Young Italian Kimi Antonelli holds his neck, admitting he will race in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday seeking to avoid his parents 'choking' him as much as he seeks to win the race when he starts from his grid position.

The 19-year-old Italian, who leads the World Drivers' Championship with Mercedes, laughed as he recalled his father's words last Sunday after achieving his sixth win of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Antonelli told reporters: 'My dad, one of the first things he said to me after that race was: (Congratulations, but...)'.

He added: 'There is always a "but!" Then he said: (If I see you get another warning for track limits unnecessarily, I'll wring your neck like a chicken!)'.

Ironically, this love mixed with sternness came just 24 hours after the teenager showered his father Marco with congratulations and good wishes on his birthday.

Although Antonelli extended his lead to 45 points over seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, and 50 points over his Mercedes teammate George Russell, he has been accustomed to exceeding track limits, resulting in several warnings.

He admitted: 'I think you know that I sometimes like to use the track more than I should,' adding: 'It's something I'm trying to work on. When I look at the Spa race, I see that the two times I exceeded the limits were very stupid.'

He continued: 'I definitely need to work on that; because there may be a time when I need to exploit those limits, but if I use them when I don't need to, I could find myself in trouble.'

He praised his father, family, and Mercedes for providing a warm environment that helped him develop and enjoy his racing career.

He said: 'Having a great team and a great family around me has helped me on this journey so far, and it still helps me.'

He added: 'And my dad is like my rock that I lean on; because we share many things together, and I always love to hear his perspective, and that's what we've been doing since the karting days.'