Kimi Antonelli outlines key change which his first F1 podium can bring

Kimi Antonelli says he can now approach the remainder of his rookie Formula 1 campaign with greater confidence and less tension following his maiden podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Antonelli finished third in last fortnight’s race at Montreal, helping Mercedes achieve its best result of the year as teammate George Russell took the top step on the podium.

The 18-year-old had previously come close to finishing on the rostrum during the Miami weekend, but Canada was the first time he was able to capitalise on his potential and secure a spot inside the top three.

Apart from boosting his morale, Antonelli believes the result will allow him to be more aggressive earlier in race weekends, which could in turn improve his qualifying performances.

“Canada was really important to me,” Antonelli told media including Crash.net. “It was a big relief, but as well it was important because there were a couple of times in the season where I came close to the podium.

“This will help me as a driver to drive a bit more relaxed as well because I'm not gonna lie, in the previous weekends I've been maybe a bit too tense on some occasions and a bit too conservative as well, especially in practice. 

“Now is really the time after achieving this result to make a step and to make a step further and to improve, to prove myself, especially as well on the approach in practice, trying to explore a bit more, especially the grip because in qualifying I've always been arriving with a bit too many question marks, and having to explore too much and to learn too much.

“In qualifying you don't really have much time because it's only one lap on the tyre and then that's it.”

Kimi Antonelli “overcorrected” after Monza debut crash

Antonelli’s high-profile FP1 debut at Monza last year ended prematurely when he crashed his Mercedes F1 car at Parabolica after just five laps.

The Italian admitted that the error forced him into an overly cautious mindset, but feels the podium at Montreal has given him the confidence to turn up the aggression again to strike the right balance.

“I was a bit too conservative, especially in FPs because if you look at the trend in FP, I would always arrive quite late into the session,” he explained.

“I would always put the time quite late in the session just because it kind of required me many laps to get there.

“Obviously, I truly believe I overcorrected after what happened in Monza and now I'm a bit too safe. I'm a bit on the safe side

“That's why I think, results like this also help you to move forward and to make the step. Now is the time to do the step because you know nowadays F1 is super tight, especially when you see qualifying, the gaps are just so close that even a tenth can put you on the back foot.

“ So I think now is the time, especially in practice, to get back a bit closer to Monza. Not exactly like Monza, but get closer to that in order to arrive ready in quali.”