Patrese: “If Verstappen is in Mercedes in 2027 he will have the reigning world champion at his side”

According to Patrese, the title is between Russell and Antonelli After having won four consecutive world titles and having defended the throne to the last meter in Abu Dhabi – still recording the highest number of GP victories in the season, eight – Max Verstappen finds himself in anonymity due to a Red Bull team that is currently very far from the top in terms of competitiveness and performance. “Verstappen is not happy because he knows that Red Bull is far behind the pacesetters – said Riccardo Patrese reached by Grosvenor Casino – even at power unit level Red Bull and Ford have a long way to go”. According to the former driver Verstappen can still potentially land in Mercedes in 2027 (Toto Wolff has dismissed this possibility, while Juan Pablo Montoya is sure that Max has already contacted the Mercedes team principal), but if he does he will have the reigning world champion in the garage because Patrese believes that the world title is a question between George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli: “Kimi and Russell both have the chance to win the championship. One of the two will be world champion this season. If Max wants to go to Mercedes, and I think he will be able to do it because he is still the best driver in Formula 1, at that point whoever his teammate will be the reigning world champion. We will see if it will be Russell or Kimi.”