Lewis Hamilton hands Kimi Antonelli hilarious words of wisdom as F1 record awaits

Lewis Hamilton has offered a tongue-in-cheek piece of advice to Kimi Antonelli as the Mercedes driver closes in on the 2026 world championship, telling him to simply "slow down" before admitting the rookie needs no help at all.

Antonelli arrives at the United States Grand Prix holding a commanding 102-point lead over George Russell and 111 points clear of Hamilton himself in third, with the Italian able to mathematically wrap up the title in Austin if he wins and both Mercedes and Ferrari title rivals finish well down the order.

Asked what tips he could pass on to help Antonelli get over the line, Hamilton joked to select media, including RacingNews365, ahead of the weekend.

"Slow down. No, I don't know. He doesn't need any advice. I think he's shown this year, and also last year, but particularly this year, his talent and his ability, his calmness and his approach," said the seven-time champion.

"He's done an amazing job this year, and I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of the way he's carried himself, how he interacts with the drivers and even with you guys. 

"It's great to see him and the team excel. If it's not my team, I'd always want to see my old team do well."

Kimi Antonelli wary F1 title not secured yet

Antonelli, who at 20 could surpass Sebastian Vettel's long-standing record as the youngest world champion in F1 history, said it is only recently that the scale of the opportunity in front of him has sunk in.

Discussing when he realised he could make history, the Mercedes driver explained to select media, including RacingNews365: "I mean, recently, I would say. But, obviously, I'm in an incredible position. This year, with how things went and how I felt in the car during the weekends, and also with the momentum going, I thought I might have had a chance this year to fight. Luckily, I'm in a very good position right now."

"But, of course, I still have to keep going, and the mindset is always the same: whenever I go on track, I want to be at the top and try to win as much as possible, whether I win the championship this weekend, next weekend or in Brazil. Let's see. But it's not over until it's over."

"That's why the mindset is always going to be the same: to win whenever I go on track. You want to finish the season on a high as well, and then go with high hopes into next year. 

"But, of course, this year, with the car we've got, we've had such a strong car, and the team is doing an incredible job developing and understanding this new package. The team has done everything in their power to give us, first of all, a great car and the opportunity to fight."