Patrese: “Antonelli doesn't make mistakes and is the favorite, but reliability can make the difference”

Everything to perfection

The ‘degree’ achieved with full marks by Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Belgian Grand Prix allowed the Mercedes driver not only to defend his championship lead, but even to extend it over his teammate George Russell. Ending up in the gravel after contact with Lewis Hamilton, the Briton is now in third position just behind his Ferrari compatriot, with the gap between the latter and the young Bolognese talent now amounting to 45 points.

The title favorite, but…

An overall impeccable weekend at Spa-Francorchamps for Antonelli, who with his sixth victory equaled another Italian driver like Riccardo Patrese. The driver from Padua, in an interview with New Betting Sites, indicated the 18-year-old as the favorite to win the world title, but he cannot yet be defined as the ‘champion’ for several reasons: “No, I don’t think Kimi is the champion yet. Because, as we’ve seen, reliability can sometimes make a difference, even for Kimi – he explained – Kimi is the favorite, he is in a very strong position, he is in excellent form and the car, when it works, is super competitive. So he is the favorite, but at this point, with 11 races still to go, the gap is not enough for Kimi to say: “Okay, I will be the champion.” It will be interesting to see what happens in the future between him and Russell. Kimi is in a better position than George Russell. Kimi has shown several times that he can be more competitive than Russell. There is a problem for Mercedes: reliability. But Kimi is getting stronger and stronger, he doesn’t make mistakes, he is very fast and his car is fast. That’s why he is the favorite.”

Patrese like Wolff

A growth, from his debut last year to this championship, that has not particularly impressed Patrese, although the latter does not want to exaggerate in making comparisons between Antonelli and the great champions of the past (as team principal Toto Wolff has done on several occasions) or the present: “No, it didn’t surprise me – he continued – before the start of the season, I had said that with a year of experience behind him, Kimi could be very, very strong and competitive. I expected it because he has something that elevates him above a normal ‘good’ champion. I can’t yet say that he is as exceptional as Senna or Schumacher or even Verstappen and Hamilton, because they have many titles to their name. But he is of that caliber. He is in that league. He is a special talent and will be a special champion. He has already shown with six victories and many pole positions that he is truly special. He also needs the luck of a great champion, to be in the right place at the right time, and he certainly had that this season.”

Translated from

Wolff reassures Russell: “We are working to ensure both drivers have the necessary tools to make the most of every GP”