Antonelli reveals Mercedes qualifying plan despite back-of-the-grid penalty

Kimi Antonelli heads into the Italian Grand Prix weekend knowing he will start from the back, but said he would be willing to hand a tow to his Mercedes teammate in qualifying.

Having a good slipstream at Monza is often crucial to extracting lap time in qualifying, with teams often making sure their drivers sit in proximity to one another on track to control the tow.

Antonelli confirms Mercedes discussions over George Russell qualifying tow

Championship leader Antonelli is set for a full power unit change this weekend, having suffered a power unit failure at Barcelona earlier this season.

With grid penalties being applied, this will drop him to the back of the field as the young Italian prepares to look for a way through the field at his home race, to minimise the inevitable damage to his weekend.

Despite knowing he will be starting on the back row, Mercedes has held discussions about still running Antonelli in qualifying, likely looking for him to get through to Q3 to be able to offer a slipstream to George Russell, despite the direct competition between the two in the standings.

“It has been discussed with the team, and yes, we have agreed on a few things,” Antonelli confirmed ahead of the weekend at Monza, when asked if he will hand Russell a tow.

“So, let’s see how the session develops, but if the team will ask me to do so, I will do it.

“Of course, I will still be happy to do pole, but of course I’m starting at the back. So, if I could do anything to help the team, I will do it.”

Unfortunately from Antonelli’s perspective, team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged Formula 1 “doesn’t reward sentiment” when it comes to taking grid penalties, despite this being the 20-year-old’s home weekend.

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While he will look to recover as many places as possible come Sunday, Antonelli heads into the weekend with less on his mind knowing he is fighting from the back.

“It definitely takes a pressure away,” he explained.

“I feel like definitely going in the car with even very minimal thoughts in the mind, just very free and just going to enjoy the driving and the weekend.

“Of course, the goal is always the same, and we’re going to try to maximise the result. In an ideal world, I think realistically, top five, you can do well, but it’s all driven by also your pace, how fast you are, what’s the gap between cars.

“We might be really quick, but Ferrari, McLaren, or Red Bull, they might be very close. That it is probably not enough to catch them during a race. But we’ll see.

“Definitely, I feel very free mentally going into this week, and I’m actually very excited, very much looking forward to it, but with no real pressure.”

Although Antonelli will line up at the back of the grid, he does so with a healthy advantage in the Drivers’ standings.

The Italian heads to Monza with 242 points on the board, 59 points ahead of Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes leads the Constructors’ standings on 425 points, 87 points ahead of Ferrari.

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