Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli says he has "nothing to lose" at the Italian Grand Prix as he aims to recover from a big penalty for taking new power unit components.
Following a string of reliability issues earlier in the year, Antonelli is switching to his fifth Mercedes power unit of the year, which will land him a back-of-the grid start.
Antonelli hasn't had the best Monza memories as an F1 driver, crashing on his practice debut in 2024 before suffering a subpar weekend last year during his up-and-down rookie campaign. But coming into his second Italian Grand Prix as the sovereign championship leader, the 19-year-old's grid penalty has taken off some of the pressure as he targets a strong recovery through the field.
"Given that I'm starting last, it's going to be full attack," Antonelli said. "Obviously, I'll still use my head. It's not like I'm going to arrive at the first braking zone on Sunday and brake as if it were qualifying, otherwise I'd cause a crash!
"I don't want to jinx myself, but I've got nothing to lose. The goal is to recover as many points as possible while using my head, but the mindset will be to attack as much as possible and try to gain as many positions as I can.
He added: "It's not ideal to take a penalty at your home grand prix, especially one this big. But ultimately, as a team, we're looking at the championship, and this is definitely one of the best tracks to do it. So it's better to change everything now and hopefully avoid any problems in the future. I think that will allow me to enjoy it even more, to drive with less pressure, and I think that's a positive thing."
Antonelli will take his fifth Mercedes power unit of the 2026 campaign, which leads to an automatic back-of-the-grid penalty
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Antonelli does have the mitigating benefit of being able to solely focus on his race set-up, which he thinks could help him target an ambitious top-five berth on Sunday. "We'll work a little differently than usual this weekend, focusing only on the race set-up, and then we'll see. I think the top five could be within reach, but obviously we'll have to see how the race unfolds."
With nothing on the line for Antonelli on Saturday, he will likely be expected to help out team-mate George Russell because of the huge importance of catching a slipstream in qualifying, which looks set to be even more crucial with this year's cars.
"It could happen," Antonelli acknowledged. "It's a conversation we'll also have internally so that we're ready in case that situation arises. But it's not a given. Obviously, I'll talk about it with the team and then we'll see how things go. But I do think it could happen."
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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