Kimi Antonelli revealed that he received an important piece of advice from Roger Federer during a visit to the Royal Box at Wimbledon. The Mercedes driver said that the former Swiss tennis player encouraged him to keep his emotions under control while competing in the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship this season.
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The meeting took place during the second week of the tournament, when the Italian was invited to watch the matches on the center court alongside the owner of 20 Grand Slam titles. Before the Belgian Grand Prix, Antonelli told the press what was the main lesson left by Federer:
“About pressure, he told me to really focus on one race at a time, just focus on what you can control, and also control your emotions, especially those that can make you make mistakes, so those were the main pieces of advice,” Antonelli added. “But beyond that, it was an incredible experience to witness.”
Antonelli also highlighted the experience of meeting Federer and revealed that the conversation covered different topics. “It was great. It was my first time at Wimbledon. In the last two years, I have become increasingly interested in tennis. Obviously, also because of knowing Jannik [Sinner], then you start watching, so it was a very cool experience. And also, being able to talk with Roger was great. He told me a lot about the grass and also about his previous experiences.”
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“It was simply great to talk with him about anything, to be honest; we talked about my races, about when he played, and also about his life in general. So it was great, because I think that, besides being an incredible athlete, he is an incredible person too; very humble and very open, so it was great.”
The 19-year-old leads the Formula 1 standings with a 25-point advantage over his teammate, George Russell, after nine rounds.
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