Why F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli is ‘very excited’ to start home race from last place

MONZA, Italy — Formula 1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli says he feels “very free mentally” going into the Italian Grand Prix weekend despite knowing he will start the race from the back of the grid.

Antonelli, 20, returns to Monza for his home race weekend with a 59-point lead at the top of the world championship over Mercedes teammate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

But Antonelli is set to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid as Mercedes plans to fit his car with a fresh engine, triggering a penalty.

Following issues earlier in the season, Antonelli’s car has already reached its yearly limit for permitted engine parts, meaning he must take a penalty for any extra components.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed after last month’s Dutch GP that Antonelli would serve his penalty at Monza, which should provide the Italian driver a better chance to fight his way through the order thanks to its long straights and plentiful overtaking opportunities.

While the penalty will deny Antonelli the chance to compete for pole and limit his chances of a big result on Sunday, he said it would also help release the pressure at his home race.

“In some ways, it makes me a bit more relaxed going into the weekend,” Antonelli said in Thursday’s news conference at Monza.

“That’s why I’m going to be able to enjoy more the driving and the weekend itself. Also, it’s a different opportunity. It’s an opportunity to try something different in the weekend, different work method in free practice especially. I think it’s going to be a very interesting weekend.”

Without the penalty, Antonelli would have entered the race weekend with serious hopes of becoming the first Italian to win the Italian GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.

But he brushed off a question about his chances of scoring victory from the back of the grid on Sunday, saying that a top-five finish was a more realistic aim.

“We might be really quick, but Ferrari, McLaren or Red Bull, they might be very close,” Antonelli said. “It’s probably not enough to catch them during a race.

“We’ll see. But definitely, I feel very free mentally going into this weekend. I’m actually very excited, very much looking forward to it.”

Antonelli was announced as a Mercedes F1 driver for 2025 at Monza two years ago. He also made his grand prix weekend debut in practice for the 2024 race, crashing out on his second flying lap.

Last year, Antonelli could only muster a ninth-place finish at Monza amid a difficult run of form through the middle of his rookie season.

Antonelli explained that he felt through much of last year that he had to prove he belonged in F1, which he admitted increased the pressure on his shoulders.

“That made me drive very, very tense,” said Antonelli. “I wasn’t really enjoying as well the time in the car, most of the time last year, whereas this year (is different) obviously, for many reasons.

“I’m lucky to have a great car. But also the year of experience makes a huge difference. I feel much more mature, much more in control of the situation. When you get good results, it’s always one less thing to prove. And I’ve proven that I can win. I’ve proven that I can perform.”

Antonelli’s penalty will provide Russell and Hamilton an opportunity to cut into his lead at the top of the world championship, but Hamilton tipped the Italian to easily recover through the pack.

“With the power that he has, which is more than most of the cars around him, and the performance that they have, which has been the quickest car generally through the year, he should slide through that pack pretty easy,” said Hamilton.