Oscar Piastri could not \u201chandle the pressure\u201d of his 2025 title battle versus McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
That is the opinion expressed by 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is backing his namesake, and F1 2026 championship leader Kimi Antonelli to avoid falling into the same \u201ctrap\u201d which Piastri<\/a> did last year.<\/p>\n Kimi Raikkonen on Oscar Piastri\u2019s 2025 title collapse<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Oscar Piastri led the 2025 championship by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, but suffered for a collapse in form later in the year.<\/p>\n Piastri did steady the ship at the final two rounds, winning the Qatar Sprint and finishing the Grand Prix in second, repeating that P2 at the Abu Dhabi finale, but it was Norris who emerged as a first-time world champion.<\/p>\n Skip forward to F1 2026, and Mercedes\u2019 teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli has emerged as the title favourite after winning four consecutive grands prix.<\/p>\n Following a heartbreaking DNF for Antonelli\u2019s teammate and title rival George Russell, Antonelli leads the championship by 43 points.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in Formula 1, you don\u2019t win four consecutive grand prix races unless you have a special talent,\u201d Kimi Raikkonen said of Antonelli in a Quotidiano Sportivo<\/a> interview.<\/p>\n \u201cAntonelli\u2019s record is a remarkable achievement. Having the right car is essential, but that\u2019s always been the case, in every era.\u201d<\/p>\n Raikkonen believes that the Italian teenage Kimi can become world champion, something which Antonelli \u201cbelieves he can\u201d do also according to Raikkonen, after his observations.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see it in the way he approaches the races, in the spirit he puts into it,\u201d Raikkonen added.<\/p>\n Raikkonen then drew a comparison between Piastri\u2019s title scenario of last year, and the one which Antonelli now finds himself in.<\/p>\n Raikkonen, in his typical to-the-point fashion which resonated with the F1 fanbase, said that Piastri \u201ccouldn\u2019t handle the pressure\u201d of his title fight.<\/p>\n He does not envisage Antonelli suffering the same downfall.<\/p>\n \u201cAntonelli won\u2019t lose his focus; he\u2019s showing maturity,\u201d Raikkonen declared.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll have to avoid following in the footsteps of Piastri in 2025. At one point, the Australian McLaren driver seemed to have the title in the bag but couldn\u2019t handle the pressure. The Italian lad won\u2019t fall into the same trap.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Oscar Piastri from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri\u2019s \u2018deserved\u2019 penalty summed up McLaren\u2019s Canadian GP misery<\/a><\/p>\n Oscar Piastri \u2018buzzing\u2019 to have unique honour in \u2018part of biological history\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking after his historic fourth successive win, it was pointed out to Antonelli that he now leads the championship by a greater margin than Piastri ever had over Norris in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but to be fair, I\u2019m not thinking about championship,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019m just focusing on race by race. I think it\u2019s still very early to talk about that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of course, now I have this gap, but that doesn\u2019t mean that I can relax and just take it easier. Instead, I need to keep levelling up and keep raising the bar because it\u2019s not going to be easy and competitors are getting closer, and also George is super quick.<\/p>\n \u201cSo definitely I\u2019m just going to try to focus on myself and enjoy the driving and trying to really drive as fast as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n