17/09/2025 08:35
Kimi Antonelli has addressed how mounting pressure accelerated his
"downfall" in performance earlier in the season. The Mercedes
driver is midway through his rookie campaign and experienced a
damaging slump in results after an initial strong start to life in
F1. The 19-year-old, who maintains he sees pressure as a positive,
described how - because of how much he was struggling to arrest his
worrying slide in form - it began to be a problem for him.
Antonelli started the year in a style befitting the lofty
expectations placed on his young shoulders, scoring points in five
of the opening six rounds. However, a rear suspension update on his
W16 at Imola made the car more unstable, robbing him of the
confidence he had in it before the upgrade. It sparked a downward
spiral in form, with only his maiden podium finish - at the
Canadian Grand Prix - to show for the next seven rounds. But,
having scored his first point in Europe at the Hungarian Grand Prix
- and followed that up with two more at Monza - after the
Brackley-based team rowed back that development, Antonelli is keen
to vanquish the demons that have plagued him since the start of the
European season. When asked how he was affected by the pressure to
perform during his meagre run of results, and what Mercedes had
done to alleviate it, the Italian driver shared his normal
perspective on it, and how his loss of pace affected him. "Well,
usually, I always try to see pressure, not as a bad thing,"
Antonelli explained to media, including RacingNews365 . "I always
try to embrace the pressure, because there's a very famous saying
that says that pressure is a privilege , and I fully agree with
that. "You need to try to embrace it and even use it as a fuel to
perform and to shine. "But, because I was struggling so much, then
I couldn't really handle the pressure that well, and that was a bit
of the downfall for me." Soaking up the pressure Antonelli
highlighted how Mercedes has supported him in handling the pressure
of tense situations, like when he was defending his position in the
top three in the latter stages of the race in Montreal. "Of course,
when you're feeling good and you're feeling confident, then also
with the pressure, you're able to deal with it much better," he
said. "I think Canada was also a good example, being under pressure
in the race. And also thanks to the team, I was able to stay calm
and stay focused on what I had to achieve. "But on your question
about how the team helps me, they always try to, first of all, to
support me, and also they always try to help me, especially in
moments when I'm struggling, and that helps as well to feel a bit
less pressure, because you've got the team behind you."
