‘It would be a dream’: Antonelli looks for ‘perfect’ Austin week as title stands ahead
New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli stated that winning the Formula 1 title this weekend at the United States Grand Prix “would be a dream” for him and that he looks at a “perfect weekend” to win the title at Austin.
Antonelli arrives at the Circuit of the Americas with the first mathematical chance to win the title with five rounds more scheduled after the United States GP.
He knows he needs to win the race and a couple of results to go his way if he has to wrap the title with plenty of time. For Antonelli to win the title in Austin, he needs to win the race; teammate George Russell must finish ninth or lower, and former seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton must finish P5 or lower.
“It’s crazy if you think about it, but that’s why I won’t think about it,” Antonelli told media when asked about how he is approaching the race. “For me (it) needs to be a perfect weekend and the others, they need to do a poor result, which is unlikely to happen. Of course, anything can happen and it’s crazy to think about it.
“We had a meeting with (race engineer) Bono this morning, and we just said ‘just have fun’ and always the same mindset that I had all year. One race at a time and just try to do the best I can every race weekend and then we’ll see. But of course if I do things well, then the result will come,” he added.
Antonelli has replaced Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes machine last year, which was a challenging debut for the Italian, but now called it a dream to win the title in Hamilton’s seat. “It would be a dream. It’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was little.
“Firstly, to find myself in such a position is incredible but at the same time, I need to keep going and pushing. It’s not over yet. First we’ll try to finish the job properly and then we can enjoy the rest but for sure will be an incredible achievement. But there’s still a bit to go,” he added.
Antonelli would become the youngest-ever F1 champion when he wins this season, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 record.
–IANS
vm/bc
