Antonelli reveals 'I got a little kick in the butt' after Monza

Antonelli floundered throughout the European leg of the campaign, scoring just two points finishes, which came in Hungary and at Monza. In Italy, he stuttered to ninth place as teammate George Russell finished fifth.

The Italian driver told the official Mercedes website that he had a meeting with his engineer, Peter Bonnington that helped him regain some confidence.

Antonelli said: "After Monza, I had a big meeting with Bono and the engineers. I got a little kick in the butt, but it was what I needed, honestly.

Antonelli is eyeing second place in the Constructors' Championship and finishing ahead of Ferrari. Mercedes are now 27 points ahead of their Italian rivals with six events to go.

Antonelli is getting towards the end of his rookie season in Formula 1. The 19-year-old has shown moments of raw speed but suffered from lacklustre results at times.

The Italian driver scored his first podium in Canada but then went on to score one point from the next five races.

Mercedes' rookie driver has been able to learn a lot from Russell, who has been in F1 since 2019 and has been teammates with Lewis Hamilton.

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