Kimi Antonelli returns to the Italian Grand Prix this weekend armed with a 59-point lead within the drivers’ championship and a very completely different mindset to his troublesome dwelling race debut in 2025.
In 2025, he suffered a messy race at Monza, by which he was handed a five-second penalty for a conflict with Williams’s Alex Albon and proven a black-and-white flag for monitor limits, earlier than choosing up two factors with a ninth-place end.
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A 12 months later, the Mercedes driver, who turned 20 final week, will arrive at Monza as the present chief of the Components 1 standings with six grand prix wins underneath his belt thus far this season.
Whereas chatting with F1.com forward of his dwelling race, the Italian defined that he was going into the race weekend with a “completely different perspective”.
“I am very excited. I feel it is going to be an important environment and it is going to be so much completely different in comparison with final 12 months,” he mentioned. “I am undoubtedly getting into with a distinct perspective, completely different mindset, and undoubtedly I really feel like I am going to have the ability to benefit from the weekend much more. I am actually trying ahead to be again.”
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Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Mercedes crew principal Toto Wolff confirmed through the Dutch Grand Prix weekend that Antonelli would take a grid penalty for his dwelling race because of a deliberate energy unit change. The precise penalty is but to be confirmed as a result of its severity is determined by what number of new energy unit elements the Brackley outfit installs on Antonelli’s automobile, however it will likely be a minimal of 10 locations.
“With Kimi, we’re taking the total factor. Our calculations say that that is the very best monitor to take it,” Wolff defined.
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“Clearly, algorithms do not take their nationality into consideration. We’re right here to struggle for a championship and never get essentially the most PR. So yeah, that is what we’ll do.”
The Italian Grand Prix will happen at Monza from 4-6 September.
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