Juan Pablo Montoya, former Formula 1 driver, has expressed that the biggest difficulty for Kimi Antonelli in his title fight is his own mentality. Montoya has urged the Mercedes team to protect the young driver as the competition approaches.
Currently, Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, but has seen his teammate, George Russell, close the gap to 25 points after finishing second at the British Grand Prix, while Antonelli finished in 15th position. Lewis Hamilton, seven-time champion, is third, just seven points behind Russell.
In an appearance on the F1 TV Weekend Warm-up program held at Spa-Francorchamps, Montoya argued that the challenge for Antonelli does not lie in external conditions, but in avoiding distractions stemming from qualifying.
“For Antonelli, the problem is himself,” Montoya commented when asked if the biggest threat to Antonelli and Mercedes came from the reliability of the engine or from the Ferraris of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. “They need to close their garage and he needs to focus only on himself. He will be able to control the situation.”
The former Williams and McLaren driver warned that managing the mental pressure of being in the title fight becomes more difficult when a points lead, which previously seemed comfortable, starts to dwindle.
“The problem is that when the points decrease, you start thinking about it, and as soon as you do, you will have problems,” he added. Montoya concluded that if they can keep Antonelli focused on his tasks, everything will be fine.
In an interview with F1 TV before the start of the weekend, Antonelli shared similar feelings: “As always, I just want to focus on myself, but we are confident enough that our vehicle will be competitive, as it has performed well all year.” In the first free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, Antonelli achieved the sixth best time.
The race will take place on Sunday, July 19 at 15:00 local time (14:00 BST).
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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