Portugal Colonial - Unfazed Antonelli plans to race with freedom

As his Mercedes teammate and title rival George Russell ramped up the pressure on him by saying the "title is his to lose", the 19-year-old Italian insisted he was unfazed and will stick to driving to win, without creating any chaos.

"I know I can win (the drivers' title), but I don't want to think about that and to lose my head," he said. "The season is so long so I'll continue to drive as if I have nothing to lose –- because I can't lose something I haven't achieved yet!"

Antonelli goes into the Monaco weekend with a 43-point lead over Russell having reeled off an unprecedented four wins, including his maiden F1 triumph, after his teammate triumphed in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Mindful of the need to keep relations with Russell and team boss Toto Wolff in good repair, Antonelli stressed that his father Marco, a motor racing driver and GT sportscar team boss, keeps his feet on the ground.

Asked about Russell, he told Sky Italia that they wanted to treat each other fairly.

"We don't want to cause chaos and of course we don't want to upset Toto. When we race, we race to win and we want to be the best... For sure, we race for ourselves -- but also for the team."

The pair clashed in last month's Canadian Grand Prix where Antonelli complained of 'unfair' racing by Russell and called for a penalty before Wolff intervened to stop his team radio outbursts.

That race saw Russell, the pre-season title-favourite, bounce back to lead their battle before he was forced to retire with electrical problems.

Russell said he would not be pressured.

"I don't think I've got anything to lose," he said.

"My mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race -– the same as I've done this whole season."

"Even if he's the one who's getting the results at the moment."

Russell dismissed suggestions that Mercedes favoured Antonelli.

"One hundred per cent, I believe I am not being stuffed (by Mercedes). I am just being unfortunate -– it is racing and 2,000 people's bonuses are based on the constructors' championship, not the drivers'," he added.

"It's in their interests to have both cars finishing."

A.Santos--PC