Exclusive interview with Riccardo Patrese: Lewis Hamilton can fight Kimi Antonelli for the F1 title

Last update at 16 June, 2026⏲️ Reading time: 15 minutes

EXCLUSIVE WITH RICCARDO PATRESE: Lewis Hamilton can fight Kimi Antonelli for the championship – George Russell doesn’t have ‘top’ ability, I feel sorry for Alonso and Sainz could join Red Bull

Speaking exclusively to BetBrothers reacting to the Barcelona Grand Prix, six-time GP winner Riccardo Patrese believes Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton can compete with his fellow Italian, Kimi Antonelli, for the World Drivers’ Championship.

The 72-year-old believes George Russell won’t be able to compete with the other two in front, as he ‘doesn’t have the top talent’ to keep up.

Patrese expressed his worries for Fernando Alonso, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin as they continue to struggle, and claims the only possible move for Carlos Sainz could be Red Bull.

Read the full interview below:

What a race in Barcelona. Lewis winning the first time in two years. He was very emotional and he admitted he doubted himself at times. But what a result for him, wasn’t it? It was just fantastic.

I am very pleased for him because last year he faced a lot of criticism that I don’t think was fair or justified. Everyone was telling him it was time to retire.

He kept going and I think he gave the right input to Ferrari to improve them. When you are a seven times world champion with all his experience and working with Mercedes who were a winning team anyway. it was crazy not to listen to Lewis and build the team around him.

It became immediately evident at the beginning of the season that there were good signs, and they are improving. Maybe it’s still not a Mercedes, but they are the second force in the championship.

The race in Barcelona was amazing because he started on the front row that he means the car is quick and he is quick. Then he and the team didn’t make any mistakes and at the end they won.

In Lewis’s heart I am sure it has always been a dream to win with a Ferrari. And now he has managed it he must feel a big sense of satisfaction for him.

History shows that not many English drivers won with Ferrari; Surtees, Hawthorne and Mansell. And now Hamilton is a Ferrari winner, and I hope and expect there will be many more. It was the perfect reply to everybody who said they wanted him out. He showed them that he is staying around for a long period. We will see Lewis maybe for the next two, three, four years.

Why do you think Ferrari was Hamilton’s dream team?

When you start to dream to be a Formula 1 driver, the first thing you see is Ferrari, even if you are English, German, Italian or Australian, to be with Ferrari is always a plus because Ferrari is known and adored all around the world.

So, I think he must be a very satisfied man.

What do you think has made the difference? Is it because Vasseur and the team has said yes, Lewis, we understand you, we will listen to you, you are our leader?

Yes. You have to suppose that Vasseur gave the space to Lewis to give his advice and his advice together with the work of the team and all the engineers and the entire organisation has meant all the small pieces of the puzzle have been put together.

At the end this has what has worked. Everything is working so much better at Ferrari now.

Lewis has been on the podium a few times this season. What will winning do for his confidence now at the age of 41?

Yes of course. And when you see how emotional he got on the podium shows how much he has had to suffer before he comes out of his black tunnel.

He is getting back to where he used to be. We must not forget that Hamilton won seven championships and more than a hundred Grand Prix.

And anyway, even if he goes bloody slow as last year, you need to respect him for what he achieved and what he has done. Everybody needs to stay silent and stop telling him what he should do.

The big question is can he win his eighth title this year or maybe next year, especially as Ferrari have got upgrades coming and they’re only going to get better this season, aren’t they?

Ferrari will improve for sure. But so too will Mercedes. Ferrari and Mercedes will both be fighting it out.

I should say though that since the first race the level of improvement made by Ferrari has been better than that of Mercedes. Their quality went higher. Mercedes was already very high in Melbourne.

We still have many races left this season. So, you never know. Never say never. Lewis has definitely got a chance. He may be 40 points behind Kimi but not that much if you think about the number of races to go.

What does this all mean for Charles Leclerc?

If we go back to Monaco, in his interview after the race I was astonished because I couldn’t understand what Leclerc was talking about.

He talked about a problem with the brakes and said Lewis has already had three races using different brakes, and I have a problem with the brakes.

He has been there seven years, and I wonder if he is now having doubts. But if that is the case you have to make choices and if you don’t go in the right direction, it can have a knock on effect on the team.

Do you think he’ll be thinking it is time to consider his future?

Inside his head I think he must also be a little unhappy because he has spent seven years there and never had really an opportunity to go for the championship.

He has had good performance sometimes mixed with some mistakes because the car was not good enough to provide the win. So, he was overdriving and maybe you make a mistake if you drive in that kind of mood. For sure, he is living unsatisfied inside.

But what I’m saying is that sometimes the feeling of the driver in terms of which direction you have to go is also very important. And if you don’t have this or maybe you make the wrong choice, as he declared openly with regard to a different setup of brakes compared with Lewis.

His choices sometimes are not so good. If you don’t make the right choice, then it’s a loss of time and money.

Where do you think Charles could go?

He doesn’t want to leave! He has just signed a new deal. I think he signed forever!

I think that Charles is not lost. He has a fantastic car, a leading car, a winning car, Lewis and Charles. A great team. When Charles really gets back all his strength and mindset then he can be really a big opponent for Lewis. Probably from the speed point of view, he can be a little bit quicker than Lewis.

At this moment Charles’s spirit is down. But now he has to realise and appreciate that Ferrari has a car that can win Grand Prix and he must calm down. If he doesn’t feel happy about aspects of the car he should follow in the direction of Lewis. If you copy him, he will go quicker.

In 1993 Michael Schumacher, who was without doubt very quick, was listening to what I was saying in the debrief about the setup of the car and he was copying my set up. Then he was beating me! Sometimes you have to use the experience of your teammate to perform.

Toto Wolff was saying after Barcelona that he was concerned about the reliability of Mercedes. After the last two races, is he right to be concerned?

He is correct to be concerned about reliability. It gets difficult if you don’t finish a Grand Prix. At this moment Ferrari seems more reliable because the engine doesn’t give any problems.

He has to concentrate to work more on the reliability of the Mercedes. Mercedes has to use their experience to have a more reliable engine.

What has the reaction been in Italy to Ferrari winning?

I love Ferrari a lot especially now that my son Lorenzo is driving for them! I am an Italian, so I am happy that Ferrari won.

We are so used to hearing excuses from Ferrari; it has always been ‘next year, next year!’ People had begun to lose a little faith in Ferrari, hearing the same story every year.

At the beginning of this season nobody expected anything from them myself included. And now they are winning. So, of course, everyone is full of enthusiasm and is very happy.

How do you see the battle between the young pretender Kimi Antonelli and the old sheriff Lewis Hamilton?

This is this is happening now with the new generation of drivers and a new way of driving. It will be great to watch.

When Lewis started it was different from how it is now. It’s so different, It will definitely be very interesting to see the youngster against a 40 year old ‘boy’ because he is still a boy because of emotion.

Of course, the most important thing is that you are in a good and healthy condition and Lewis is. We have seen how the young drivers with talent learn very quickly and manage pressure very well. If Ferrari can continue to match Mercedes for the championship, it will be a very interesting duel.

I really don’t know who the winner will be. I am torn between the two of them. I can’t say whether I prefer Kimi as an Italian or Ferrari with Lewis!

Kimi has had a great start to the season, and everything has gone right for him; but his luck turned in Barcelona, didn’t it? How big a setback might that be for Kimi?

He has won five races in a row and is leading the championship. You have to look forward. He was quick because he was there fighting for the podium. So, there is no drama at all for him.

He knows very well that things can’t be on your side all the time.

But George Russell should be concerned, shouldn’t he? He is slower than Antonelli and is complaining about grip on the tyres. But if he wants to be world champion he has to deal with all these things, doesn’t he? What does it say about him that he is looking for excuses?

I always say excuses go nowhere. It is no good making excuses; it won’t change anything. If the car goes in one way, you have to drive it and adapt to the car.

If he doesn’t have a good feeling, then it means that from the talent point of view, he’s not on the top. An outstanding driver is a driver that can optimise any situation.

In Canada he said, ‘this is not my kind of race, I don’t like the circuit.’ You cannot say a thing like that. There are 24 races in a season.

You have to go with the same aggression at any circuit. And if you don’t like it, you have to work harder to make the circuit suit you. He should shouldn’t really talk too much about this sort of thing because it shows a point of weakness.

Oscar Pistari seems to be in the same situation. He doesn’t like the low grip tires and sees Lando as world champion regularly beating him. Can Oscar recover his mojo this season?

The situation between Lando and Piastri now is that Lando can live in peace because he’s a world champion. Piastri has massive frustration inside because he had the chance last year to be champion and he missed out.

From the emotional point of view there is a huge difference between Lando and Oscar.

We’re now six races into the season, can you see George recovering?

The balance of power is with Kimi. But both drivers have the same chances within the team.

Kimi blew the engine last weekend, who knows, he might blow another engine next race. And then George could come back in the championship. But it won’t be easy for him.

Russell has to keep focussed and remind himself the season is not over yet. But the fact that he looks for excuses, the fact that after Monaco he declared that the championship was over for him, suggests his mindset is not right. There are still many races to go. He can’t give up.

I never gave up in any situation. A real champion never gives up until the last metre of a race.

So, I suggest George makes his mind up to try harder and not to look for excuses because, I repeat, excuses get you nowhere.

And it it’s not a great year for Spanish drivers; Fernando Alonso is having a torrid time at Aston Martin, isn’t he?

I feel very sorry for Fernando. And I am sorry for Adrian Newey who is getting rubbish from the media.

We know how good Adrian can be, but this year unfortunately the project is not working. Alonso is suffering the fallout from this poor technical situation.

I think everything is in Honda’s hands. The main problem is the engine. But we know Honda can be stronger when it solves the problem.

He was saying maybe this is the last time I drive in Barcelona. He is fed up of course. But you never know. One year you are not good, the year after you can have a fantastic Honda engine, Adrina’s car is improved, maybe it is a world championship car.

You have to be careful not to pre-judge because the table can easily be turned around.

And Fernando only has to look at Lewis for inspiration, doesn’t he?

I don’t think he looks to Lewis for inspiration. Fernando wants to be Fernando and Lewis wants to be Lewis.

Fernando has to evaluate his situation, work out what is good for him and then decide what he wants to do.

It must be tough though for Lawrence Stroll and for Aston Martin. He has put so much money and passion into the team and still the results not coming.

Stroll has given everything to have a winning team. He likes to have a winning team under his wing. But now it’s not working. But you know they won’t stop working, they won’t give up. At the moment that they find the right key, then it will be maybe a good period for them. I hope so. But it difficult to predict.

Do you feel that after all the early issues this season F1 has got back into the groove?

Yes, it has. It is setting up the season very well. After the first two races and the joke of overtaking and the safety issues, the races are back to what we like to see. If you must overtake it’s now not because one slows down and the other accelerates.

For me the concept of overtaking from what I know is that you have to be braver than the next driver to get that position.

There were reports from Barcelona that Briatore wants to sign Fernando for Alpine now that Gucci are a main sponsor. What do you make of that?

Well, Briatore is still Fernando’s manager so he would get a percentage of his salary if he was to move!

But apart from that, if you get Fernando in a good team, you still have a very good driver.

You know that I’m not a super fan of Briatore, but he is one of the best at managing a commercial situation.

Do you think the Aston Martin the AMR26B is the answer? And can they improve in the second half of the season as things settle down?

I hope so for my friend Adrian Newey! At the moment the drivers are really suffering a lot.

But it’s very difficult for me to give you an answer because with these new rules, it was quite difficult, even for Honda, to understand how to make a powerful engine that is working at the top level.

I’m not an engineer, so I cannot tell you if Honda can solve the problem in only three, four months or if they need more time.

Carlos Sainz is not having a good year and nor are Williams. Where do you see his future? Will he be looking around or is he going to stick with Williams?

Look around? Where would he go? The top teams are full.

The only thing that could change anything is if Verstappen was to go to Mercedes and then all the doors are open. Then a place in Red Bull becomes free and Sainz could go there maybe.

But at the moment it’s very stationary.