Kimi Antonelli Discovers Anxiety: “Everyone Tells Me the Same Things…”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished fourth in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, admitted he still isn’t feeling his best after the illness that has left him weakened over the past few days: “I feel very tired; I haven’t fully recovered yet, and to be honest, it hasn’t been an easy weekend.”

The Mercedes driver is one step away from his first world title, and the pressure is starting to mount after a year of racing at the absolute limit: “I’ve definitely been a bit more tense than usual, especially because wherever I go and at any time of day, I keep hearing the same things over and over. People tell me it’s practically a done deal, and knowing myself, I’ve tried to ignore all that noise as much as possible…”.

“But it hasn’t been easy, and I was definitely a bit more tense today. However, I felt good in Q2, especially on the used tires, but then in Q3, with the new tires, I struggled to put a lap together and find grip. I still think we have a good chance tomorrow—we’re still in fourth place, and we’ve saved a set of new tires, so hopefully we can make the most of them and improve.”

On his illness: “I had a high fever and stomach issues; I’m fine now, though I’m having trouble sleeping. I think fatigue played a big role today, but I also don’t think I put together a perfect lap. I made a lot of mistakes here and there, so obviously it’s disappointing, but I’ll try to get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

“I’ll take plenty of melatonin, so I hope to sleep at least 10 hours. I’ll try to relax as much as possible. My family just arrived, so it’ll be nice to have them here.”