Antonelli will obey Mercedes orders to help 'tow' teammate Russell / Photo: Marco BERTORELLO - AFP
Antonelli will obey Mercedes orders to help 'tow' teammate Russell
World championship leader Kimi Antonelli will give his Mercedes team-mate and title rival George Russell "a tow" in qualifying, if requested, at this weekend’s keenly-anticipated Italian Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old Italian, who leads Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, faces starting Sunday’s race from the back of the grid due to penalties after taking a new power unit.
But, he told reporters on Thursday, he will not allow that to interfere with his enjoyment of his home race in front of a big crowd of tifosi divided by their support for Ferrari and for him.
"I’m looking forward to this weekend despite starting from the back," he said.
"I will be able to enjoy it more than I did previously and hopefully we will still be able to have a good race. In some ways, it helps to release the pressure, but I would very much rather fight for pole and start at the front."
Asked about slipstreaming at the high-speed Monza track, the fastest on the calendar, to help team-mate Russell, he said it had been considered and he would obey the team.
"It has been discussed with the team, and yes, we have agreed on a few things," he said.
“So, let's see how the session develops.If the team asks me to do so, I will do it.
“Obviously, I will still be happy to get pole, but of course, I'm starting at the back so, if I can do anything to help the team, I will. I will do it."
- 'Relaxed' -
He added that he felt more relaxed ahead of this event knowing he had a grid penalty and was under less scrutiny.
"It makes me a bit more relaxed," he said.
"I think this track can be very good for us, but we have to take into account that McLaren, Ferrari, even Red Bull can be good this weekend.
"There are other tracks where it is possible to overtake, but this one has a lot of places where you can race differently and gives us the best chance to climb through the field."
He described the track as more "energy-starved" than most because the hybrid power units introduced this year will not have their battery power for a much higher percentage of a lap in Monza than at any other circuit.
This, in turn, will mean that there are few places for the cars to recover energy on the long straights and will make it efficient to use slipstreaming to reduce drag and conserve energy.
Antonelli ended his news conference appearance fearful of facing a fine from the ruling International Motoring Federation (FIA) after swearing accidentally when asked about the risks of racing at high speeds.
“Sorry. Sorry. I swore. But, oh my God. What did I just do? Now I'm going to worry about the fine that is coming.
"But what was I saying? We know that the risk will always be there so we're well aware. But it’s what we love to do and we're going to live with that."
O.Karatzas--AN-GR
