The 2016 champion warns that the Italian could become increasingly nervous if his rivals' upgrades bring him back to the pack. He compares the situation with his own title year, when he began to fall back in the final races due to a lack of performance.
Nico Rosberg has issued a warning that Kimi Antonelli would do well to listen to. The 2016 world champion, aware of the difficulties involved in managing an advantage in the final stretch of a championship, has pointed out that the 2026 season leader could be subjected to growing pressure if McLaren and Ferrari's upgrades bring him back to the pack.
Antonelli currently leads the standings with an 81 point advantage over his teammate George Russell after his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, a triumph that came thanks to a Virtual Safety Car that appeared at just the right moment. Antonelli himself admitted after the race that it wasn't the way he would have liked to win, acknowledging that without the neutralization, Lando Norris would have had a great chance of taking the victory, that sincerity reflects the maturity of a driver of just 20 years old who, despite his youth, is managing a privileged situation in the championship with solvency.
Rosberg knows from his own experience that an advantage can become a burden if circumstances change: "The worst possible scenario is that suddenly McLaren starts to pull away and maybe there's also some upgrade from Ferrari or something like that and Kimi starts to fall back a bit more toward the group" explained Rosberg during his appearance on the Sky Sports F1 Show. The German drew a parallel with his own title fight in 2016 when he was forced to defend his position against a Lewis Hamilton who wouldn't stop pushing: "That's similar to what happened to me in my championship year, because I started to fall back toward the group in those last four races" he recalled.
Rosberg described in detail the tension he experienced in that final stretch: "At some point I was always there, even in Mexico, in qualifying until the last moment. In each of those races, at some point I was third and not second and Verstappen crashed with me practically in every race" he recounted.
That experience taught him that pressure increases exponentially when the advantage shrinks: "If I fell back again even slightly toward the group the risk simply increases and you start to get more and more nervous about things" he warned.
Rosberg's reflection comes at a key moment of the season. McLaren has shown an upward pace in recent races with Norris adding wins and podiums regularly. Ferrari, for its part, continues working on the SF-26's development and trusts it can get closer to Mercedes in the remaining rounds. If both teams manage to improve their performance, Antonelli could find himself in an uncomfortable situation, forced to defend an advantage that seemed immovable just a few weeks ago.
Antonelli himself has so far shown an admirable ability to manage pressure, his eight wins and his consistency in the leading positions are the best endorsement of his title candidacy, but Formula 1 history is full of unexpected twists and Rosberg, who experienced firsthand the tension of a championship decided in the last race, knows that nothing is guaranteed.
The next round in Baku will be a new test for the young Italian, who will have to prove that he is prepared to resist the pressure that lies ahead.
