Kimi Antonelli has credited the people around him for helping him "block out the noise" as he closes in on a maiden F1 title following a commanding victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Antonelli's triumph has moved him to the brink of becoming the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, with the 20-year-old now in a position to clinch the title on Sunday in Mexico City.
The 20-year-old has a 123-point cushion over his nearest challenger, Mercedes team-mate George Russell, after taking his ninth win of the season, and with five races remaining.
The Italian has faced mounting scrutiny as the title fight has intensified, but says a tight circle has kept him grounded throughout.
Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, after the race, Antonelli explained how he has managed the pressure.
"To be fair, I'm very lucky because I have a very good group of people around me," said the young Italian.
"In the team, I have my father, who always comes, and then my performance coach. I just have a great group of people around me who help me to be more relaxed and not worry about these kinds of things.
"They help me to block out the noise, and that's also what's been allowing me to enjoy the weekend and perform.
"Obviously, there's been a lot of talk. I'm not going to lie, on Thursday there was a lot of talk about the championship and stuff, and I just tried not to worry about that at all and deliver the best result I could.
"This was a very important result for me and for the team."
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Antonelli - Upgrade still a work in progress
Antonelli's win came despite Mercedes still fine-tuning the upgrade package introduced back in Sepang, which brought a reworked floor and sidepods but also introduced some front-end locking under braking.
Asked whether that upgrade was now delivering the pace he and the team had expected all along, Antonelli gave a mixed verdict.
"In some places, I would say, still not as much as we expected, but in other places it is delivering very well," he said.
"I think in the high- and medium-speed the car is very strong. The balance is good. But we're still struggling a little bit at low speed with front locking.
"Overall, I feel like the package is finally starting to deliver, and we're starting to see the results and the improvements from the package."
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