Kimi Antonelli admits that claiming this year’s Formula 1 title is “not going to be a walk in the park” and has explained Mercedes’ new intra-team orders ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Italian teenager leads the Drivers’ standings by 41 points after five consecutive wins before registering his first retirement of the season last time out in Barcelona.
While Antonelli retired from P2 with just three laps remaining, Lewis Hamilton was already up the road after a stellar performance and able to take his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari to become the Mercedes driver’s closest challenger.
With Ferrari also bringing a power unit upgrade to Austria, Antonelli is aware that Hamilton and the Scuderia could pose a threat over the remainder of the season.
“All of them,” said Antonelli on Thursday’s media day in Austria when asked if he feared Hamilton, team mate George Russell or reliability problems the most.
“But it’s not worried or concerned. I’m aware that it’s not going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to be a tough battle because George is super quick, Lewis is in a great moment and is feeling the car and momentum.
“Definitely is going to be a tough battle, that’s why it’s going to be important to maximise every opportunity because Barcelona I had the issue at the end and lost a lot of points.
“Whenever I can, I just need to maximise everything because you never know what can happen. I wouldn’t write off the others either, I think you look what Max [Verstappen] did last year coming back from so far, that’s why it’s important to always be present, stay focused and just do your best.”
Antonelli and Russell went wheel-to-wheel again in Barcelona, allowing Hamilton to rejoin in the lead after his final stop under the Virtual Safety Car.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff explained after the race in Spain that the team might need to look at how it handles an intra-team battle if another driver is in contention for the title, with Antonelli confiming a new approach this weekend.
“How we go racing, I think it will really depend on the situation,” he said. “If we are under threat by other teams then we will race differently, but if it’s just me and him [Russell] we are going to be able to race free.”
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