Too tense and too conservative. Those are the words that Kimi Antonelli has used to describe an approach to Formula 1 weekends this season that he feels has limited his potential in his rookie campaign.
Triggered by the fallout from his debut FP1 practice crash at Monza last year, the result of him pushing too hard too soon, the Mercedes driver has admitted to overcorrecting this year so as to not repeat that mistake.
It has left him adopting a steady approach, building himself up too slowly in practice which has left him then needing to make too big a leap in qualifying.
But following a breakthrough podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver suggested there is scope now to lift his aggression levels.
Having proved that he can produce the kind of form that Mercedes signed him for, he reckoned there is extra leeway to take things to the limit and risk a little bit more.
"This [podium] will help me as a driver to drive a bit more relaxed as well, because I'm not going to lie, in the previous weekends, I've been maybe a bit too tense in some occasions and a bit too conservative, as well especially in practice,” he explained ahead of the Austrian GP.
"Now is really the time, after achieving this result, to make a step, and to make a step further to improve myself.
"Especially as well on the approach in practice - so trying to explore a bit more, especially the grip.
"In qualifying I've always arrived with too many question marks, and having to explore too much and to learn too much. And in qualifying you don't really have much time because it's only one lap on the tyre and then that's it.
"So I think it's really the time to make a step on this side."
Antonelli explained that even in Canada, his most complete weekend in F1 so far, he took too long to get up to speed in practice.
He felt that he needs to attack from the off and get back closer to the approach that he took at Monza - despite the fact that being super-aggressive there bit him in the end after he spun off into the barriers early in his maiden FP1 outing.
"Still in Canada I was a bit too conservative, especially in free practice, because if you look at the trend, I would always put the time quite late in the session, just because it kind of required me many laps to get there," he said.
Antonelli openly admitted that the trigger for this conservative approach is what happened at Monza, and said he has been afraid of making a repeat error.
"I truly believe I overcorrected after what happened in Monza and now I'm bit too safe," he said. "I'm a bit on the safe side.
"But that's why I think, after getting such a result [as third in Canada], results like this also help you to move forward and to make the step.
"Now is the time to do the step because nowadays F1 is super tight, especially when you see qualifying: the gaps are just so close that even a tenth can put you in the back foot.
"It's really important to be on the top of the game, and that's why I cannot keep arriving in qualifying with so many question marks and not the right confidence on how much grip there is and having to explore too much and to learn too much.
"Now is the time, especially in practice, to get back a bit closer to Monza. Not exactly like Monza, but get closer to that in order to arrive ready in qualifying."
New track conundrum
One aspect to his season that Antonelli does not have an explanation for is why he has seemed to perform better at tracks he does not know.
His maiden podium came in Canada and he took his stunning first sprint pole in Miami, while he has not been as strong at venues he has raced at before in Formula 2.
Asked about why there seems to be this trend, Antonelli said: "I don't know. Definitely as a driver when you go in a new track, it's always very exciting. But I don't know why I've been going so much better in tracks that I didn't know.
"Even at Suzuka, my first time in Suzuka, the race went pretty well. And then at tracks I know I've been struggling a bit more.
"But then Monaco and Imola, I've been struggling with the C6 [Pirelli's softest tyre]. And that really also put me in a position where I also put kind of more pressure on myself just because I could see I couldn't really extract the best out of the tyre. So performance wise, I didn't really feel that confident.
"Montreal, there was a C6, but in those [previous] two races, I was able to learn a lot more. I was a lot more confident [in Canada] about the tyre and on how to extract the maximum out of it.
"But I cannot find an explanation why I went so much better on new tracks. That's why this weekend, I want to go well because at least I know that I don't only do well in new tracks, because otherwise I would just need to race on newer tracks."
