Kimi Antonelli still believes he has momentum in the title race against Mercedes team-mate George Russell, despite losing ground in the last two races.
The championship leader has seen a 68-point advantage over Russell cut to 40 points in just two rounds after a retirement in Barcelona when running in second and a third place last time out in Austria while Russell won his first Grand Prix since the season-opener in March.
But, Antonelli pointed to the speed he has shown when questioned if he still has momentum in the championship fight ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One.
“Yeah, of course, I have a big fire inside of me because the last two races didn’t go well, considering the pace we had,” he said.
“In Barcelona, the race was going well but we had the issue which was unfortunate. In Austria, I felt very good in the car.
“But in qualifying, I relaxed a little bit too much and didn’t extract the best from the car and tyres and there was the thing with the yellow flag, which George managed to do well.
“I lost the race in the first stint with the first two laps going off, then I struggled with the brakes and lost a lot of time. Without that, I would have had a better chance to fight for the victory, or at least P2. For sure it’s been, let’s not say difficult, but I can put things more together and maximise better the result.”
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Kimi Antonelli goes past Mercedes teammate George Russell before retiring from the race with engine failure in Spain
Twelve months ago, Antonelli’s form slumped during the European run of races but the Italian teenager feels he is a different driver now and expects Mercedes to be strong at Silverstone.
“I’m very excited. I think this is one of the best weekends of the season and one of the best crowds, so I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be a good weekend,” he continued.
“The car is very strong but of course we expect Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari to be up there as well.”
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Kimi Antonelli admitted he lost a bit of his rhythm this weekend, which saw the Mercedes driver finish third at the Austrian Grand Prix
Russell: I have more confidence than ever this season
Silverstone has been somewhat of a bogey track for Russell with a best result of fifth at the British Grand Prix, including two retirements in the last four years.
Russell says he wants to “tick the box” of winning his home event but does not feel “any more pressure” than usual.
“The last couple of weeks have been weeks where I’ve learnt a huge amount from what I need of the car,” he said.
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George Russell was in buoyant mood after winning in Austria as he closed the gap on Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli
“This has been really great to see what I need, how I need maybe to change my driving style, put it into practice and then win the race at the first time of trying this new approach was really great. To win was good, it was a good step forward, and so now I can start to build from there.”
Russell added: “Last year if you’d asked me how confident are you that the car’s going to be in a good place and you’re going to nail the lap, that confidence level was far higher because I understood the car and the tyres much more than I do this year. But it’s improving every race I do.
“Right now I’ve got more confidence than ever in this season because I feel I’ve got more tools in my locker to deploy that I didn’t have two or three races ago. That’s because of the work the team have done to help me understand it.”
Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the British Grand Prix
Friday July 3
7.40am: F1 Academy Practice
8.45am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: British GP Practice (session starts at 12.30pm)*
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying*
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying*
3.35pm: British GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 4.30pm)*
5.55pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
Saturday July 4
9.30am: F3 Sprint*
11am: British GP Sprint build-up*
12pm: BRITISH GP SPRINT*
1.40pm: F2 Sprint*
2.50pm: British GP Qualifying build-up*
4pm: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*
6pm: F1 Academy Race 1
6.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 5
8.20am: F3 Feature Race*
9.55am: F1 Academy Race 2*
11.10am: F2 Feature Race*
12.55pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
6pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Silverstone for a Sprint weekend at the British Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One – with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
