AUSTIN — Kimi Antonelli arrived in Austin for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix with a mathematical chance to clinch his maiden Drivers’ Championship.
And while the math would require both a “perfect” weekend from garage, and something “catastrophic” to happen around him, the young Mercedes driver admitted on Thursday that just the chance to clinch a title here at the United States Grand Prix is “incredible,” along with the fact that it would come in Lewis Hamilton’s footsteps.
“I mean, it would be a dream. You know, it’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was little,” described Antonelli in the FIA Press Conference on Thursday at the Circuit of the Americas. “And, you know, first of all, really to find myself in such a position is incredible.
“But at the same time, you know, I need to keep going, keep pushing and it’s not over yet. So we’ll try to finish the job properly and we can enjoy the rest. But, for sure it will be an incredible achievement.”
Antonelli holds a 102-point lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell with Hamilton — who he replaced at Mercedes — in third 111 points behind Antonelli. To clinch the title in Austin not only would Antonelli need to win the United States Grand Prix, but he would need Russell to finish ninth or lower, and Hamilton to finish fifth or lower.
His strong season means that the chance is there for Antonelli to hold up his end of the bargain.
But it is the foundation from his years on the junior formulae that have made this moment possible.
1:50”I mean, obviously, Formula One is different because you have, you know, the pressure, also just, you know, just it’s a lot bigger Formula One to anything else. But as well, yeah, the pressure is a bit more. Also the competition, you know, is higher as well because you’re racing with the 21 best drivers in the world,“ described Antonelli about his previous title fights. ”So it’s definitely a bit more complicated in that regard. But I think definitely when you’re fighting for a championship from karting and in junior series, definitely, you know, the mindset is very similar in the way you approach races, and the way you think.
“So definitely it does help, you know, the fact that, I was able to fight for a championship already from karting, and it kind of prepares you as well, to face a certain situation.”
Something else that has put Antonelli on the brink of a title is his growth as a driver, in particular in the mental side of the sport. After some difficult moments during his rookie campaign, Antonelli bounced back from a big crash in the final practice session ahead of this year’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix to deliver a strong qualifying performance, and then a P2 to begin the year.
The young driver talked about that moment on Thursday, and the growth from his rookie year to this season.
“I think if something like that had happened to me last year, like in Melbourne, the rest of the weekend would probably have been very compromised. So, yeah, definitely, when you have one year of experience, one full year in Formula 1, you come back the next year and you just feel better,” said Antonelli. “Things happen a bit more easily, let’s say, also because you’re not forcing them to happen as much. I remember in the first season, many times I would just try to force the result, also the driving, trying to get the lap time out.
“And this year, I kind of took a step back in that regard and just tried to focus on the important things and enjoy the process as much as possible. Not only the driving, but also growing with the team, understanding the regulations and helping the team extract a bit more performance from the car, as well as making the team understand better what I need from the car to help me out and find more performance overall.
“But definitely, mentally, I’ve been in a much happier place this year compared to last season. And especially when you’ve been working with the same group of people for one year, going into year two is a big difference as well, because you just know each other much better and you know what you need from each other. You also know how to move on together as a team, especially from difficult situations.”
Antonelli began the year in a much happier place than he did last season.
And he is on the verge of ending it in a very, very happy place.
With a big trophy as well.