Given that intensity that a home race can bring, Antonelli – who became the youngest driver to ever claim a pole position in F1 when he took P1 during Sprint Qualifying last time out in Miami – was also quizzed on how he will protect his energy levels across the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend.
“Definitely this weekend is going to be emotionally and mentally draining,” the rookie explained. “I mean, home race in front of the Italian fans, my family and friends will be attending, so it’s going to be really important to manage the energy, especially in those moments where I can, and not to waste energy in something that is not useful.
“It’s going to be important to stay on top of that, because it’s really easy to hit the bottom of the pack before the end of the weekend. Already a normal weekend is very tiring and draining, so this is like double.
“So of course I’m going to try to protect myself, also the fact that I’ve got good people around me really helps that, and we’re all aligned that this weekend is going to be tough, so we’re preparing and we’re quite well prepared.
“At the end of the day, it’s another race weekend, but obviously it’s going to be different. At the same time, it’s going to be exciting. I think the energy is going to be amazing and can be also used to do even better on track. Really looking forward to see how we go this weekend.”
