Kimi Antonelli ready to deal with F1 pressure – but insists he doesn’t want to be seen as Hamilton’s ‘replacement’

“I think one of the main factors [in dealing with pressure] is when you know you have a team like Mercedes around you that really believe in you, and they’ve been believing in me since a very young age,” Antonelli explained following the news of his signing.

“They really help you to cope with this pressure very well, and even though sometimes I still don’t cope with that perfectly, I still get the right support from Mercedes but also from my family, so I’m really happy to be with them and really happy with the support they’ve been giving me, not only in the past but also nowadays.”

READ MORE: Wolff aware of ‘risk’ with Antonelli as he says eye-catching raw pace needs to be ‘conditioned’

Another factor that has shone the spotlight on Antonelli is the fact that he will be stepping into Hamilton’s seat, with the seven-time world champion bringing his long relationship with Mercedes to a close.

Pushed on how he is dealing with the idea of replacing Hamilton, Antonelli responded: “I think it’s not possible to replace Lewis Hamilton.