Kimi Antonelli reveals mindset shift as he 'drove like his grandmother'

Kimi Antonelli has conceded to 'driving like his grandmother' during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, whilst there was also a change in his mindset given the circumstances he faced.

Antonelli endured a difficult few days around the Baku City Circuit, initially suffering a hydraulics issue in first practice that led to the loss of valuable track time for the remainder of that session and a portion of FP2 following a power unit change.

The 20-year-old Italian then made a rare mistake this season that led to him crashing in the first part of qualifying and lining up 16th on the grid. Antonelli even dropped a place to 17th after the opening lap.

There was no charge to the front, as was the case in Monza three weeks previously when Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th; instead, Antonelli finished fifth, losing 15 points to team-mate George Russell, who has cut the lead to 66 points.

"I was driving a bit like my grandmother, just damage save mode," said Antonelli, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365.

"I didn't take any risks. Before making a move, I made sure that I could go for it. All in all, it's one of those days where you have to be happy with P5."

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Antonelli sustained 'big damage'

Antonelli confirmed he opted to alter his approach to the race as it evolved.

"Yes, definitely," he said. "If I'd had the same pace as at Monza, or in previous races, it would have been different. It would have been just full attack.

"But I realised very early that, first of all, it was a lot harder to overtake with a train of cars all in overtake mode, and then I didn't have the same pace as I'd had previously, so the mindset changed very quickly.

"And also, seeing so many people making mistakes, I pulled back a little because I just wanted to take advantage of everyone else's mistake and just move forward."

Antonelli's cause was not aided later on at the first safety car restart, following Alex Albon ploughing his Williams into a barrier, when he tangled with the Haas of Ollie Bearman.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto made a move into Turn 1 that took out his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris, whilst there were also unintended consequences for Antonelli.

"I saw the Alpine locking up, and I pulled back immediately," said Antonelli. "I was getting ready to do a switchback, but then I didn't see Ollie coming so quickly on the inside.

"I had to cut because I was still very close to the Alpine when I switched back, but I had big floor damage. The whole left side was gone with the contact, and after that, the car was very sketchy to drive.

"Obviously, I was lucky to come away with it. Not so lucky to come away with such big damage, but all in all, it was still okay."