Antonelli explains approach to starting at the back in Monza as he reveals whether he will help Russell

Kimi Antonelli has outlined his mindset as he prepares to start from the back in front of his home crowd at the Italian Grand Prix, with the Mercedes driver also explaining whether he will sacrifice his Qualifying to support team mate George Russell.

Despite arriving at the event with a 59-point lead in the championship, it was confirmed ahead of the weekend that Antonelli will serve a grid penalty at Monza due to a planned engine change, posing an extra challenge for the Italian on Sunday.

However, when speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of his local Grand Prix, Antonelli spoke of the “opportunity” he could take from the circumstances as well as admitting that his grid position helps to alleviate some of the pressure from racing at home.

“It feels very special [to be leading the championship at my home race],” he explained. “Definitely a lot different compared to last year, and I'm very much looking forward to this weekend, despite starting from the back.

“But it's also a big opportunity I have, and very much looking forward to it. I think it's going to be very enjoyable – I will be able to enjoy it much more than what I did previously, and hopefully we can still do a great race.

“I think [starting from the back] in some ways helps to release pressure, although I'd very much rather fight for pole and start there at the front. But in some way it makes me a bit more relaxed going into the weekend. I think also that's why I'm going to be able to enjoy more the driving and the weekend itself.

“And of course it's a different opportunity, it's an opportunity to try something different during the weekend, a different work method as well in Free Practice especially, because we have the chance to do so. So yeah, I think it's going to a very interesting weekend.”

In terms of what he believes might be possible from his starting position, Antonelli said: “In an ideal world, I think realistically top five you can do well, but it's all driven by also your pace, how fast you are, what's the gap between cars.

“We might be really quick, but Ferrari, McLaren or Red Bull, they might be very close [and then] it’s probably not enough to catch them during the race, but we'll see. Definitely I feel very free mentally going into this weekend. I'm actually very excited, very much looking forward to it, but with no real pressure.”

Given his impending penalty, Antonelli was also quizzed on whether he might do anything to support fellow Mercedes driver Russell – such as providing a tow – during Qualifying.

“It has been discussed with the team, and yes, we have agreed on a few things,” the 20-year-old said. “Let's see how the session develops, but if the team will ask me to do so, I will do it.”

Overall, the championship leader conceded that he is carrying a very different mindset into the weekend compared to how he felt one year earlier, having experienced a difficult spell across the European leg of his rookie season.

“[The main change this year is] that I don't have to prove as much as I had to do last year,” Antonelli explained. “Last year, obviously I was coming from a difficult period as well, and I felt like I had to prove myself, to prove that I could belong in F1.

“I feel like also that increased a lot the pressure on myself, and that made me drive very tense. I wasn’t really enjoying as well the time in the car. This year, obviously I'm lucky to have a great car, but as well, also the year of experience makes a huge difference.

“I feel much more mature, much more in control of the situation. And obviously then also when you get the good results in, it's always one less thing to prove and I've proven that I can win, I've proved that I can perform, and that's why coming into this weekend, yes it's my home race, it's great, but it is another race like the others.”