Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli says he isn’t thinking about a potential world title just yet, as he pulls away in the standings with at least 17 rounds remaining.

Antonelli has won the last four grands prix consecutively, with his last victory coming in a Montreal race where he had a breathtaking duel with team-mate George Russell before a power unit failure took the Briton out of the contest.

As a consequence, Antonelli’s lead in the championship ballooned from a virtual 11 points, when Russell led the race, to 43 points – a larger gap than was ever witnessed in the 2025 season.

However, asked if he thought he had got a bit of breathing space now, the 19-year-old replied: “Yeah, but to be fair, I’m not thinking about [the] championship. I’m just focusing on race by race. I think it’s still very early to talk about that.

“And of course, now I have this gap but that doesn’t mean that I can relax and just take it easier. Instead, I need to keep levelling up and keep raising the bar because it’s not going to be easy and competitors are getting closer, and also George is super quick. So definitely I’m just going to try to focus on myself and enjoy the driving and trying to really drive as fast as possible.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

Antonelli has cause to be cautious. After he outqualified Russell four times in a row, his elder regained the upper hand in both qualifying sessions in Canada – the gap happened to be 0.068s both times – and their performance levels were closely matched throughout the weekend. So, the Italian sophomore might have the right mindset.

“I mean, he’s clearly doing a great job,” fellow Montreal podium finisher Max Verstappen said. “And of course, a championship is long and they’re won by just being consistent, not making mistakes. But he knows that, so every weekend you just need to try and maximise, try and be better than your team-mate, and then I’m sure that he has a good chance. But long way to go. But what he’s doing right now is working really well.”

While Verstappen did not contend for the world championship until his seventh F1 season, Lewis Hamilton was thrown in at the deep end in 2007 as he battled for the title as a rookie against McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Sat next to Antonelli in the post-race press conference, the seven-time world champion views the youngster’s situation as healthier: “For me personally, 2007 was the one I was fighting for. It was a lot.

“I was a little bit older than you, I was 22. It feels like it was just different back then. I don’t think I had the same support system that he has, for example, today in a place that I worked at and worked in.

“Toto did a great job of surrounding you with the right support, and I definitely didn’t feel that. The team were nice and everything, but there wasn’t the right elements around to support you, to help you stay stable and guide you. And it was pretty intense, especially in my first year. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.” 

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– The Motorsport.com Team