Patrese: “Antonelli as arrogant as Verstappen, Senna and Schumacher, he stunned Russell”

The former driver has no doubts George Russell invoked bad luck to explain a situation that is now not simple in the standings and objectively on several occasions Lady Luck turned her back on the English driver, but it is clear that Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s start to the season has surprised everyone, first and foremost his teammate. The Italian driver has won the last four races and is 43 points ahead of Russell in the Drivers’ standings. Above all, Antonelli in Canada could perhaps have been satisfied and managed the situation, but instead in both the Sprint and the GP he attacked his teammate without any hesitation and without the fear of putting the team result at risk. In the Sprint Antonelli had to ‘lick his wounds’, while in the GP Russell’s technical knockout put an early end to the tug-of-war, but it seemed clear that Antonelli had more. “I’m sure it’s a surprise to George that Kimi started the season so well with four consecutive victories – said Riccardo Patrese reached by the F1 Hospitality provider Vision4Sport which in partnership with the BWT Alpine team offers an exclusive Monaco yacht experience – I don’t know how he can handle this situation on a mental level, he was taken aback. I understand his frustration, but he can’t give up after so few races. Maybe the next race Antonelli will break the engine.” The arrogance of champions Patrese also underlined that Antonelli is demonstrating that he also has the arrogance of champions and not just talent: “He is no longer shy, and now sometimes he is even arrogant. But you have to be like this. Verstappen is like this. In the past, drivers like Schumacher and Senna have been like this. I knew he could reach this level, but probably no one expected him to win four Grands Prix in a row, and he is getting stronger and stronger.” Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-06-01 21:45:00