Ricardo Patrese exclusive: I knew Kimi would be world champion from age of 12

"Kimi Antonelli destroyed George Russell this season.  Ferrari should tell Lewis Hamilton to shut up to quash Charles Leclerc feud, Oscar Piastri could be replaced by McLaren after Mark Webber shock split."

Speaking to Jackpot City Casino, Formula 1 icon Riccardo Patrese has revealed he knew Kimi Antonelli had the ingredients to become a world champion from the age of 12 and insists he knew he would ‘destroy’ teammate George Russell in the fight for the championship this season.

Patrese also commented on the tension at Ferrari, advising the Italian team to take control of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s recent disagreement on track.

He also commented on Oscar Piastri’s future at McLaren, suggesting the Austrian could be replaced after parting ways with manager Mark Webber.

Here is the interview:

Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix. What did you make of the race?

“Interlagos is always unpredictable with the weather. Maybe you can have a steady weekend, but when a weekend with rain comes, it's really tough. A little bit of rain, a little bit of sunshine, and suddenly it changes the conditions there a lot.

“Lando won in Brazil, but Kimi Antonelli is now world champion. I have a much better opinion of Norris now than last year. I have a much better opinion of Norris because this year he has better morale and a more relaxed situation. He's driving really like a world champion.

“Every time he's had the chance to win, because the car gives him the possibility to be in front, he has driven superbly. In this race, he did a fantastic job. He was definitely the best on the track.”

There are three races left: Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Do you think Norris will look to keep the pressure on to keep momentum going into 2027 for McLaren?

“A racing driver wants to win every race. Of course, he doesn't have the chance to be world champion anymore, but every time you win a Grand Prix, it's always a very satisfying situation. If he has a chance, he can go and try to win.

“It's not that he puts pressure on anybody, because Kimi is already World Champion, but when you have a chance to win a Grand Prix and you win – as Norris did in Brazil – when you go home you are very satisfied. You really have a smiling face.”

It's been a strange season in many ways with all the changes from last year, and Mercedes having the best power unit for the first half of the season. What is your assessment of how the season has been for F1?

“At the beginning, it was a bit ridiculous the way they had to drive the car, and nobody liked it. It was a little bit dangerous – we saw the accident in Japan where one car was slowing down very quickly, the other was accelerating, and it ended in a big accident. But then they managed to find good compromises.

“We have to see what happens now during the winter. For example, Red Bull and [Max] Verstappen are going very well now, but they made a lot of improvements since the beginning. You remember Verstappen was really fed up, saying he didn't want to drive Formula 1 anymore because the car and the engine weren't working. Everybody has made improvements.

“Maybe Mercedes next year won't be in the same position they were at the beginning of this year. Probably they will be good, so other teams can be right there to fight for the championship.”

Lewis Hamilton started his 400th Grand Prix in Brazil. Only Fernando Alonso has driven as many. When you first became aware of Lewis, did you ever think he would be as good as he has become?

“No, I couldn't think when he came in that he could be as good as he proved to be. But he was good, of course, because already at the first attempt in his first year, he managed to almost be world champion, if I remember well. Then he won the following years.

“Being a teammate to Alonso, he immediately proved to be very competitive. But to be a seven-time world champion with 105 wins and all the success he's had? I couldn't predict that.

“With Kimi, I was close to him since he was 12, so I could see it, but I didn't know Lewis and had never met him personally back then, so I couldn't have known he had all this talent.”

Where do you think he ranks among the great drivers – the elite, the top of the top?

“It's difficult to classify different periods and eras. When I was driving, [Ayrton] Senna and [Michael] Schumacher were superior to anybody. But with the numbers Lewis has in his career, you must put him in that league.

“I always prefer to judge the drivers I drove against, and in my 17 years of Formula 1 the two best were Senna and Schumacher. But you must put drivers like Lewis in that league – better than Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. Lewis had very good cars that were leading cars, and he won, no doubt about that.

“But drivers like Senna, Schumacher, and Verstappen can make the difference and win races even if they don't have the very top car. Lewis had a car that allowed him to be in front, but he always showed a fantastic talent.”

Hamilton can still finish second [in the Drivers’ Championship] this season, which would be a big achievement for him, wouldn’t it?

“At the moment, Verstappen has the better chance to finish second because he has a good car, and in the last three or four races, he's always there. He wins. It's difficult to get second place away from Verstappen in this kind of form, especially when his car seems to be much better now.”

In Mexico, Hamilton went very strong against Charles Leclerc. What is the problem with Ferrari in terms of communication and strategy?

“I do not like to see polemics between teammates. But it's not the first time it has happened in F1. And it will not be the last. If you remember Piquet and Mansell.

“Lewis thought at one stage this year that he was the man who had to fight for the championship because he was in a better position with points and often quicker.

“Seeing his teammate really not care about the possibility that one of the Ferrari drivers could fight Mercedes, he got a little bit annoyed and exploded, saying what he said after Mexico. You need somebody on top of the two drivers to instill order.

“For example, George Russell was shouting very loudly on the radio during qualifying and Toto said very clearly, ‘Shut up, finish.’ You need somebody at the top to say clearly, ‘Shut up.’ Even if you have a seven-time world champion on the team, you must stop the polemics and wars.”

Do you think this situation will continue between Hamilton and Leclerc until Fred Vasseur says ‘Lewis is number one, Charles you're number two?’ If not, how do you resolve it?

“The problem is that this year the drivers can have this aggressive attitude, but the car is sometimes good and sometimes it is not.

“Firstly, Ferrari has to put a programme together to ensure they have a winning car next year that can compete for the championship. Once you have a car that can win the championship, then you worry about keeping the drivers in good harmony.”

People say that Ollie Bearman would be a good replacement at Ferrari as and when Hamilton retires. Do you think he would be ready?

“He has to wait for now! This year they have Rafael Camara in the team, and he is under the umbrella of the Ferrari Driver Academy, so Bearman still has work to do. If Camara comes in and does better than Bearman, then maybe Camara can go to Ferrari. In Formula 1, nothing is ever sure; everything can change in one month.

“Bearman surprised me with the speed he provided with not much F1 experience, but next year he's going to face a very strong talent. Everybody says Camara is good, and he can still win the championship in Formula 2, so he can be a big challenge for Bearman.”

Oscar Piastri has finished with Mark Webber as his manager this week. Does it surprise you, or was it inevitable?

“I don't know anything about the relationship between Webber and Piastri, but I heard that Webber was no longer welcome in the McLaren garage.

“Piastri looked lost this year. Last year, he was going very well, and then suddenly he started to go down. This year, he's still down, and Norris proved he can easily stay in front of his teammate.

“I think Webber did very well to bring Piastri to Formula 1. If something broke in their relationship, I don't know, but Piastri needs to breathe fresh air. It's a good thing that he has a change.”

How do you think this might affect Piastri's future with McLaren?

“As it is going now, he is in a position where he is risking his place. If he keeps going without getting points and isn't useful to the team – because McLaren is a top team – one day they might say, ‘Sorry, Piastri, move on, we are getting somebody else.’

If that happened, who do you think would be a good replacement? Someone like Liam Lawson?

“Lawson is finishing the season very well, unexpectedly well. If he doesn't stay with Red Bull, then Lawson can be a driver somebody thinks about having because he proved he can be good. I don't think he's Kimi Antonelli; none of them are Kimi.

“But if Piastri keeps underperforming – always in trouble, not qualifying well – it's very easy for the team to replace him. A driver like Lawson could be a replacement.”

How do you think Antonelli and George Russell’s relationship in the team will go over the next few races? Will George try and show that this season was just a bad one and try to go out on a high?

“He has to prove to himself that he can beat Kimi. For Russell, it's important to finish the season well to get his morale up during the winter. Kimi is world champion, but next year George wants to be world champion, so it's important for him to fight and beat Kimi now to build morale for next year.”

George has said a lot about being unlucky with mechanical problems this year. But is there a gap in natural talent between Kimi and George, or are they level?

“I always said from my point of view, Kimi is stronger than Russell. This is my opinion – one I had at the beginning of the season, and it proved to be true because Kimi really destroyed Russell this year.

“We have to say honestly that luck was on Kimi's side, and bad luck was on George's side. Small things make a difference in a driver's head. Let's hope next year Russell doesn't have bad luck and can show he's strong enough to beat him.”

Verstappen looks like he'll be flying again, having won three of the last five races. Do you think he saw Red Bull making progress, and that's why he signed a new deal?

“At the beginning of the season, he wanted to leave, saying the car was terrible. Then the car started to improve. On top of that, a bank account of 100 million dollars a year for four years makes you say, ‘Okay, maybe it's better I stay here!’

“Now he's even happier because, apart from the bank account growing, he also has a competitive car. He's in a top mood, he can be a competitor for the World Championship again, and he's financially happy.

“He's a very relaxed person; he knows he's a four-time World Champion and recognized as one of the best drivers of all time. He wants to enjoy himself, and it looks like he has the potential to do it.”

Antonelli will also be cashing in commercially won’t he, now that he is the champion?

“Sure, he's going to have a lot of success from that point of view. But the difference for a guy like him is that he's so close with his family and trusts them so much. I read that he still gets a monthly allowance from his family; he cannot use all the money he gets.

“He doesn't have crazy ideas to spend money because he is so involved with his family, and they look after his interests, so he doesn't lose his concentration.”

Isack Hadjar has proved to be a good teammate and challenged Max more than anyone since Perez. How do you rate him?

“He's good. I always said I like Hadjar. But when you have a guy like Max who starts 21st in the rain and finishes second, 10 seconds in front of you; you understand that you are good, but you are not on that level.

“He's better than some other teammates Verstappen has had, but he's still not on the same level.”

What advice would you give Rafael Camara after his difficult debut for Haas?

“It was difficult because they called him at the last moment, and the conditions were poor. Now he has other opportunities before the end of the year, probably with steadier track conditions. Doing these races is just to get experience in the world of Formula 1  – how the cars are – and then start next season with a little bit more knowledge and a clearer picture.”

Leclerc has just had a baby daughter. Does becoming a father in F1 change things? Did you find that?

“Definitely not a problem from my point of view. Mr [Enzo] Ferrari used to think it was a problem for a driver to have a child, but I think not. When you go racing, you don't think about being a father. It's definitely not a distraction.”

Las Vegas is coming up next. How important is it to have races like Vegas and Monaco for the showbiz and glamour?

“Last year I liked it with all the shows and singers. Formula 1 now, especially because Liberty Media owns and wants it, the event must be a show. Sometimes the show is bigger than the sporting event itself.

“Verstappen was a little critical about all the glamour, but for a spectator watching the Grand Prix, I think it's interesting and nice to see.”

North America has three Grand Prix now. Is that too many? Are they taking over F1 too much?

“America is very big. Three Grands Prix for America is fine. In my time, America didn't care a lot about Formula 1; they liked IndyCar and NASCAR, and F1 was a second choice. Now it looks like America is starting to like Formula 1, and with the economic power they have, having three Grand Prix is normal.”

What's your prediction for the podium in Las Vegas?

“Leclerc, Russell and Kimi.”