Kimi Antonelli has once again underlined his candidacy for the world title with his eighth victory of the season on the brand new street circuit in Madrid. Has he already secured the world title with this? The 20-year-old Italian does not want to think about that for now. “I want to keep pushing, race by race, maintain the lead and enjoy it all the time.”
Antonelli had a less spectacular race in Madrid than last week in Monza, where he fought his way to victory with an impressive overtaking race. In Spain, the Mercedes driver started from the second starting position and made optimal use of the timing of a Virtual Safety Car. When Lando Norris pitted shortly after the neutralization ended, Antonelli took the lead. He did not give up that position afterwards.
“Yes, it was a very difficult race, absolutely not straightforward. Especially managing my tires was quite a challenge,” Antonelli looks back. Despite his victory, the Mercedes driver was not completely satisfied. “I think the win is good, but it doesn’t feel quite like it, because I think Lando deserved the victory. In the end, we managed it and had a strong race. Now we just keep pushing.”
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The Italian also enjoyed the atmosphere along the new street circuit. “It was a great weekend. Thank you very much for coming and giving us such a great weekend. I am already looking forward to coming back next year.”
Meanwhile, Antonelli does not want to get carried away by his comfortable lead in the championship. “I try to do my best every race and we will see where we stand at the end of the year.”
Read more GP Spain: Antonelli delivers mental blow to competition at Madring, Verstappen impressively second
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