Juan Pablo Montoya explains: This makes the World Championship battle against Kimi Antonelli more difficult

Hardly anyone would have imagined before the start of the season that Kimi Antonelli, aged 19, would be leading the World Championship at the summer break with a comfortable points lead. The likeable curly-haired driver from Bologna has found his rhythm after a mixed first Formula 1 season and has impressed with his pace. He celebrated five consecutive victories in China, Japan, Miami, Montreal and Monaco, and secured another Grand Prix triumph on the demanding Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The fast teenager is a real challenge for everyone on the grid – but above all for his Mercedes team-mate George Russell. Russell was still tipped as the clear favourite for the title over the winter, but has so far failed to live up to expectations. On top of that, he has had a lot of bad luck – whether due to safety car periods or technical issues.

He is 59 points behind the championship leader from within his own team. And the internal team battle for the championship is proving difficult not only because of the speed of Hamilton’s successor, as Juan Pablo Montoya explains. The former F1 star says in an expert discussion on ‘Formula1.com’: ‘The dynamic is tricky, because Kimi is incredibly fast, and he’s also a very likeable bloke.’

“If your opponent’s a arsehole, it’s much easier to fight against him, because you can use that anger to gain the momentum you need to destroy him,” the Colombian elaborates. “But if the bloke’s nice… I think George needs to find a way to get on a level footing with Kimi. If he manages that, he’ll put Kimi in an awkward position. Because if George catches up again, Kimi will have to find a way to beat him all over again. That could put him in a difficult spot and cause him to make mistakes.”