Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted this weekend’s race has a different feel because he has his first chance to clinch the world championship.
The 20-year-old will only claim the title today if he wins the race and team mate George Russell finishes no higher than ninth. But after taking pole position for the race, while Russell only managed sixth on the grid, Antonelli said the opportunity to win the championship was on his mind.“It does feel a little bit different,” said Antonelli, who will become the youngest world champion in F1 history if he takes the title this year. “But the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job.
“Actually, I feel like I can enjoy the driving and everything more. But of course, we still have to do the race tomorrow, still have to try and win, and then, of course, we’ll see what happens.
“I feel like I can enjoy it a bit more because obviously I’m in a very good position. But still, the mindset is always the same.”
Antonelli will start today’s race immediately in front of the two Red Bull drivers, who he expects will be competitive.
“I’m just going to try to do the best race I can: I’m going to try to win, and then we’ll see what happens,” he said after qualifying on Saturday. “But it’s good to finish the day like this.
“Of course, tomorrow is going to be a new day. Max [Verstappen] has been very quick, Isack [Hadjar] also has been very quick, so just need to get a good start, and then we’ll see from there what we can do.”
“I have a great group of people around me,” he added. “I have a lot of friends here as well, so we enjoy the evenings together. We play cards in the evening, so we’re just doing the fun stuff, and that all helps to relax a little bit and disconnect mentally.
“Then, once you go on track, you’re back fully focused.”
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