Riccardo Patrese has placed Kimi Antonelli in the same “mould” and “league” as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, after the 19-year-old delivered a dominant Belgian Grand Prix victory to extend his F1 drivers’ championship lead.
Antonelli claimed his sixth win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, overcoming an ill-timed virtual safety car to see off Charles Leclerc and secure his first win since Monaco.
It was a critical triumph, with Mercedes team-mate George Russell retiring on the opening lap following a collision with Hamilton at Les Combes; it has handed Antonelli a significant boost in the standings. The Italian now leads Hamilton by 45 points and Russell by 50.
Patrese, who racked up six grand prix wins across 256 starts during his own career, most notably with Williams, told Compare.bet that his compatriot’s emergence at the front of the field was no surprise.
“No, it hasn’t surprised me,” he said. “Before the start of the season, I said that with Kimi having a year’s experience under his belt, he could be very, very strong and competitive.”
“I expected this because he has something about him that lifts him above a normal ‘good’ champion. I cannot say yet that he’s as outstanding as [Ayrton] Senna or [Michael] Schumacher, or even Verstappen and Hamilton, because they have many titles to their name. But he is in that mould. He is in that league.”
Reliability a looming question mark
Patrese was equally direct in his assessment of the internal dynamic at Mercedes, while pointing to one potential vulnerability.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in the future between him and Russell,” he added. “Kimi is in a better position than George Russell.
“Kimi has proved many times that he can be more competitive than Russell. There is one question for Mercedes, and that is reliability. But Kimi is getting stronger and stronger. He doesn’t make mistakes; he’s very quick, and his car is quick. That’s why he is favourite.”
Despite Antonelli’s strong championship position, Patrese was keen to stress that the title is far from settled.
“No, I do not think Kimi is the champion yet,” he stated. “Because again, we saw that reliability sometimes can make a difference, even for Kimi. Kimi has to be the favourite. He is in a very strong position, he is in a fantastic mood, and the car, when it works, is super competitive.
“So he is the favourite, but at this stage, with 11 races left, the gap is not enough for Kimi to say, ‘Okay, I will be the champion.’
“He’s a special talent and will be a special champion. He has already shown with six wins and many poles that he is very special.
“You also need the luck of a great champion to be in the right place at the right moment, and he has certainly enjoyed that this season.”