"Break your neck": Antonelli reveals crazy message from Papa Marco

– Victory in Spa-Francorchamps, leading the World Championship – sportingly, things are going excellently for Kimi Antonelli in Formula 1. But the Mercedes youngster’s habit of pushing track limits to the absolute maximum not only causes thin nerves on the Mercedes pit wall but also brings his family into play.

Read more Max Verstappen: «In the beginning, everyone said I was just complaining…»

After his triumph in Belgium, the Italian had to listen to a particularly vivid announcement from his father Marco, as Antonelli had already received two warnings for exceeding track limits early in the race on his way to his latest success in Spa. While race engineer Peter Bonnington calmly warned over the team radio, father Antonelli chose significantly more drastic words after the awards ceremony.

“I guess you all know that sometimes I exploit the track a bit too much,” Antonelli smiles in the media circle at the Hungaroring. “That’s something I’m trying to work on. Looking back at Spa, the two track limits I incurred were really stupid. I just thought to myself: ‘What the hell am I actually doing?'”

Father Marco threatens with “chicken warning”

Naturally, racing drivers look for every last millimeter of asphalt to carry momentum onto the straights. However, if the track is left unnecessarily, serious consequences threaten – in the race, a five-second penalty looms from the fourth offense. A danger that Antonelli’s father Marco immediately addressed.

“Sometimes you might have to use the track limits in the race. But if I do it unnecessarily, I’m just getting myself into trouble,” Antonelli explains. “I’m definitely working on that. My father was one of the first to come to me after the race in Belgium. He said: ‘Congratulations, but…’ – there’s always a ‘but’, you know.”

Then followed the memorable warning: “He told me: ‘If I see you go over the track limits for nothing again, I’ll wring your neck like a chicken!'” the World Championship leader reveals, laughing.

Penalties in Barcelona and Miami as a warning shot

The family’s concern is not unfounded, as Antonelli’s track limit violations have already cost him a secured result several times this season. In the Miami sprint, the Italian actually finished fourth on track but fell back to sixth place due to a subsequent five-second penalty, losing valuable points.

Read more Alonso curbs euphoria: «No update in the world» will catch up Aston’s deficit!

Without a grid penalty: Could McLaren have won in Belgium?

In Barcelona, another five-second penalty followed for exceeding the white lines four times. Although the offense had no impact on the standings there, as Antonelli later had to retire due to a technical defect, the problem was obvious. The FIA only detected the fourth offense retrospectively, which caused discussions.

Since the incidents in Spain, Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington has been actively counteracting this: “Bono” now warns his protégé extremely early on the radio – usually after the second “ping” – to avoid even reaching the critical area of a penalty threat.

The family as a rock in the surf

Despite the clear words, Kimi Antonelli emphasizes how essential the support of his father and close circle is for his development in the premier class. Papa Marco has accompanied the youngster to every race weekend since their karting days together.

“Having a great team and a fantastic family around me has helped me enormously on this journey so far and still does,” Antonelli underlines. “My father is like my rock in the surf because we share so many things.”

“I always love to hear his perspective after sessions, after the race or qualifying, because that’s exactly how we’ve done it since karting.”

For the F1 superstar, the support is irreplaceable: “Having someone like him by my side in this important year is enormously important. He knows me best of all people. He still plays a huge role.”

Read more Hadjar proves skeptics wrong: The silence about the 2nd Red Bull seat