Pressure off for F1 leader Antonelli heading into home race in Italy

MILAN: No longer a teenager, Kimi Antonelli is keen to show just how much he has progressed as he prepares for his home grand prix, even though he has to start at the back of the grid.

It was two years ago at Monza that Antonelli was given his Formula 1 debut but that lasted just 10 minutes as the youngster was involved in a high-speed crash in the first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.

Now Antonelli, who turned 20 last week, arrives as championship leader.

“That definitely was not the way I wanted to introduce myself into the sport,” Antonelli said. “If someone, while I was walking off in the gravel, would have said, in two years you're going to be leading the world championship in this exact moment,' I would have said shut up … don't joke with me.'

“But, you know, it's happening. And, you know, I'm very, very, very happy, very grateful. And just got to keep pushing.”

Antonelli, who is bidding to become F1's youngest-ever champion, is the first Italian to lead the standings going into his home race since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

No Italian has won at Monza since 1966However, his chances of becoming the first Italian driver to win at Monza in 60 years have been hampered by taking a hefty grid penalty after Mercedes opted to swap his car's power unit to head off potential reliability problems in the second half of the season.

Monza is a high speed track where Mercedes' engine is likely to be strong, and overtaking is relatively easy, giving Antonelli a chance to make up places, thrilling the fans as he slices through the field.

Antonelli admits his chances of winning are slim, but that removes the pressure from his young shoulders.

“I'd very much rather fight for pole and start at the front,” he said. “But in some ways, I feel like it makes me a bit more relaxed going into the weekend. And I think also that's why I'm going to be able to enjoy more the driving and the weekend itself.

“Of course, the goal is always the same, and we're going to try to maximize the result … but definitely I feel very free mentally going into this weekend. I'm actually very excited, very much looking forward to it, but with no real pressure.”

Ferrari tribute to SchumacherAntonelli leads teammate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, with defending champion Lando Norris 24 points further back.

The race is always special for Ferrari, with the circuit packed with passionate, red-clad tifosi. And they had something to celebrate right from the off as both cars topped the first practice session on Friday.

Charles Leclerc was fastest, 0.173 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Russell third and Liam Lawson who is again stepping in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull fourth. Antonelli, with his new engine, was fifth-fastest.

Ferrari is also commemorating the 30th anniversary of Michael Schumacher's first Italian Grand Prix victory with the team and has a special livery on the cars. Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc will also wear race suits featuring the seven stars Schumacher used to carry on his helmet design to signify his seven world titles.

Resurgent McLarenFerrari has upgraded its engine to boost its chances of a second win at Monza in three years but that is not troubling Norris, who is bidding to make it a hat trick of victories to turbocharge his title defense after back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands.

“I'm not worried at all,” the McLaren driver said. “I mean they've been very competitive, it probably will make them more competitive. Good on them, they'll make our life a bit trickier.

“It's not a worry, we just have to keep focused on our own job. We know it's a different track … we've won two races but it's not like we've been competitive the whole season and we know that there are things we still need to work on.”