Antonelli opens up on ‘tough’ meeting that sparked resurgence as he looks ahead to Vegas challenge

Kimi Antonelli has revealed that "a bit of a tough" meeting earlier in the season has spurred him on to a run of strong results recently, with the Mercedes driver eyeing another this weekend in Las Vegas.

The Formula 1 rookie claimed his best result so far last time out in Sao Paulo, finishing second having also finished runner-up in the Sprint as well that weekend.

It meant the Italian has finished in the points five times in the last six races, which is in stark contrast to the barren run he had in the middle of the season, which included six pointless races in seven that was only broken by his maiden podium in Canada.

Ahead of the Las Vegas GP this weekend, Antonelli said that a meeting with Mercedes management allowed him to refocus and put his season back on track.

“After Monza, we had a big meeting – a bit of a tough one – but it was good," he said. "It really helped me to reset and to refocus on the task and on the important things, so I think it was a new beginning after the difficult period.

“Brazil was just a matter of putting the weekend together, doing a good Sprint Quali, a good Sprint race, and then a good Quali and a good race. The main difference was that for the first time this season, I was able to put the full weekend together and to be consistently up there.

He added: "Obviously, after Monza, after the meeting, I recognised that I needed to change something, and that’s why I reset and realised again what to focus on, what task, and also on the basics, trying to drive well and put things together. I know that if I do all of these things right, the result will come by itself.”

Las Vegas has been a strong track for Mercedes since it was added to the calendar in 2023, with the cold conditions suiting the German manufacturer's car as George Russell took victory 12 months ago, leading home team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Despite it being a new venue for Antonelli, the 20-year-old was optimistic on his chances.

“It’s another new track, so it’s always very exciting coming into a new track," he said.

"Obviously, it’s very different conditions to what we’ve been used to recently; it’s very cold and unexpectedly wet.

"It looks like it’s going to be wet probably as well for FP2 tomorrow, so it’s going to be interesting to see. But as always, we’re trying to focus on the process, trying to learn the track as quickly as possible and get up to speed.

“Last year was good. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be good this year as well, but I really hope we can be as strong as last year, and on my side, I’ll try to deliver the best result possible and to enjoy it as well.”