Kim Kardashian gave F1 star Kimi Antonelli a special gift in the Mercedes garage ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The TV reality superstar stole the show at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend as she supported boyfriend Lewis Hamilton in the streets of Monte Carlo. However, Kim did not cover herself in glory as she appeared to steal a towel intended for Antonelli.
A video appeared on social media of Kim walking past Antonelli's podium after he won his fifth race in a row to extend his Championship lead, coming home ahead of Hamilton in P2 for the second successive race. As is customary, a towel was placed on the No.1 podium that the winning driver can use, but the 19-year-old star was unable to wipe away his sweat after Kim was spotted swiping the towel and walking off with it.
Mercedes reacted by poking fun at Kim in a social media skit where Antonelli jokingly asked where his towel was. Now, in brilliant humour, Kim sent Antonelli a replacement towel to the Mercedes garage in Spain. A video showed the teenager being handed a fresh white towel, with the words: “To Kimi from Kim”.
A shocked Antonelli asked if the gift was really from her, and after a team member confirmed it was, he replied: “Thank you, Kim”, and removed the ribbon to drape the towel around his neck.
Hamilton and Antonelli have grown incredibly close with the seven-time world champion supporting his successor at Mercedes’ brilliant start to the season. The Ferrari star trails Antonelli by 66 points and admitted the Italian’s early dominance reminds him of himself from years gone by.
Hamilton said: "He’s doing a phenomenal job. He’s got an amazing team around him with Bono, with Toto and the whole team. And I’m really happy to see them doing what they do best. And then for him in this moment to be delivering on the level that he’s delivering at, it’s awesome to see. It just encourages me to want to level up and I think encourages everybody wanting to level up."
"He’s only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him. But I’m going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year. And as I said, just really, it’s a real privilege to witness it, be on the podium with two of the youngest guys here. Very much kind of remind me of me when I was back in 2007."
