Mercedes Formula One driver Kimi Antonelli revealed in a recent video that he was “very superstitious” about talking about a potential F1 championship celebration if he won the title this year. The 19-year-old currently leads the Drivers’ Standings with 242 points, but with rival teams catching up and 11 races remaining, the championship could be anyone’s. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff opened up about the matter recently, saying a lead of 50-odd points was something to worry about.
Mercedes enjoyed a dominant first half of the season, during which Kimi Antonelli and George Russell won most of the Grands Prix. But with teams working hard to upgrade their challengers, especially McLaren, the Brackley-based team is having to face tough competition. Notably, Lando Norris won the last two races at Hungaroring and Zandvoort.
Ferrari has been in the mix since the beginning of the season and is a clear championship threat, suggesting there is a high chance the battle for the Drivers’ Championship could go on until the final lap of the season finale. Currently, Antonelli leads the championship by just 59 points.
Russell and Lewis Hamilton are placed second and third in the Drivers’ Standings, with 183 points each. Norris is not too far behind in fourth with 159 points. Therefore, Antonelli is right to be worried about maintaining and extending his lead at this stage of the F1 campaign.
The Italian driver featured in a video with Amelia Dimoldenberg and was asked what he would do to celebrate if he won the championship. Antonelli was quick to answer, saying:
“Oh my God. I don’t like this.” Amelia asked him if he did not like the question, to which he replied:
“No, I’m very superstitious.”
“We’ll think about it when it happens,” he added.
Wolff’s Warning Comes After Dutch GP
Wolff opened up on Antonelli’s championship lead, stating that the current gap is a matter of concern. Motorbiscuit reported him saying:
“I mean, absolutely conscious of the fact. It’s not only Norris, even if you have a gap of 50 points, it’s something you need to be worried about. So this is going to be tough. It could become tighter, and yeah, we just need to do the optimum job every single weekend, every single session, every single weekend.
“I think we have an organization we were doing well enough, winning races, and they’ve [McLaren] got two now on tracks where they’ve been very, very good in the previous years also. So let’s see if we can regain some momentum.”
Unfortunately for Antonelli, he will have to take a back-of-the-grid penalty for a full power unit change at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix in Monza on September 6. Mercedes was forced to make this decision due to reliability issues earlier in the season.
The team chose Monza as the track to fit a new power unit due to its long straights and heavy braking zones, offering plenty of opportunities to overtake and recover positions.