Guenther Steiner cautions Kimi Antonelli against a false sense of urgency ahead of the Miami GP, as he sends a warning to the teenage championship leader in his battle against George Russell at Mercedes.
The 19-year-old has raced to the stop of the Formula 1 standings with an impressive turn of form at the Chinese GP and Japanese GP weekends, where he has fended off his more experienced and well-respected colleague.
Particularly at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan, he as considerably faster as he hounded down his rival in the same W17 equipment in the opening stint, triggering the pit wall to box the Brit first to avoid a tricky situation.
The Italian then got fortunate with a well-timed safety car and pitted to take the lead, and from there he showed no sign of feeling any pressure as he simply checked out from the rest of the field on his way to winning his second consecutive race.
Crossing the line over 13 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in second, he took the lead of the standings for the first time in his career heading into the month-long break and becomes the youngest driver to lead the championship.
But the ex-Haas boss, who led the team team from 2014-2023, believes he could find himself in a situation where he may begin chasing lap time, should he begin to come under pressure from Russell in the coming rounds.
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So Steiner recommends Antonelli should not go chasing performance that doesn’t exist if Russell begins to respond and should remain focused on the job, as he sends the youngster a warning ahead of the Miami GP.
“I think getting distracted by some of the things like, ‘I need to win this,’” Steiner exclusively told Total-Motorsport.com, in association with casino.org. “Or by putting pressure on himself by listening to what other people tell him what he should be doing.
“He should be listening to the people he has around him, because they’ve done a good job with him and he has done a good job listening to them. So just block out certain surroundings like the media and don’t let that get to you and just stay calm.
“The biggest issue for him is getting impatient. Him thinking he needs to win and show everyone who I am. That is the thing that could get him.
“And he showed that, I think it was when he crashed in practice a while back. He went there and he had a big crash because he was a little bit too impatient.
“He can’t fall back into that mindset. He must learn from that. Even if you lose out against George Russell, George is a good driver, so don’t worry, you’re still good even if you lose to George.
“But you’re 19 and George has got a lot of experience. Just live. Live in what has happened to you and listen to Toto and to your father.”
Steiner tips Antonelli to become F1 world champion
Despite his young age, Antonelli is extremely fast and supremely talented and has effectively only ever known what it is like winning, dominating his way through karting and the lower junior formulas until reaching F2 in 2024.
That was when the driver from Bologna finally had to work his way through the midfield in a series he had not competed in before as PREMA struggled to deliver a competitive package as he began his opening 14 races without a podium appearance.
However, things then began to turn as he collected his first Sprint Race win at Silverstone and followed it up with a Feature Race win at the Hungaroring, before going on to claim third in Baku, Azerbaijan.
That convinced Toto Wolff, along with out-performing Oliver Bearman, that he was ready for F1 to replace Lewis Hamilton – where he had a rocky debut campaign and European leg of the calendar in particular.
However, he still showed flashes of what he can do with a Sprint Pole in Miami and podiums in Canada, Brazil and Las Vegas and now in the 2026 F1 season, he seems to be putting it together, and Steiner says that’s all he needs to keep doing to become a world champion.
“Just do what you’re doing,” Steiner added. “The kid is doing a good job. Do not change anything and don’t try to get ahead of yourself. Just stay calm and do what you’ve been doing.
“Remember to listen to the people you have had around you up to now and just stay calm and you will get there. If you don’t get there this year, you will get there in the future. You’re 19 years old, kid. Do not try to change life.
“He’s well looked after by Toto, and his father is a very calming influence on him. The guy is very grounded, and Kimi and his family are also very grounded.
“I wouldn’t be worried about him. He will be a champion.”
