World championship leader Kimi Antonelli said his performance in Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix was his worst of the year after victorious Mercedes team-mate George Russell trimmed his lead to 66 points.
The 20-year-old Italian rescued fifth place after starting 16th on the grid, following a crash in qualifying, and said he had driven in a 'safety-first' mode -– unlike his home Italian Grand Prix where he won from 19th on the grid in sensational style.
His prudence signalled he was driving with one eye on the title race and wished to avoid joining several other drivers in not finishing the race.
"Today is one of those days where you have to be happy with P5," he said.
"It was not an easy race at all, but overall one of those weekends where I was always a step behind after missing a lot of practice.
"George has driven incredibly this weekend and had a lot of confidence. This was my worst of the year by far in terms of performance.
"I didn't take the same risks especially after qualifying and today was more 'damage-safe mode' instead of full attack."
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