Kimi Antoneri admits that for the first time in her Formula One career at the Emilia Romana Grand Prix, she was affected by the additional pressures of racing on home turf.
Antoneri struggled with the pace at Imola all weekend and was unable to put it in Q3.
The Italian was running to a top-10 finish after benefiting from the timing of a virtual safety car.
Antoneri ran ahead of his teammate George Russell, and throttle issues left him out of the race.
1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve criticized Antonelli for taking over 20 classmates to Imola on Thursday.
The Canadians have influenced Antonelli’s performance and suggested that they added unnecessary distractions.
After Sunday’s race, Antonelli admitted that he “didn’t manage the best situation” over the weekend.
“It was a really intense weekend, mentally and emotionally, and on my part, I don’t think I was in control of the best situation,” he said.
“I don’t think I did a really good job with it, especially when I was trying to save energy, and I felt it had no energy so I could feel it had any impact. Undoubtedly, that aspect was really good learning before the next home race.”
Antoneri had “high hopes” before DNF
Antoneri ran into the top six before technical issues.
The Italians were ahead of the two Ferraris, but struggled with the pace and were defeated by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli admitted that he had “high hopes” in the second half of the race after raising the order.
“It was definitely not the happiest ending,” Antonelli added. “It was difficult. The first thing was mainly meant that I was trapped in the DRS train, and obviously the tires were hit so I was just trying to wander around, so I was lucky to VSC and then back in the medium.
“To be honest, I had high hopes, but after a few laps I started having throttle issues and finally disappeared completely. Of course, it’s a shame, but that’s what happens. Overall I don’t think the pace was that bad.
“But I couldn’t do anything more for me, but this weekend was a good learning experience and I was trying to see what I could improve as a driver on my side to come back to Monaco.”