Kimi Antonelli vows to be at "100 per cent" after learning from Imola home race woes

Kimi Antonelli has vowed to be at “100 per cent” after struggling to manage his energy levels during his first home F1 race at Imola.

Antonelli will race on home soil for the second time this season at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The 19-year-old’s rookie F1 season has been mixed.

Antonelli scored his first podium at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, but he has finished in the points just once since then.

The pressure will be on Antonelli again this weekend as he races in front of his home crowd.

Antonelli also crashed heavily on his Mercedes FP1 outing last year because he wanted to impress on his first showing for the team.

Speaking in the FIA press conference at Monza on Thursday, Antonelli admitted that he’s better prepared after struggling during the Imola weekend.

“I will be much more prepared and definitely I know much better what to expect [from my home race],” Antonelli explained.

“Definitely, I know much better how I need to move around, how I need to behave during the race weekend in order to be 100 per cent every time I go in the car.

Antonelli added: “I would say I would be more prepared. It was my first home race and there was a lot going around, especially outside the track. Also on my side, I didn’t manage energy the best way and just going back in the car, and not feeling 100 per cent, also focus-wise.

“I feel like on that side I will know much better how to react and how to behave so I think that’s the main learning. Also try to manage the energy the best way possible during the whole weekend because you start the weekend and as you arrive to Sunday, you have a bit less energy overall.

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“The most important thing is you arrive with the most amount of energy. I remember being in Imola and already from the Saturday I was pretty tired. That was good learning and I don’t want that to happen again.”

Antonelli hoping to bounce back

Kimi Antonelli was on course for a top-six finish last time out at the Dutch Grand Prix.

However, he received 15 seconds' worth of penalties for two incidents.

He punted Charles Leclerc out of the race at Turn 3 and then picked up a penalty for speeding.

Aside from that, Antonelli’s race pace was strong, even though the result was outside the top 10.

“Just focusing on myself, just focusing on what I have to do,” Antonelli explained.

“It’s really easy to get lost and just focus too much on the final result. Instead, I think it’s much better and I haven’t been doing super well. Just focus on the things like driving well, put things together and then helping the team the best way to find the best balance as well.

“I think that’s the main thing to do - trying to focus on myself and trying to get every detail right.”