'To Kimi from Kim': F1 leader Antonelli gets his towel back

BARCELONA, June 13 : Formula One leader Kimi Antonelli's quest to recover a winner's towel swiped by Kim Kardashian at the Monaco Grand Prix is over after the Mercedes driver received a replacement from Lewis Hamilton's celebrity friend.

Mercedes posted a video on Instagram of the 19-year-old Italian asking for his towel in the team garage, after practice for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. He was then handed one with 'To Kimi from Kim' embroidered on it.

'Thank you Kim," he said, putting it around his neck.

The missing towel had become a social media video gag, with Antonelli repeatedly asking about its whereabouts.

Television images from after Sunday's race in Monaco had appeared to show Kardashian, accompanying Ferrari driver Hamilton, picking the folded item off the number one marker and wiping her face and sunglasses before walking away with it.

Antonelli is chasing his sixth win in a row in Sunday's race at the Circuit de Catalunya.