2016 Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes driver and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli will face a psychological battle as he fights for his maiden title.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Rosberg drew on his own championship-winning experience to explain the mental toll Antonelli could encounter during the latter stages of the season.

Antonelli has impressed during his second year in the series, becoming the youngest driver to lead the championship. But Rosberg warned that the pressure will inevitably mount as the reality of a title shot sets in.

“Antonelli has driven so incredibly well,” Rosberg explained. “It’s a world-class level. It’s amazing. It’s his second year in F1, unbelievable.”

Despite the praise, the former Mercedes driver stressed that the realisation of a potential championship victory introduces intrusive thoughts that can derail a driver’s campaign.

“However, he’s only human,” he added. “Anybody in his situation, as the season goes on, you start to reflect ‘my goodness, my dream is within reach’ and the demons in your head tell you ‘you better not mess this up, it’s yours to lose’ and that repeats and gets louder and louder and you start to struggle under that and think ‘oh my God I hope I don’t mess this up’.”

Nico Rosberg, SKY Sport

Photo by: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Rosberg retired from F1 just a few days after beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 title following a gruelling, season-long battle. The German admitted that the pressure of the title fight meant he was mentally incapable of extracting maximum performance from the car.

“Once you think about those things, it takes capacity away from your ability to drive at 100%,” Rosberg continued. “I went through that big time and that’s why the last four races in my day, there was no chance for me to do a pole position or win a race. I could not. My brain was fried.”

Antonelli currently leads the drivers’ championship with 224 points. Hamilton sits second with 171 points, and George Russell is third with 168 points.