How Antonelli handles standing on the verge of F1 history

Before he departs on the trip that looks certain to see him crowned Formula 1 World Champion for the first time, Kimi Antonelli will have completed one of the most mundane tasks of everyday life.

The Italian is very much a car guy, and that means his own set of wheels — a Mercedes AMG GT63 — receives the same attention that so many of us give to our pride and joy on the road.

“Formula 1 is not always on my mind,” Antonelli insists during a chat with RACER and select media. “Racing is, because I go back home, I play on my simulator, I always drive something. I'm either on track with the GT3 of my dad in Misano or I play on the simulator or I drive go-karts. So, racing is always on my mind.

“I try not to think too much about, first of all, the situation I'm in. I feel like if I would think too much about championships and stuff, I would probably get anxious as well.

“Also, I wouldn't have quality time at home, because I would just be worrying about this. Whenever I go home, I just relax and do the normal, ordinary things. One thing I love to do is washing my car.

“I go to the car wash. I never do automatic, with the machine. I always like to wash by hand, myself. I do it inside out. People are always so surprised because they're like, ‘Oh, I wouldn't think you would come here’. But I like it.

“First of all, because I love cars and I really like to take care of my car and everything. I like to see it clean and stuff, so it's an activity I love to do. It's a routine. Before every weekend — so before Austin, for example, the day before I will leave, I will go to the car wash and wash the car.

“I take my time because it needs to be done well. It needs to be cleaned well. It needs to be dried well, because if you don't dry it well and there's still some water, then it's weird, it looks dirty. So it needs to be done well, and then also the inside. For that, I take my time.”

He might have patience when it comes to cleaning his Mercedes road car, but Antonelli has wasted no time in seizing his opportunity when provided with Formula 1 machinery that is capable of fighting for a championship. From the first race of this year, he looked a step ahead of his rookie season; on top of his blistering pace, he has added a consistency that makes a championship win look inevitable.

Antonelli rebounded from a rough rookie season with blistering pace and complete confidence. Clive Mason/Getty Images

Pre-season testing was fraught with reliability issues for Mercedes, and Antonelli suffered a heavy crash in practice in Melbourne, but from then on the young Italian has looked every bit a world champion in waiting. And despite his rapid rise, he also attributes this year’s performances to being able to have a bit of time for himself.

“I felt like I mainly needed time to digest, to look at the [rookie] season again, understand what was good about the season, what was not good. And better understand as well what was good for me and what was not.

“For example, last year’s home race [in Imola], the way it was managed was not good. The way I managed myself this year, I feel like [for] more things that are less important, I [could] lean a lot on the people I have around me so they take care of it. So I don't have to worry about it.

“The only thing I worry about is going on track and doing the best I can. Last year, I was worrying about way too many things, especially at my home race, and that's why I felt so drained mentally so early into the weekend.

“This year, I felt in a much better place. I felt much more protected. Also because the things that I would try to take care of last year, this year the team was taking care of, the people that work with me, so I could just focus on the important bits. That has been a big thing for me.

“So it was mainly digesting. I think also the first season, you’re naturally a bit more tense because everything is just so new. It's such a big step. People don't realize how big of a step F2 to F1 is. Especially in my case, that I went straight into a top team.

“I think going in a smaller team would have been much less of a step, let's say — it would have been a bit easier to transition. But because you go straight into a top team, already the workload is much higher. Much more commitments outside the track. Much more marketing days, partner events. But also, the standard is higher in a top team.

“I'm very glad I went straight into Mercedes, don’t get me wrong because, again, I feel like I learned much more. Especially dealing with the spotlight, with the pressure straight away. But I feel like definitely the step has been much bigger going into Mercedes than if I would have gone to a smaller team.”

As he’s relaxed into his position at Mercedes, Antonelli has also embraced the more fun aspects of being part of a team that nurtured him from karts all the way to F1. He now high fives all of his crew before getting in the car to race, and always saves the first tear-off from his visor to put under his race engineer Peter Bonnington’s keyboard.

His pranks on the likes of Bono are often captured on social media, and Antonelli — whose next devious idea we agreed to keep under lock and key to give him the best chance of success — admits he has become so renowned for them within Mercedes that everyone knows when he is the culprit. Yet, with so many victims, he can never be sure who has retaliated each time.

One figure yet to be a target of Antonelli’s pranks, though, is his boss, Toto Wolff.

“Oh, this is next level. You need to have big balls to do that. But the thing is, I’m going to finish well in the championship, I'm going to finish well this year, so I have a reason to do it. So then he won't complain too much about it. But that's, like, next level.”

Team principal Toto Wolff may be the only member of the Mercedes squad to be spared from one of Antonelli's famous pranks, but his number is surely up soon. Mario Renzi/Formula 1 via Getty Images

You sense Wolff won’t be angered whenever Antonelli has the confidence to get him in his sights, because the 20-year-old has been next level himself. Only once has he finished a race without a reliability issue and not been standing on the podium, and it's left him on the verge of becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history.

It’s something that could happen as early as this weekend in Austin, where a win creates the possibility for him to be crowned with five races remaining.

Much like this thoroughly enjoyable chat, Antonelli has continued to smile and laugh his way through the entire season without allowing the magnitude of his situation get to him or change him. Perhaps that's because he’s still coming to terms with what he’s achieved over the past seven months.

“It's pretty insane, the step. Because, for sure, having a fast car helps, obviously, but I wouldn't have expected to be a contender like this, this season. Of course, I find myself in this position, I'm very happy, very grateful to be in this position, and I've got to keep pushing. But definitely at the start of the year, I would have never thought to be in this position.

"Especially because we were confident with the car, I knew I could have fought for wins, a few wins, podiums, but to be in this position, for sure not. But it was a very nice surprise, definitely.

“Now we've just got to finish the job.”