MADRID (AP) — By now, even Kimi’s closest rival Antonelli admits the race for the Formula 1 title is all but over.
Antonelli won his eighth race of the season – and second in a row – at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, extending his championship lead to 81 points with nine races remaining.
But the 20-year-old Italian, the youngest ever to lead a Formula One championship, doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.
“It’s great, but we just have to keep working, keep getting results and, you know, just try to do the best job I can when I get on track,” he said. “Of course, yes, I have a big advantage, but you never know what can happen. So I just have to be prepared for anything and continue to make the most of every opportunity I get and then we’ll see where we are at the end of the year.”
His Mercedes teammate George Russell hinted that he already knew the result.
“I’m not really competing for the drivers’ (championship) title and it just allows me to concentrate from race to race and try to get good results.”
Lewis Hamilton, third in the championship, is 101 points behind Antonelli after failing to finish on Sunday with a brake failure.
Russell was fifth on Sunday. Earlier in the weekend he said Antonelli had “done a better job” than him this season and “deserves to lead” the championship.
Antonelli doesn’t like the rhetoric that the title race is over and that he might start taking a more conservative approach.
“That’s exactly what I don’t want to do,” he said. “I want to continue race after race, continue to perform and continue to have fun along the way and try to do my best in every race. And then we’ll see where we end up.”
Praise from former champions
Antonelli won Sunday ahead of former champions Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Both opponents praised his performance this season and commented on how he would handle his emotions and the pressure of taking a big points lead.
“Kimi just needs to do what he does,” Verstappen said. “I mean, it’s fantastic, so it’s working really well. He shouldn’t worry too much about it, which I don’t think. He’s just getting results, he’s confident, he’s getting more and more experience. He’s still young, he’s still very early in his career, but he’s flying and it’s just working.”
Verstappen said Antonelli “shouldn’t complicate things too much” and “he doesn’t do that.”
“He has a lot of good people around him who know what he needs. So everything is working well,” said the four-time world champion from Red Bull.
Norris, who won his first title last year with McLaren, said Antonelli has “impressed from the first race of the year.”
“You know, he’s beating a much more experienced and decent teammate, so I don’t want to give him any advice because he’s doing a scary good job,” Norris said. “It’s great to see someone so young doing such an incredible job and most likely going to win the championship. He just doesn’t drive like it’s his second year in Formula One, that’s for sure.”
Antonelli, who wants to become the youngest Formula One champion, expressed gratitude for the support of the team and his family.
“I’m lucky to be surrounded by really good people,” he said. “I have an incredible team that supports me, a great family. Especially my dad is the one who keeps me grounded. You know, especially when he sees that, you know, I can get a little lost.”
“For my part, as I’ve said many times, I just try to do my best in every race, trying to go as fast as possible when I’m in the car,” Antonelli added. “And then we’ll see where we are at the end of the year. But I definitely don’t want to overcomplicate things or, you know, just drive around worrying about the championship or the result. Just driving the car, doing the best I can.”
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