Antonelli Confesses He Felt Like He Was Driving Cautiously, Like His Grandmother, Due to Low Confidence

World championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli admitted that his performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix felt as if he were piloting the car with the same caution his grandmother might use, explaining that a lack of confidence on the demanding Baku City Circuit forced him into a conservative approach. The 20‑year‑old Italian, who entered the race leading the drivers' standings, managed a respectable climb from 16th on the grid—after a crash in qualifying—to finish fifth, yet his advantage over Mercedes teammate George Russell narrowed to 66 points after the Brit secured the win. Antonelli’s season has been defined by an extraordinary level of consistency, allowing him to amass a sizable lead at the top of the table.

However, the Baku weekend proved challenging. Technical difficulties deprived him of a substantial portion of the practice sessions, leaving him with limited data and a feeling of uncertainty as the race began.

"I was driving a bit like my grandmother today, just damage‑save mode," he said in post‑race comments. "I didn’t take risks. Before making a move, I was making sure that I could go for it." The quote captured the essence of his mindset: rather than pushing the limits of his car, he opted for a defensive style, prioritising the preservation of the machinery over outright speed.

This contrasted sharply with his performance at Monza earlier in September, where he surged from 19th on the grid to claim a home‑race victory in front of a raucous Italian crowd. The disparity between the two outings was stark, and Antonelli himself noted that if he had been able to match the pace he displayed at Monza, the outcome in Baku could have been very different.

"If I had the same pace as at Monza or in previous races, it would have been different," Antonelli explained. "It would have been like just full attack. But today, I realised very early that first of all, it was a lot harder to overtake with a train of cars all in Overtake Mode, then I didn’t have the same pace as I had previously, so the mindset changed very quickly." The race itself unfolded with a series of incidents that further complicated Antonelli’s progress.

At the start he lost a position, and it took him roughly 17 laps to climb back into the top ten. Throughout the middle phase of the event he benefited from mistakes made by drivers ahead, capitalising on their errors to gain ground. A critical moment came after the first of two rolling restarts that followed a Safety Car period; a multi‑car crash eliminated three competitors, and Antonelli narrowly avoided being caught up in the melee. Later, contact with Haas driver Oliver Bearman caused significant damage to the left side of his car, stripping away much of the floor and leaving the vehicle handling erratically.

"After the restart, I had big floor damage. My whole left side was gone with the contact," Antonelli recounted. "After that, the car was very sketchy to drive, and I still tried to get to P4, but all in all, it’s one of those days where you have to be happy with P5.

Also seeing so many people making mistakes, you kind of pull back a little bit because I just took advantage of everyone else’s mistakes and just moved forward." Despite the setbacks, Antonelli’s ability to finish in the points under such adverse conditions highlighted his resilience and strategic acumen. He managed to stay out of further trouble, even as the race saw a dramatic showdown between George Russell and Max Verstappen for the win.

Russell, who delivered his most complete weekend since the season‑opening Australian Grand Prix, held off Verstappen to claim victory, while Antonelli’s fifth‑place finish kept him firmly in the championship hunt. Looking ahead, the next round of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar brings a triple‑header finale, with the Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled to take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia—a location that has not hosted a Formula 1 event since 2017.

The race will be staged amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, adding an extra layer of complexity to the logistics and atmosphere. Antonelli remains a strong favourite to retain the title, especially as his main rival Russell faces a potential grid penalty for an engine change later in the season. The Italian’s confidence in his long‑term prospects was evident in his post‑race interview with Sky Sports F1. "It’s exciting," he said.

"George has done an incredible weekend, he’s driven incredibly. He had a lot of confidence. And this weekend was my worst of the year by far in terms of performance. I wasn’t there, I wasn’t really present, especially with what happened so early on." The Baku race, with its narrow streets, high‑speed straights, and frequent safety‑car interventions, often serves as a litmus test for driver composure under pressure.

Antonelli’s candid admission of feeling like he was driving “like his grandmother” underscores the mental challenges that even the sport’s brightest talents can encounter. As the championship progresses toward its climax, the young Italian will aim to translate his early‑season dominance into consistent podium finishes, while managing the fine line between aggression and caution that defines success on Formula 1’s most demanding circuits.