Mercedes junior driver Kenzo Craigie may be one of the luckiest individuals as he had seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton take him for a hot lap around the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Although most would have been terrified to take a lap around at speeds in excess of 150 mph, Craigie was not one of them.
The 14-year-old’s calmness in the passenger seat was a huge surprise and he seemed to enjoy every moment of the wild ride. Craigie, who has publicly expressed his admiration for Hamilton previously, thanked the 39-year-old for giving him this outstanding opportunity.
Hamilton, however, expects something back in return. After finishing the ride, Hamilton told Craigie, “One day you can take me out“.
When Lewis took our Junior Driver Kenzo Craigie for the lap of a lifetime at COTA!
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 11, 2024
Craigie is currently competing in karting and the way he has been making progress, he could very well soon enter the big leagues as well. In 2022, a 12-year-old Craigie dominated the Cadet class to win the Ultimate Karting Championship Series and the British Kartmasters (GP Plate), among other competitions.
Hamilton too seems to be following Craigie’s progress in karting after the British teenager beat Max Verstappen’s ‘successor’ Rocco Coronel in the OK Junior Karting Championship earlier this year. “Seeing this has made my day. Well done @kenzocraiqie44, keep going,” Hamilton wrote on his Instagram story.
Craigie hopes to follow in Hamilton’s footsteps
Craigie is such a huge fan of Hamilton that he also drives Car #44, the same number that the 39-year-old has used for all his cars since the time he got into F1.
“44 goes back to my idol Lewis Hamilton. So, I just want to be like him when I grow up,” said Craigie in an interview with Sky Sports F1. “Hopefully a seven-time world champion“.
Kenzo’s father, Paul Craigie, revealed in the same video that the predominant reason his son looks up to Hamilton is that the former McLaren driver is the only one “who looks like” his son.
Paul now hopes that his son can follow in the footsteps of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, two drivers who were Mercedes juniors and have managed to successfully rise through the ranks to drive for the Silver Arrows’ F1 team.
