Kimi Antonelli credits great family and great Mercedes team in his journey to the top of Formula 1

The 19-year-old Italian prodigy sits clear at the top of the table with six wins. During media day in Budapest. Antonelli told reporters in Hungary: “I think the fact of having a great team around me, having a great family around me, has helped me throughout this journey so far. I’ve been with Mercedes since 2018.

"I’ve been growing up with them, and being able to as well get to know the people more inside out, helps as well in Formula 1. Also, having a great relationship with them helps to enjoy the weekend much more, and that allows you as well to be freer. So I think it’s all little bits that add to the performance.”

Family support does not mean soft feedback. Marco Antonelli still delivers the toughest lines. After his victory at Spa-Francorchamps last Sunday, where Kimi collected two track-limits penalties, the message was blunt.

He recalled: "One of the first things he told me after the race, he said, ‘Congrats, but’ – there’s always a but! He told me, ‘If I see you getting another track limits warning for nothing, I’m going to stretch your neck like a chicken!’ Those were his words. So yeah, it’s something I need to definitely work on…”

Antonelli came clean: “I guess you guys know I like to use the track sometimes a bit too much. So it’s something that I’m trying to work on. I mean, I look back at Spa and the two track limits I did were very stupid. I was like, ‘What the heck am I doing?’

“It’s a bit like Barcelona as well, and Miami. I just feel that it’s something I need to work on for sure, because at some point in a race I might need to use them. But if I use them when I don’t need to, then I might find myself in trouble. So for sure, it’s something that I’m working on.”

The relationship with his father Marco has never changed. Antonelli continued: "Then of course my family, who have been supporting me all the way and still do. But obviously, my dad is kind of like my rock, because we share so many things together.

"I'll always like hearing his point of view after sessions, after a race, after Qualifying, because that’s what we’ve been doing ever since karting. And also having someone like him next to me in this journey, especially in a year like this, is very important to have that family support, especially from someone who knows me better than anyone.

“So for sure he is still playing a massive role, and it’s also together with the team that helped me to develop, to grow, to mature as a person, and that’s also what is making the biggest difference compared to last year, for example.”

Antonelli refuses to claim he is the best driver on the grid. He credits clean execution and the package around him: “Well, it’s so hard to say. I think I’ve been one of the best, but I wouldn’t say I’ve been the best driver on the grid. But to be fair, if I look back, I think we were the one doing the least amount of mistakes, and that I think is what brought us here and now allowed us to get good results.

“Of course, we’ve had a really strong car as well. But I think on my side, what I can be happy about going into summer break – and of course, there’s still this weekend to finish off well – I think execution-wise, together with the team, we’ve done an incredible job, and that allowed us to put ourselves in that position. So I think on that side we did really well in this first half.”

The track-limits issue remains on the to-do list. The foundation, he insists, is already solid: the team that raised him and the father who still tells him exactly what he needs to hear.