Speaking exclusively to Prime Casino, six-time F1 Grand Prix winner and 1992 World Drivers’ Championship runner-up Riccardo Patrese said Max Verstappen will join Mercedes if he has the opportunity.
The Italian believes George Russell should be the four-time world champion’s teammate, despite knowing the Kimi Antonelli family personally.
Patrese is confident Ferrari won’t take the opportunity to replace Fred Vasseur with Christian Horner as the Scuderia’s Team Principal as the team care about ‘image’ and not ‘distractions’.
The reports are strong that Max Verstappen will sign a five-year deal with Mercedes. What's your interpretation? What do you think?
RP: “It is really difficult to understand what's going on in Red Bull. Firstly, the Horner business was a surprise. We knew that there were problems inside the team. Now this news of Max, who seems to want to go to Mercedes. This has to be a possibility.
“The big thing is that Adrian Newey is not there anymore. Why did he leave? Horner was, I think, a good team principal, but internally there were problems. So, in the end, I don't know if next year Red Bull can be a good team to be at.
“And for Max, this means he probably would like to change. And now, everybody says that the best option is Mercedes because they have the best new power unit. As it was the last time when the previous regulations came in, they immediately had a big advantage, and they won many championships.
“I believe that in his mind, if he can go and join Mercedes, he will. As things are now, I don't think he'svery happy to stay in Red Bull.
“I heard that there was also an interview with Nelson Piquet junior, whose sister is going out with Max. And he said that he thinks that Max will go to Mercedes next year. For sure, the situation in Red Bull, from the technical point of view and an organisational point of view, is not the same team as some years ago. For a driver like Max to spend one year without a competitive car is not an option.
“Already this year, it’s only because of his ability that he has pole position and sometimes he wins a Grand Prix. Max is what I saw in my era with Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
“Even with a situation where their team is not the top team, they can still win races and maybe go for a championship. But for a driver like Max, that is not enough. He definitely thinks it is time to make a move. But then what happens at Mercedes, if he goes there, that is another problem.”
Would Mercedes be the right team? And who makes way? George Russell is still waiting for a new contract and Antonelli has been very much Toto Wolff's protégé.
RP: “Russell has said in an interview that from his point of view, he is a Mercedes driver next year. Nobody told him anything different and that Toto had always been very loyal to him. So, he's waiting with faith. Kimi Antonelli is also a driver protected by Toto. Only Toto Wolf knows how it's going to be!”
Who do you think it should be? I mean, who would be the best partner for Verstappen if he does go there?
RP: “I am very close to Kimi. I know him very well since my son Lorenzo was karting with him. I am very close to the Antonelli family.
“I am a fan of Kimi, but if I were Toto, if I have to build the team for next year, I will keep Russell and Verstappen.
“Kimi looks very promising, but he still has to learn a little bit. Russell, I think, is already in a league, maybe not quite in Verstappen’s league, but of course, if you have to choose a driver just below and put beside Verstappen, I should choose. I say that even though my heart for sure is with Kimi.”
Do you think George is being treated badly by having to wait to find out what his future is? Or is it just part of racing?
RP: “I think it is a part of racing. It happened to me also at the end of 1990, before I signed for 91 and 92. I had a moment where it looked like there was a possibility for some other drivers to come in instead of me. I had a really very good relationship with the team but until I signed the contract, I always had some doubts because you never know in Formula One; everything can change day by day.”
“So, I don't think that he is being treated badly, but it could be bad if suddenly Verstappen comes in then they say to George at the last minute, no, you are not with us next year. There is nothing stranger than Formula One politics.”
How do you think this will affect George though in the next two or three races? Because the uncertainty cannot be good for him.
RP: “When you jump in the car, then you want to do your job at the top level. That is your focus.
“Maybe when he's at home, he can be thinking about this. When he's going to be at the Grand Prix all the journalists for sure, they are going to ask him. I think when he goes to Spa, I think he's going to be super competitive. His mind is on the car and the result, not really thinking about what might happen next year.”
Going back to Horner and Red Bull, people say it's because of the performances of Red Bull, but there's other rumours. Do you think there's more than just the bad performances?
RP: “You cannot blame Horner for everything. The problem, from my point of view, is that Adrian Newey went away. If you have a replacement, the replacement cannot be the same as Adrian. Adrian is an outstanding engineer. In the last 30 years his cars have really won everything.
“I don't know why they lost him because I understood Adrian was always very well connected with Horner. I think they are friends. There is also the fight between the Austrians and the Thais at the top of the etam and in the ownership.
“I heard that Horner was there because the Thais owned 51% and they backed Horner. But two or three days ago before Horner was sacked, I think the Thai people sold two more percent of the company to the Austrians. So, the Austrians now have the majority.
“This is what I heard. So, it looks like now that the balance is 51 % for the Austrians and 49 % for the others. I don't know if in all this, Jos Verstappen is involved too, because I understand that Horner and Jos Verstappen don't like each other. But at the same time, if this is the case, now Horner has gone, why would Max leave Red Bull. That is another question. I don’t understand.”
How serious is this for Red Bull? Is it the beginning of the end for now?
RP: “Well, if Adrian Newey is not there anymore and Verstappen is leaving, then the level of Red Bull is what Tsunoda shows. And where is Tsunoda? In the back.
“At the moment they still live with something that Adrian left. And for next year, there is a completely new car coming that Adrian didn't make. And then if you don't have a driver like Max who can make the difference, then Red Bull will be at the back.”
Johnny Herbert said that Verstappen would destroy Antonelli mentally if Antonelli was the number two at Mercedes because he's so young and Verstappen is so dominant. Do you think that's the case?
RP: “No, I don't agree. When I came into Formula One in 1977, I was young, I had Alan Jones, and he became world champion.
“Russell is a top driver already and Kimi has already put pressure on him and sometimes he is quicker than he is. If Verstappen comes, Antonelli will have had one year of Formula One.
“During the winter, he can sleep a little bit and think about the mistakes he made. So he can digest everything, the things he did good, the things he did bad.
“But after one year of Formula One, even if he has Verstappen in the team, he has to deliver a good performance. And if he is not able to cope, then he means that is not good enough.
“It did not take long for Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton to make their mark when they came into Formula One. If you are outstanding and then you make a difference, you need to be ready immediately.”
If Toto gets Max goes and Toto keeps Antonelli, could George go to Red Bull maybe or Aston Martin?
RP: “I hope for him, he can go to Aston Martin. That would be better for him. It is better if he can go with Adrian Newey. So if he does then who is going to go from Aston Martin?
“Alonso could go to Alpine with Briatore. They are very good friends. He could go there, but I think he wants to finish his career on a high, and now that Adrian Newey is there Fernando probably wants to stay there because he knows he can have the opportunity to have a good car in a year or two. So, I don’t think he will be leaving.
“Maybe Lance Stroll could say, ‘OK, I'm tired and I retire.’ I have the impression that life as a Formula One driver is not for him. I think that Lance is there because of his father’s dream. Sometimes I have the impression that he doesn't enjoy being there much.
“He's not that kind of driver that shows he is hungry, really desperate to have the win and to be super competitive. I don't think he has that aggression that is needed to be on the top. So maybe at this stage, he says, ‘Okay, I can retire.’ I don't think for him not to drive a Formula One would be a drama for him.”
How good is Toto Wolf as a principal? He got Lewis to come, and they had many great years. If he can get Verstappen, that says a lot about Toto, doesn't it? And a lot about Mercedes.
RP: “Toto is one of the best for sure. He was fantastic when he had the Hamilton period. I think that he is at the top, definitely. I admire him especially because he chose Antonelli at the beginning when he was a little boy and he decided that he had to be his driver.
“He didn't look around for other drivers and he helped him 100 % and at the end, he also took a bigger responsibility to put him in the car for this year’s championship. So for this I respect him a lot.”
And in terms of Horner, what does he do next? Could Ferrari get rid of Fred Vasseur and could Horner go to Ferrari?
RP: “There has been a lot of criticism of him because of their results, and they are up and down and do not have consistency. But after the storms and the tornadoes at Ferrari I think the air is getting better. It looks like thatat the moment everything is sleeping about Vasseur. The speculation has stopped.
“Horner is very good, but I think that all the stories from last year would be a problem. He can put on the table his record over the last 20 years. He has a very good pedigree. But one year on they are still talking about this story.
“I'm a friend of Christian Horner and sent him a message of support and I think that he is a very good team principal. I think he's able to do the job, but Ferrari wants to have an image and not many distractions. This is my opinion.”
All the reports suggest that the Mercedes power unit for next year is going to be really good. And if Max goes, could that be another golden era for Mercedes
RP: “If they are able to build the new programme as they did the last time from 2012 with Lewis Hamilton, with a power unit that is better than anybody else, I think they can have another golden era. But for us who watch Formula One, I hope that somebody else has the possibility to do the same and can challenge them and that there are other teams who can show that they have the power to compete at the top level.
“Otherwise, as it was in the past, we could again have some years where Mercedes is dominating. I hope that Honda can do the job, that Ferrari can do the job! Hamilton was fantastic, in the same league as Senna and Schumacher. I think he's in good shape. I think he wants to win the eighth championship.
“He is in a car that is not very competitiveat the moment, especially against McLaren. For sure Ferrari has some problems in the organisation, because it's not possible that they go well once and then the next time they don’t go well.
“But with the experience Lewis has because he worked with Mercedes many years. I think internally he can give the team the right advice to say, ‘Look, this thing we are doing good, this thing we are doing right. Let's try to make it better.’ Someone as experienced as Lewis can help the development of how to make all the team work better to have a better car.”
Looking at McLaren, Norris has had a good few races after Piastri was going well. Do you think the dynamic has changed now in favour of Norris over Piastri?
RP: “Until two races ago Verstappen could have been a danger to them. And from the management point of view, it could have been dangerous to let them race free. But now that Verstappen cannot win the championship, we will see a championship until the end with open fighting. So, they can determine their championship inside the McLaren and we will see who is the strongest one.
“The last two races, Lando did a good job. Now he'svery close in points. So everything is open. I don't think that they will give priority to Lando or to Piastri. They will let them free to fight for the championship.”
Between the two who do you think might come out as champion because Norris seems to have changed a little bit. He is learning very fast about what it needs to be to be a champion.
RP: “If we think of what happened in Canada, you think this guy, Lando, cannot be world champion because he really made a mistake of a rookie driver. The misjudgment was very big.
“Since then he has had two very good races. They are both very young. They can both make mistakes. Soit's difficult now to say who is going to be the champion because at Silverstone, even Piastri made a big mistake because the restart really was a bad mistake.
“Apart from the distance of the safety car, you are in a situation where you are the leader. You cannot break and slow down nearly to zero with 20 cars behind and the visibility was also not perfect. And it could have been a big, big problem for safety. But it is not often that Piastri makes a mistake. I thought that Piastri could have been the best because he looked a bit stronger in his mind, not because of the speed, because Lando has fantastic speed.
“Lando has learned quickly. You can calm your head, you can make your head work better in a very short time, I think. After his bad mistake as it was in Canada, Lando could have been destroyed completely, but then he has recovered very well. That also is good to give more self-confidence, because self-confidence is also very important in this case.”
So, you think maybe Norris could now go on to win?
RP: “It could be yes. I like both of them. I don't know them. So, it's difficult to say I prefer Norris, or I prefer Piastri.”
Were you pleased for Hulkenberg to be on the podium?
RP: “Very much, becauseI think hedeserved it. Ten years ago, he could have been one of the guys who went to the top of Formula One. Everyone has always respected his ability. He also doesn't have the best car.
“Every time he came back, he was always there performing well. I think he showed in the last two years that he can be really very good. But in a race as complicated as it was Silverstone, he showed his ability and I think he deserved the podium, and I think also for him it is a fitting reward.”
What about Colapinto, who seems to be under pressure now with suggestions that Briatore may bring in Bottas?
RP: “Anything can happen with Briatore. From my point of view, Briatore is like a bomb that can explode at any minute; a Second World War bomb that you discover in some places around the world which goes off. With Colapinto not performing and making accidents, he can have a problem with Briatore who won’t help with a driver’s morale. So Colapinto in this moment is not safe.”
There are reports that Mohammed Ben Sulayem may be challenged for the presidency because there's people thinking that he is too much of a dictator. What's your opinion about him? And do you think there should be a change at the top?
RP: “Yes, I think so. I would like to see a Formula One that comes back a little bit to the old times.
“I think the rules should be reviewed to have a sport with more free space for the drivers in driving, and in fighting and in talking. But unfortunately, this president doesn't want the fights, doesn't want the talk, he wants to have everything in his hands. So maybe a new president, one that can better understand motor racing, would be good. We have this Formula One where there are penalties if you say something wrong.”
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