Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Kimi Antonelli must remain wary about the potential of unexpected "black swan events" derailing his championship bid despite the Italian driver's large points lead. Antonelli's back-to-back wins in Monza and Madrid have increased his championship advantage over team-mate George Russell to 81 points with a scheduled nine rounds remaining. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Lando Norris, third and fourth in the standings respectively, are now over 100 points behind.
Despite his dominant position, Antonelli has repeatedly stressed recently that he is driving without thinking about the world championship in mind - an approach that his team boss insists is genuine. "I promise you he's not thinking about it," said Wolff. "The way this kid is able to compartmentalise and be the young kid and then get into the car and be the mature racing driver.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "That's why if Kimi says to himself, 'I'm not thinking about the championship,' he's not thinking about the championship. "And we are also trying, the parents and myself and the team, saying this is not finished." Antonelli has led the championship ever since victory at the season's third round in Japan on March 29 with his 81-point advantage after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix the largest he has held all season. The 20-year-old's eight race wins are six more than any other driver.
But Wolff says neither driver nor team can afford to rule out the unpredictable. "There are black swan events, they can come and you're losing something out of your hand when you didn't think it was possible to lose," added the Mercedes team principal. Speaking after victory at the Madring, Antonelli also stressed that nothing was won yet.
"Yeah, it [the points lead] is great, but we've just got to keep pushing, keep delivering the results and just trying to do the best job I can whenever I go on track," he said. "Because, of course, yes, I have a big lead, but you never know what can happen. So just need to be ready for anything and keep maximising every opportunity I get, and then we'll see where we end up at the end of the year." The 20-year-old says his support network, particularly his father Marco, is ensuring he stays grounded and focused.
"I'm lucky to have really good people around me," he added. "I have an incredible team that supports me, great family. Especially my dad is the one that keeps me on the ground.
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