a great driver...'

Antonelli also addressed the time he shared with Hamilton at Mercedes, shedding light on how the 105-time grand prix winner helped him acclimatise to the rigours of life in F1. 

He also highlighted a small but meaningful gesture from the British driver, which he believes underpins what a "great person" Hamilton is.

"Last year, I've been doing some track side [work], end of season, and being starting to work with the team," Antonelli said. "Lewis has always been nice to me, and also giving me some advice.

"Also, I think you [Hamilton] wrote a message in the drivers’ room, so I'm going be able to see it pretty soon.

"But, yeah, he's always been really nice to me, and I'm really, really grateful for that, because it shows that he's not only a great driver, but also a great person."