Antonelli brushes off father's remark after Spa win

BUDAPEST: Formula One leader Kimi Antonelli has revealed how winning the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position on his father's birthday weekend also triggered a jokey parental threat of throttling him like a chicken.
The 19-year-old Mercedes driver's triumph at Spa last weekend increased his championship advantage over Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton to 45 points, but there ⁠were elements of the Italian's driving that father Marco, despite his obvious delight at the ⁠outcome, felt could be improved.
The number of times his son needlessly exceeded track limits, risking a sanction, was a concern.
'One of the first things he told me after the race was congrats but, always a but, 'if ‌I see you doing another track limit for ​nothing I'm going to ⁠stretch your neck like a chicken',' Antonelli laughingly told reporters at the ​Hungarian Grand Prix.
'Those were his words. ‌So it's something I need to definitely work on.'
Antonelli recognised he liked 'to use the track sometimes a bit too much'.
'I mean, I look ​back at Spa and the two track limits (violations) I did were very stupid and I was like 'what the heck am I doing?' he said.

'It's a bit like Barcelona as well and Miami. I just feel that it's something I need to work on for sure because sometimes in a race I ‌might need to use them, but if I use them when I don't need to​ then I might find myself in trouble.'
Antonelli has won six of 10 grands prix this ​season and ‌is ⁠50 points clear of teammate George Russell, who has won twice but suffered three races without scoring - spinning off into the gravel on the opening lap at Spa.
Russell suffered a loss ​of straight-line speed in Belgium but told reporters at the Hungaroring ⁠that Mercedes had ​now got to the bottom of the problem.
The Briton was complimentary about Antonelli's form.
'At the moment Kimi definitely deserves to be leading the championship,' he said. 'He's done a better job than me this season. That's the facts of it.
'The last two weekends were challenging for me when ​maybe my performance is not where it needs to be.
'But then when there's ​something external hampering that as well, it's difficult to know where you put your attention to. So I'm hoping just for a cleaner weekend here.' — Reuters