Danner names Russell as Antonelli's biggest rival
Christian Danner is not worried about a late Antonelli slump like Piastri's in 2025, but reckons Russell, not the pressure, is now the closest threat to Antonelli's championship lead.
Christian Danner does not believe Kimi Antonelli is heading for the kind of late-season collapse that derailed Oscar Piastri's 2025 title campaign, despite the Mercedes driver's difficult weekend in Baku.
Speaking to motorsport-magazin.com, Danner said Antonelli's reaction to the setback was actually encouraging.
"I don't think Antonelli is in danger of a Piastri-style collapse," the former F1 driver said.
"He's a long way off, because he's managed to remain completely calm. However, what happened will certainly wake him up a bit, because his teammate George Russell is a very fast driver who does everything extremely well."
Antonelli himself admitted Baku was probably his worst weekend of the season.
"It was one of those days where you have to be happy to finish fifth," said the 20-year-old Italian.
"Of course, this weekend can be considered my worst of the season, there's no doubt about it. I just tried to minimise the losses."
He also joked afterwards that he "drove like my grandmother".
But Danner says that cautious approach was exactly the right one.
"He was 100 percent right to act that way," the German said.
"It was the right tactic, because the fate of the title depends solely on who has the most points at the end of the season."
Antonelli's championship lead over Russell was cut by 15 points in Baku but remains at 66.
Danner now sees Russell as the main threat.
"I'm sure Russell is his main rival for the title," he said. "George is driving the same Mercedes car and it's clear that the difficulties that were holding him back are in the past."
Related: Antonelli now feels title pressure mounting after Baku
