Jacques Villeneuve warns Kimi Antonelli against 'believing his own hype' in F1 title bid

Kimi Antonelli has been warned against 'believing his own hype' by 1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, after winning four consecutive grands prix.

Antonelli leads the F1 title race by 43 points from Mercedes team-mate George Russell, extending his lead significantly in Canada through the Briton's mid-race retirement. 

But while Antonelli has rightly received plaudits for his run of success, Villeneuve - who won the crown in his second season, as the 19-year-old hopes to do - was quick to offer the Italian advice on how to manage the pressure in F1's post-race roundup. 

"He needs to keep his head cool, not start believing too much in his own hype," said Villeneuve. 

"That's a very dangerous thing to do. When you think that you're untouchable, that's when mistakes happen, and you have a DNF, like [Russell] today, or you have an accident, you lose 25 points, the gap changes a lot, and suddenly you start doubting yourself.

"So that is the big risk. Right now, he's driving on the edge every lap, and to the point where you think, 'Wow, he's keeping it on the track,' things go well, things go right. It won't always be like this. So, how will he react when one thing goes wrong? That will be the key thing.

"But right now, he is quicker than George. He's got him covered. What's important for the team is that George wakes up a little bit and starts believing in himself again."

The season may only be five weekends in, but the points gap at the top of the table is already greater than it was at any point last year between those in the top two positions. 

However, Russell can take solace in the fact that while the top two margin did not reach this level, the gap to Max Verstappen, who ended the season in second but was a distance off at the mid-point, with the gap peaking at 104 points. 

Suggested that Antonelli could be thinking of the title already, Villeneuve added: "Of course. A season is a roller coaster. There's a period where everything goes well, and suddenly something goes wrong.

"A race or two, you go beyond. That's the danger. And people think, 'Oh, you won't win it anymore.' And then the other guy starts believing it, and it's a roller coaster. So, we'll see how it goes."