1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has highlighted a key difference that exists between Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli looks set to seal his maiden F1 title this year, as he currently holds an 84-point lead in the drivers' championship.
Last time out in Sepang, Antonelli ended the race in second place, behind Max Verstappen, who scored his first race victory of the season with Red Bull.
While it was a strong showing for Antonelli, it was not an error-free race; late on, he ran wide into the final corner and collected the bollard at pit entry, risking damage to his front wing.
Villeneuve noted that Verstappen is a much more polished driver at this stage, and believes Antonelli would be suffering championship-wise if Red Bull were on par with Mercedes.
"He [Verstappen] rarely makes mistakes," Villeneuve told Sky F1. "When he's on it, like he's been on this weekend, he's precise.
"You can see the difference with his teammate as well. He doesn't make the mistakes that Antonelli keeps making.
"So, in the championship balance, that would have weight. It's just a little bit too late in the season."
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Villeneuve sends Antonelli warning over mistakes
Antonelli's championship hopes received a significant boost when team-mate George Russell was forced to retire from the Sepang race due to a power unit issue.
With just seven rounds and one sprint race remaining on the schedule, time is running out for Russell to claw back the deficit.
But Villeneuve warned that Antonelli could very easily suffer a non-finish in a similar fashion to Russell and see his advantage eaten into.
"He's controlling it, also because he is quicker than Russell in general," Villeneuve told Sky F1.
"Russell knows, so that will not make Russell quicker. It's tough.
"There are not a lot of races left, but there are some sprints, and Kimi can have some DNFs.
"He keeps making these tiny little mistakes, one of them will catch him out."
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