Andrea Kimi Antonelli feels “stronger” and “more in control” in his second season as he revisits venues he experienced in a Formula 1 car for the first time last year.

The Italian had a challenging rookie season in 2025 that saw him usually overshadowed by Mercedes team-mate George Russell, having come from a single season in Formula 2.

He went through a particular difficult patch at the run of European events in the middle of the year, despite knowing the circuits well from the junior categories.

His 2026 campaign has got off to a flying start, however, with his wins in China and Japan propelling him into an early lead in the world championship heading into the April break.

“I think overall I feel stronger, I feel more in control of the situation,” he said when asked by Crash.net about how much better prepared he now feels.

“Obviously, having done all the tracks last year, definitely it's helping this year so far. Also having done the race weekend also helps, because I know better what to expect. I know better how to move around, how to manage myself during the weekend.

“And so definitely, the experience of last year is, is playing a massive role into this year so far. Because obviously I just feel more relaxed, more confident, and like I said before, more in control of the situation.

“For sure it might even help in those tracks, where last year I struggled a lot. So yeah, let's see. But obviously, the goal already from Miami is to be back from where we left in Japan, or even be back even stronger from where we left.”

Antonelli is determined to keep his feet on the ground despite his flying start to the year inevitably ramping up speculation about his title chances.

“Definitely, I think it's been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side,” he said. “And I think definitely it's been a very strong start of the season.

“And definitely expectations, automatically they're a bit different now, but at the end of the day, I still try to keep the same mindset that as I had in the in the first three races, just trying to keep focusing on what I have to do, on the goal and just trying to put myself in the best position as possible to then achieve a great result.”

He says he’s not being distracted by the title battle: “What I don't want to do is, now that obviously we're in a good position, is start to think about the final result, or long-term results. I just really want to focus on the present, and how I can maximise every time I go in the car in order to get the best result.

“And yeah, focusing on the process and then little by little, trying to raise the bar, raise the game. Because obviously George is super strong, and competitors will get closer, so I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, but just trying to raise the bar little by little.”