Kimi Antonelli has emerged as a strong candidate to win the Formula 1 title in 2026. However, Gunther Steiner, former Haas team principal, expressed concerns about the chances, suggesting that the Italian might be susceptible to the same problem that affected Oscar Piastri last year.
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The Mercedes driver’s start to the championship has been exceptional with three wins in four rounds and leading the championship with 100 points and a 20-point advantage over teammate George Russell.
It happens that the former executive pointed out that it is still necessary to see if Antonelli will not fall victim to the same drop in performance seen in the Australian in 2025, who started as the big favorite to be champion and ended only in third place in the championship.
“Lose? He still needs to win, you know? But he is showing all the signs that he is not bothered by what is happening,” he said on the Red Flags podcast.
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“What worries me most is that maybe he has some problems and loses his head a bit, like Oscar did last year. He was in control, let’s say, before the summer break, and after the break, two things happened that he didn’t like, and he lost the championship. Yes, maybe it’s his to lose, but I think we are still at the beginning of the season,” he continued.
“But what I see here is that, regardless of what we say, George had no problems [in Miami], so there was really nothing to explain. Even in qualifying, Kimi was better. He is doing a great job,” he concluded.
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