Nico Rosberg warns Kimi Antonelli about the key thing that could stop his F1 title run
Nico Rosberg shared some advice with Kimi Antonelli about what might stop him from winning his first Drivers’ Championship – and how to avoid it.
Antonelli is now 81 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell after winning the Spanish Grand Prix. There are still nine races left in the 2026 season.
Rosberg, who won his only world title in 2016 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, said Antonelli shouldn’t worry about other drivers but focus on his own mindset.
“The biggest challenge is his own mind,” Rosberg said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. “I remember how my mind started playing tricks on me when I was the favorite. That’s when it gets tough. When you think, ‘This is mine to lose,’ you get scared of making silly mistakes because the championship is right there.
“Driving an F1 car at the front is one of the hardest things in the world. It’s so easy to slip up because it’s incredibly difficult to stay perfect every lap and not crash. When your head starts doubting, it takes away from your focus.
“When I was going for my title, the last four races were crazy in my mind. I felt like I only had 70% of my usual focus because 30% was scared of messing up and losing the championship.”
Rosberg’s story also helps explain why he retired from F1 right after winning the title in 2016.
After his teammate Hamilton’s engine failed in Malaysia, Rosberg was 23 points ahead with five races to go. When he won in Japan, he knew that if he finished second in the last four races, he’d still win the championship no matter what Hamilton did.
That’s exactly what happened. Hamilton won those final four races, but Rosberg’s steady performances were enough to clinch the title. Hamilton even tried to help other drivers pass him in the last race, but it didn’t change the outcome.
Rosberg announced his retirement the next week. In 2023, he said to Men’s Health, “I was afraid that if I kept going, I wouldn’t be fast enough eventually, and then no team would want me. I’d rather stop too early than too late. I wanted to make that choice myself.”
Antonelli is in a very different situation. At just 19, he could become F1’s youngest-ever world champion—beating Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won his first title in 2010.
By winning the Spanish GP, Antonelli also passed Lewis Hamilton for winning a higher percentage of races with his first F1 team. Hamilton started with McLaren before joining Mercedes in 2013.