Antonelli reveals what he would ask his F1 idol to get over one of his 'fears'

20:42, 19 Jul

Updated: 21:27, 19 Jul

byLuke-John Buckle

Andrea Kimi Antonelli came into Formula 1 with a lot of anticipation, but his rookie season has been mixed.

The Italian took pole position for the Sprint in Miami and followed this up with a maiden podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, with third place.

Despite these moments of brilliance, the past couple of races in particular have been more of a struggle for Antonelli.

He collided with world champion Max Verstappen on the first lap in Austria, and the Mercedes driver was collected by Isack Hadjar at the British Grand Prix.

Being a racing driver at the highest level is incredibly complex, with complicated hybrid power units and off-track pressures.

The Italian wishes he could ask his idol Ayrton Senna for one piece of advice on how to overcome the fear of crashing.

He told Corriere della Sera what he would ask the three-time world champion: "A lot of things. The first: how he managed to overcome his fear after an accident and go even faster."

Antonelli said "fear takes over" when you crash

He added: "Because when you have an accident, a bit of fear takes over. We drivers don't think about it, we live with it. And in his day, the safety [level] was much lower than it is today. Unfortunately."

Antonelli has had some significant incidents throughout his brief F1 career so far such as 52G hit in FP1 last year at Monza.

This incident occurred on a significant weekend for the Italian, as it was announced that he would replace Lewis Hamilton for 2025. He also crashed in qualifying ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this season.