Andrea Kimi Antonelli has revealed he is unfazed by the prospect of being a major player in the Formula 1 title race, saying that he is purely focusing on his own personal growth.
The Italian has firmly placed himself on the conversation of the Drivers’ Championship battle, having followed up his maiden Grand Prix victory in China with another in Japan.
Antonelli’s double has enabled him to leapfrog teammate George Russell in the standings, becoming the youngest-ever driver in F1 history to lead the table.
It shows a remarkable turnaround from last year, during which Antonelli was subjected to close scrutiny amid a difficult period in which he failed to score points.
But the 19-year-old is taking the experience of that debut campaign to show an overall improvement, and in turn, potentially see him continue to threaten Russell’s title favourite status.
“I think overall I feel stronger, I feel more in control of the situation,” he told select media, including Motorsport Week.
“Obviously, having done all the tracks last year, definitely it’s helping this year so far. Also having done the race weekend also helps, because I know better what to expect.
“I know better how to move around, how to manage myself during the weekend.
“And so definitely, the experience of last year is, is playing a massive role into this year so far, because obviously, I just feel more relaxed, more confident, and like I said before, more in control of the situation.
“For sure it might even help in those tracks, where last year I struggled a lot. So yeah, let’s see.
“But obviously, the goal already from Miami is to be back from where we left in Japan, or even be back even stronger from where we left.”
Kimi Antonelli refuses to be drawn on F1 title talk despite exceeding expectations so far
Antonelli refused to be drawn on focusing on any attempts at winning the title, remaining grounded about the situation, despite exceeding expectations his set for himself before the season commenced.
“Definitely, I think it’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side,” he said. “And I think definitely it’s been a very strong start of the season.
“And definitely expectations, automatically they’re a bit different now, but at the end of the day, I still try to keep the same mindset that as I had in the in the first three races, just trying to keep focusing on what I have to do, on the goal and just trying to put myself in the best position as possible to then achieve a great result.”
Antonelli added: “What I don’t want to do is, now that obviously we’re in a good position, is start to think about the final result, or long-term results.
“I just really want to focus on the present, and how I can maximise every time I go in the car in order to get the best result.
“And yeah, focusing on the process and then little by little, trying to raise the bar, raise the game. Because obviously George is super strong, and competitors will get closer, so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, but just trying to raise the bar little by little.”
Miami is up next, and with the circuit being the place where he took his maiden pole position [for the Sprint], Antonelli will surely carry that confidence to uphold his rightful place in the World Championship battle.
Discussion about this post