No pressure despite home race at Monza: Why Kimi Antonelli is keeping his cool

Of all places, Kimi Antonelli is guaranteed not to be able to start from pole position at his home race in Monza. This is because the young Italian will be lining up for the race with a new power unit that exceeds the permitted quota. As a result, he will have to work his way up the field from the back. This takes a lot of pressure off his young shoulders, the GP star explained at the media day in the Royal Park.

But that isn’t the only reason why he’s feeling relaxed ahead of the 13th race of the season. “I don’t have as much to prove as I did last year,” the Mercedes star explained when asked. And he recalls: “Last season, I was going through a difficult phase when I arrived at Monza. I therefore felt I had to prove myself, that I had to show I belonged in Formula 1.”

“That put me under a lot of pressure,” the 20-year-old realises in hindsight. “That’s why I was so tense behind the wheel. For the most part, I couldn’t enjoy driving last year. Now it’s completely different. I’m lucky that my car is strong, and I also have a year’s more experience, which makes a huge difference. I feel much more mature and have the sense that I’m much more in control of everything,” continues the six-time Grand Prix winner.

“And when the results are there, you don’t have to prove yourself in that respect either. I’ve shown that I can win. I’ve proven that I can deliver when it counts. That’s why I’m approaching this much more relaxed, even though it is, of course, my home race. But after a year, I’m tackling everything a bit differently,” explains Antonelli.

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