Mercedes Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton introduced a fellow champion to the paddock this weekend as the 19th round of the 2024 season got underway.
F1 returned to COTA for the United States Grand Prix, a track where Hamilton has seen great success and is the current record holder for the most victories there in the sport, having secured five.
Such success was not emulated on-track this weekend however, with both the Silver Arrows starting Sunday’s race from the back of the pack after a troublesome qualifying session for Hamilton and a late FIA punishment for George Russell that saw him demoted to the pitlane.
Ahead of the weekend’s action, Hamilton took to social media to celebrate the success of another Mercedes star, junior driver Kenzo Craigie.
The 14-year-old recently featured on the British star’s Instagram story, with Hamilton congratulating him after becoming the 2024 FIA karting world champion in the OK-Junior category.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton started from a less than ideal spot on the grid at the US GP
Lewis Hamilton will be replaced next year by Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli
Kenzo Craigie given a warm welcome at Mercedes
Craigie joined the Mercedes Junior Programme for 2023, having caught the eye of the team after his success in British karting.
Hamilton’s own seat at Mercedes will be inherited by another product of their junior programme next season as Kimi Antonelli makes the jump to F1.
At 18, the Italian star is just four years older than Craigie, indicating a bright future that was further cemented by a congratulatory post on Hamilton’s Instagram that read: “Proud to have Kenzo with us in Austin. Always inspiring to see and support the next gen. Well done on your karting world championship, so much more to come @kenzocraigie44 👏🏾”
The seven-time champion took the young star on a Hot Lap in Austin ahead of his interview with the Sky Sports F1 team, where Craigie lifted the lid on his weekend with the team at COTA.
“I can’t thank Lewis enough for letting me go on a hot lap with him and I think I was the youngest person to do it as well so yeah it was amazing.”
Revealing that Hamilton had also allowed him the privilege of experiencing the W15 from inside the cockpit.
“It’s so amazing, it’s so compact compared to what you see on TV I can’t imagine doing an hour and a half in there with how hot it gets, it was even hot with the car even off, big respect to all the drivers.”
