LONDON: Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli said he feels stronger and more in control in his second season as he looks to keep raising his performance level race by race.
The 19-year-old Mercedes driver leads teammate George Russell by nine points after winning two of the opening three races.
Antonelli will return next month to Miami, where last year he took pole for the Saturday sprint and qualified third for the main Grand Prix.
Mercedes have dominated the early phase of the new regulations era on both engine and chassis, with Russell emerging as his closest challenger as the team secured one-two finishes in the opening two rounds.
“I think it’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side,” Antonelli told reporters on a video call ahead of a race-free weekend after rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off due to the Iran war.
“I just really want to focus on the present and how I can maximise every time I go in the car… focusing on the process and little by little trying to raise the bar, raise the game, because George is super strong and competitors will get closer.”
Antonelli said the break since his win in Japan at the end of March had given him time to reflect and improve his fitness, though he is eager to return to racing.
The Italian, the first since Alberto Ascari in 1953 to win back-to-back races and the youngest championship leader, has been working on the simulator and driving other cars to stay sharp.
“I think overall I feel stronger, I feel more in control of the situation,” he said.
“Having done all the tracks last year, it’s helping this year so far… I know better how to move around, how to manage myself during the weekend. And so definitely the experience of last year is playing a massive role into this year so far… I just feel more relaxed, more confident.”
