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Motorsport

Lydia Mee

Juan Pablo Montoya says Kimi Antonelli is his own biggest F1 title threat

Kimi Antonelli Juan Pablo Montoya Andrea Kimi Antonelli F1 George Russell Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 TV

Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes current championship leader Kimi Antonelli's biggest obstacle in the title race is his own mindset, urging the Mercedes garage to shield the teenager.

Antonelli still leads the drivers' championship heading into the Belgian Grand Prix, but his team-mate George Russell closed the gap to 25 points after finishing second at the British Grand Prix, while Antonelli finished 15th. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton follows closely in third for Ferrari, seven points behind Russell.

Speaking on the F1 TV Weekend Warm-up programme at Spa-Francorchamps, Montoya argued that Antonelli's biggest challenge in the championship fight is not getting distracted by what is happening around him in the standings.

"For me, for Antonelli's side, it's himself," Montoya stated when asked whether Antonelli and Mercedes' biggest threat was power unit reliability or the Ferraris of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

"They need to close that garage, and he needs to just focus on himself. He can control that situation."

The former Williams and McLaren driver warned that managing the mental strain of being in the title fight becomes far more challenging when a once-comfortable points gap begins to close.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

"The problem is when the points shrink, you start thinking about it, and as soon as you start thinking about it, you're going to have issues," Montoya continued.

"So if they can keep Kimi focused on doing Kimi things, he'll be fine."

Antonelli echoed this in an interview with F1 TV ahead of the race weekend. "As always, just focus on myself, but we're pretty confident that the package is going to be good because it's been good throughout this year."

He put in the sixth-fastest time during the first free practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. The race will take place on Sunday 19 July at 3pm local time (2pm BST).

Photos from Belgian GP - Friday

50 Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Alexander Albon, Williams

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Like Crawford, Aston Martin

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Alexander Albon, Williams; Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Audi car tech details

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of Haas

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Land Norris, McLaren

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Aston Martin F1 Team pitstop practice

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Ryo Hirakawa, Haas

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

George Russell, Mercedes

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Belgian Grand Prix - Friday

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