Kimi Antonelli has shut down talk of how he would celebrate winning the F1 championship, admitting “I don’t like this” when asked about the prospect.
Antonelli currently leads the Drivers’ Standings with 242 points, but with rival teams catching up and 11 races remaining, the championship could be any driver’s. He was beaten by title rival Lando Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix last time out, with fellow Brits Lewis Hamilton and George Russell just 59 points behind him in the standings.
Antonelli’s cautious response
Despite the setback at Circuit Zandvoort, the 20-year-old remains the favourite to come out on top this season. However, when asked by YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg how he would celebrate winning the championship, Antonelli was quick to reply.
“Oh my God I don’t like this,” he said. “No, I am very suspicious. We will think about it when it happens.”
Antonelli was taking part in Dimoldenberg’s ‘Passenger Princess’ series, with Mercedes team-mate Russell recently featuring on the show, in which the broadcaster quizzes drivers on life in F1.
Reflection on Zandvoort
He found himself in a reflective mood following the Dutch Grand Prix, saying: “[I’m] a bit disappointed because we’ve led most of that half of the race.
“But yeah, on that last stint on the hard [tyre], something just didn’t feel right with the car – I just had really little confidence and the pace was not there.
“Of course it’s a shame, because I really believed in it. But today was at the end P2, it’s the maximum that we could have done.”
He added: “I think it was one of the weekends where I felt the least confident with the car overall.
“But still, I think today what really saved us were the starts. Two good starts, and managed to gain places in both.
“At the end we managed to finish P2, which is a great result for the team. Also George did a great, great job. He was a great team player today. Really happy with that, and now we look forward to Monza.”
Mercedes’ challenge ahead
Antonelli also admitted that Mercedes have a challenge ahead of them in terms of keeping tabs on McLaren, with Norris claiming his second consecutive Grand Prix victory.
“Of course now as a team we need to find a little bit of time because McLaren have done a huge step,” he said. “We’ve got to keep pushing.”
