The world champion on the eve of the first tests: “Is there enthusiasm for me in Italy? I know, but the season is long and I always have to raise the level.” “The departures? We worked with the team to resolve the problem.” “The opponents here have big upgrades, we don’t, we will have to fight more”
“Well, I’m aware of what’s happening, but I try not to pay too much attention to it. The season is still very long and I just have to continue to raise the bar because I have an extremely strong, fast and complete teammate. And the opponents will also get closer and closer.” Kimi Antonelli thus responded to the inevitable question about the Antonelli-mania that broke out in Italy after his two triumphs in China and Japan. The young Bolognese from Mercedes had all the spotlights on him today in Miami as was predictable. Because he is the leader of the World Championship, because he is writing a story that is exciting and because everyone is eager to watch the next episode, starting from this weekend which finally brings F1 back to the track after the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs.
starting tests
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Antonelli spoke as a mature leader, aware that we are only at the fourth race of the World Championship. “I have to continue to prove myself up to par, concentrating on the procedures and trying to get the most out of the performances every time – he said – already what I felt a month ago was a wonderful moment, with the races in China and Japan in two consecutive weekends. But we’re back on track again and it’s a bit like a new beginning. And for my part, I have to be ready because it won’t be easy and it will be important to try to maintain or further increase my level”. The past month has served to refine the procedures, in particular those at the start, which have been his Achilles’ heel so far: “We have made some changes with the team – said Kimi – we have done some tests and worked to try to recognize what the problem was and we seem to have found it. Now we have to try to think of a solution as soon as possible. It won’t be something extremely linear because a fairly significant change is needed on how to move the clutch levers, on the positioning of my hands. But we are doing our best”.
me against george
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One of the focuses of the weekend will certainly be his duel with George Russell, inevitably called to respond to his two victories in order not to lose ground in the standings. Will they be free to clash? “The team has been very clear with us since the first race in Australia – said Kimi – they told us that we can race against each other, but obviously with respect, without trying to do stupid things towards each other. Because in the end, obviously, we want to win, but at the same time we also want the best for the team. George and I are well aware of the fact that we can duel but we have to do it with mutual respect and without trying to do stupid things. The team gave us the green light because they want to give us both the same opportunities.”
opponents
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As for the weekend, Antonelli expects much closer opponents. “It will be a very interesting weekend for us – he said – we don’t really bring anything, just small updates, while other teams bring much bigger updates. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull bring quite large packages of updates, let’s see, they will definitely come close and it might be necessary to fight a lot more for us this weekend. But we will do our best, we will keep our heads down and try to make the most of it. For my part, I will try to get the most out of the car’s performance and try to do my best and then we will see what the result will be.”
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