Speaking exclusively to Listofsweepstakescasinos.com, six-time F1 Grand Prix winner and 1992 World Drivers’ Championship runner-up, Riccardo Patrese, was full of praise towards Max Verstappen, labelling the Dutchman as one of the few drivers in Formula 1 history who can win without the best car.
Patrese also suggested Verstappen should follow in the footsteps of Adrian Newey and join Aston Martin. The Italian has claimed that Zak Brown needs to prioritise Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris because the Australian is more consistent and cool than the Brit.
The 71-year-old reminisced about his times he drove with Michael Schumacher and predicted that the German is a man of action – he would not have a team principal role in the sport he once conquered.
Read the full interview below:
Question: What was Michael Schumacher really like? You were the experienced veteran when he came in. What was he like as a person? Was there anything that made you think he would go on to be such a success?
Riccardo Patrese: “His attitude, because of course I was the senior and he was the young coming driver, he always wanted to listen to what I was saying. He wanted to learn everything he could very quickly from my words because he thought this guy has 17 years in Formula One on his shoulders. I needed to listen to him to learn more things. And that was his attitude all through the season. He was quick, very quick. But at the same time, he was respecting me a lot. And I remember once we were changing the motorhome together. We were discussing things.
“I said to him, look Michael, I see something that you are doing that is very special and I drove with other world champions, Pique, Mansell, Alan Jones, but I can see that you have something special and very probably you are going to be one of the greatest of this motorsport. He was looking at me with curiosity about my feelings about motorsport. He was doing special things.
“I came to Benetton in 1993 after the first World Championship with Williams, with Nigel Mansell champion.
“I didn’t meet Michael all the winter because he didn’t come to testing. He had some problem in his knee. So anyway, the first test that was in Silverstone at the end of February. We met and we started to work together. And I remember very well the impact that it gave to me was very impressive.
“You know, Silverstone in February at 10 o’clock in the morning with all the drizzling. It’s horrible English weather. The track was dry, but you know, a little bit of fog. So after the first laps to check the car, we start. Because it was an official test where all the teams were there.
“We started pushing a little bit but there was not really a reason to be super super quick. Everybody was checking the new cars so you know the season was starting. After one hour of this, on a day that didn’t look as brilliant as a July day for example, Michael did a time that really impressed me.
“It was, I remember, something like 24.8 and all the rest of us, I was two seconds lower myself but all the other teams too. So the first impact he had with me in the same team was that he was unbelievably quick. And then we had the first telemetry that was coming in and so I went to check why it was so quick.
“You remember the bridge corner after Abbey, the old bridge corner, usually you could do flat in good condition, qualifying condition, good temperature. And I did that in the Grand Prix of the previous year with Williams, but that was in qualifying, but not in February with this kind of weather and he was flat through that corner all the time. I said this one has something special and he proved it in the years that followed.”
Is it true that Michael Schumacher’s people paid a million dollars to get a copy of your contract when they were deciding about salaries and conditions?
RP: “Well, this is a story that can be true and can be not for sure. I think I had the situation that I came as a first driver but at the same time I think he had a contract that he had to equal my contract.
“I think his manager Billy Weber thought that in 1993 there was something that didn’t match from his point of view and I think he went to discuss this with Flavio Briatore.”
What did the sport lose with Michael’s injury? He was such a fantastic figure for the sport, then he had the skiing accident and now for some it feels like a case of what he could have been? A team principal? Could he have been a TV pundit? How could he have continued in the sport?
RP: “I don’t know, I think that he was a very sporting man and he liked adrenaline. I went on to do ski races because I liked skiing or even show jumping with the horses because I needed adrenaline so when he stopped, if you remember, he started to do the jumps with the parachute and then he wanted to race bikes so I don’t know what he could do but for sure something with action.
“He was a person that liked sport generally and action too. Maybe he could have continued in motorsport also because of his son, Mick, that is racing and probably he could help him in his career. but it’s difficult to know where he could be now or if he’s commentating or other things.
“I know nothing but from the first moment of course I was in very good connection with Michael because of the national team of drivers for soccer for charity. He was coming and playing soccer with this team that we were doing. We are still doing it for charity. He was the captain of the team. When I left, I gave to him the armband of the captain and he was really very happy to do it. First of all, he liked football a lot. So because of that, he was an enthusiast about the games. And because of that, we always kept in good contact.
“Then he had the accident. That is a very sad moment. You know that sometimes if they hear, some boys wake up, that they recognise a voice. I asked Corinna if they wanted me to go there and try to help if I could. Well, if I could, I would have but they said no, thank you. It’s not the moment. It’s not the moment. But that moment has never come.”
Which driver today reminds you of yourself in your heyday? With your passion, your aggression, your speed?
RP: “I never like to do these things even when I went to Formula One and everybody was asking me who inspired you? I said no, I would like to be myself and I will do what I am able to do. It’s not a question to copy anybody. I think drivers of today they are the same. I think that everybody has his personality. It’s difficult to say. I think I was a driver like that.
“But I remember because you know I had the problem for my aggression at the beginning of the season, the Monza accident and all these stories from the senior drivers. When Verstappen came and he was was really trying hard to get his place in front and he had a criticism about this, in that particular moment of his career when he wanted to be quick and win if possible, it reminds me of me and the criticisms I had at the beginning of my season.
“From there I cannot compare with Verstappen because he’s already a big, big champion. He’s one of those champions that I put in a super league where they can do the difference even if they don’t have the winning car in their hands.”
Is he the driver you most respect and admire now of the current generation that fought four championships and carries Red Bull by himself at times?
RP: “That is what I mean. At this moment, he doesn’t have the best car but you can see he is always dangerous to win the races. And that is what I mean, that these drivers can make a difference, as Michael could do it, as Ayrton could do it in my career.
“In those days there were great champions but we had to also be a lot of test drivers. People like Lauda or Prost for example, they won championships, they were fantastic drivers but I should say that they were very good at building the programme, to build the car, a winning car and then they could win with a dominant car that they had built anyway.
“Michael and Ayrton, I could see sometimes they had a car that was not the dominant car, but they could go for pole position and win and even try to fight for the championship. This happened to Michael in the first part of the Ferrari period. I think he was fighting with Villeneuve in the Williams, for example, for the championship, but he didn’t have the car as good as Villeneuve in those days. And Verstappen, I think, is like this. He’s the only one that I see at the moment that can be at the same level.”
There’s lots of rumour and speculation about Verstappen’s future. Will he stay at Red Bull? What do you think he might do and what do you think he should do?
RP: “What he should do, I don’t know. It’s difficult because sometimes even myself I didn’t know what to do. You know sliding doors in my life I had some opportunities that if I went in another direction maybe I had chances to fight for the championship. And I chose a different thing, so the end didn’t work out in the right way.
“We are talking about Verstappen so I don’t know what he should do also because technically I think at the moment who knows what is the best power unit and so if I have to choice the man I choose Adrian Newey. I work with him and I know how good he is to put together a new programme.”
What is unique about Adrian? Everybody says he can find a tiny little difference that makes the difference.
RP: “Well, first of all, he’s fantastic at aerodynamics. When he were at Williams, he came because he was special for aerodynamics. And then had the possibility to work with Patrick Heller, and the two together, they made the Williams of those years. Now he’s able to manage all the programme for a Formula One car.
“That is a big difference from 40 years ago because maybe the team was under 100 persons, now you have maybe 2000 people in a Formula One team that you form in groups of engineers so you need also to be able to put everything together.
“Adrian has an eye that he goes around the paddock, the boxes and he can see the small details of the other cars to find a good solution for his car but of course he is the best anyway to find this kind of solution himself.
“So when you talk about where Vertappen could go, sure he has a very good connection with Adrian and money and Aston Martin is not a problem. At the end it could be a solution if he wants to leave Red Bull. But for sure he has more news about the engines because at the end also the power units next year they are going to be different and reliability could be a problem and so on on.
“It’s a very difficult choice to do. Maybe you can stay there in Red Bull and look at what happened the first year of this new car. In any moment I think he can find any place. Because at the moment, everybody would like to have Verstappen.”
Do you think the fact he has 11 penalty points on his licence, that is changing the way he has to drive? Because they cannot afford any more problems than if he misses a race.
RP: “I think that for him it’s not a problem. I think he doesn’t like it because he probably also has a penalty that he didn’t agree to have. And if it happens that he loses the license, for sure he goes in his boat and relaxes for two weeks to wait for the next Grand Prix. I don’t think it’s a drama for him, for sure.
“I think at the moment he is the only driver that thinks sometimes he makes old style fighting and driving as it was in my time. I like this because sometimes he fights as he should be. And also he doesn’t like to keep the mouth closed as you know at the moment everybody wants to close the mouth of the drivers. You cannot say anymore your opinion. Also this I don’t like much because if you say something a little bit different then you get penalties and even you have to go and work in the social media.
“So at the end, I think I like Verstappen because he’s the only one that now is over all this situation that there are a lot of rules, a lot of penalties, you cannot talk and so on. Probably because it feels very strong because he’s a four-time world champion.
“So at the end he says what he wants and he does what he wants and he may be fighting, he loses the license, I think for him it’s not a drama, he wins one race and then he comes back and maybe he wins the next race.
“Formula 1 now is quite different from the time I was. All the sport has changed. Life has changed. So, you know, the philosophy now of Formula 1 is a bit different to the philosophy we had in the 70s, 80s, 90s too.
“If I have a choice I like more what I did in my career with that atmosphere, with that kind of racing that was more genuine, more instinctive. Not many rules from outside that at the moment really, maybe sometimes it’s difficult to understand from my time at least.”
He always talks about he has the wrong passport, you know, as British bias because all the teams are in Britain, except for, you know, except for and that the media in Britain distorts the coverage of the sport. Do you agree with that? Did you find the similarity in your day when James, everyone talks about James Hunt and, know, all that sort of thing.
RP: “Let’s say that, you know, no, I don’t agree with him because of his passport. If he’s Dutch, I don’t think he gave him any trouble during his career. I think the fact that he’s special opens the right doors at the right moment. And he could use all the opportunities he could have. Sometimes with these rules, he doesn’t agree, but I don’t think it’s because he’s Dutch instead of English. Champions usually like winging a little bit. I know very well it’s because I had Nigel in the team that he was winging all the time.”
There’s four teams fighting it out right now so who do you think will be champion? McLaren seem to be the best car but they have Piastri and Norris who could undercut each other in the title race.
RP: “It’s a big problem. It’s crazy, yes, because the problem is that if they let them be free to race, then it’ll happen again, what happened in Canada last weekend. Norris makes a big mistake and crashes. It’s very dangerous because there is always Verstappen in there. If for any reason the Red Bull find the little bit of improvements in the car Verstappen is there and can really give them a lot of trouble.
“With the politics of it that okay you can win or you can win open racing we still have 14 races and that is still a long way to go and let’s say that Red Bull for some reason find an upgrade that works. Verstappen is very dangerous then.”
Who do you think will be world champion this year?
RP: “If you look, really, Piastri looks more consistent, more cool, makes less mistakes than Norris. Norris can be a fantastic in one race, like it was, for example, in Monte Carlo. But it looks that sometimes it feels the pressure more than Piazza.”
So you think Piastri could be world champion this year?
RP: “Difficult to say as I said everything can happen. In Montreal the McLaren cars didn’t look very special. Yes, very competitive but not dominant as it was for example in Barcelona and other places. I don’t know if there is a reason why they went back a little bit because they didn’t like the track for example. Or because somebody else had some improvement like the Mercedes in Montreal.
“It’s true that Montreal has always been a circuit with a difference so maybe also a car that was not fantastic and could go well in that circuit or opposite a car that was very good in medium high speed corner maybe in Montreal was not special. So maybe that could be the story. But we have to check in the next races what happened.
“In Formula One, as it was four years ago, it is still the same. Nobody sleeps. That’s for sure. All the teams, all the teams, they work very hard. It’s enough that you find something very small also. And then you can really have a different car and a more competitive car. We will see.”
If you were Zak Brown, and depending on what the contracts say, would you make a call on who should be number one for the sake of McLaren’s hopes?
RP: “I would put Piastri first. I think he’s a bit stronger in the head than Norris and also he has more points than Norris at the moment.
“The fact that Norris is in front now, then Zak Brown can make a decision because it happened to me in ‘83. I had approximately the same points as Nelson Pique but then I crashed in Aqua Minerali Imola and then we had to fight again with the Renault and the Ferraris.
“At the end they decided because our engine was not very reliable and of course Ferrari and Renault had more experience with the turbo engine. They said okay, Riccardo crashing up the Aqua Minerali, now we need to go with one driver to fight them and decide to give this opportunity to Nelson and they decided that I had to do the work as a tester of new parts of the engine that could test in maybe one Grand Prix earlier to see if they were reliable or not.
“And then they were putting on the Nelson car because of course they could check if they last broke down. So at the end there was this choice and discussion that they decided and it was the right choice because at the end we won the championship with Nelson. They still sacrificed me. Anyway, as a professional driver I accepted it because I was in the team to work for the team.
“So at the end, that was the fourth Grand Prix of the season. Very early in the season. And it worked. Nelson won the championships and I won the last Grand Prix in South Africa and it was a big party at the end of course.”
Are you happy that Briatore is back in Formula One now?
RP: “No. I think he showed his behavior during all these years. In my case it was quite unfair because he was saying after only five or six Grand Prix that he was with Michael, that I was old and I had to go. He had no patience because I was not performing as quick as Michael and he said anybody could be in my place and matching Michael’s performance.
“So underestimating Michael of course, the fact was that then the following season he had to change three drivers to replace me because he had JJ Lehto that he crashed the first test and he broke his back and then he had Jos Verstappen and he was still not happy either. Then he got Johnny Herbert.
“So it was so easy to substitute me that he had to look for three drivers. These three drivers, the speed was not there against Michael because as I said, I knew immediately that he could provide special performances.”
With Cadillac coming into the sport in 2026, does F1 need a successful American team? And who could drive for Cadillac coming in and who should drive? Sergio Perez has been linked.
RP: “Perez? A good driver but Perez I think he’s already done his career. Yes, maybe they need an experienced driver for the project.
“It’s good to have one more team in Formula One. I should have not only one, many more teams. In my time we had 36 drivers that were trying to get into the Grand Prix. We had qualifying to get into qualifying and then six of the qualifying drivers they were staying out. But there were some Grand Prix’s that were 36 cars. That means we had also more Formula One drivers. At least there was a little bit more.
“It was nice to see a grid of 24 cars, and even the fight for qualifying, it was nice to see because sometimes you had, I had the luck that I never missed a Grand Prix. My world champions sometimes they were out of Grand Prix because they were not able to qualify. So at the end it looked like that they don’t well, they don’t want to have as much opposition.
“So one more team is fine, but at least I should have 12, so 24 cars as it was in the past.
“Let’s have three cars per team. This is an idea I always have since my time. Why we don’t have it? Because at the end, what is the cost to have a third car at the same time? Anyway, where you have to go, you have to go. To have one extra car should be nice, more action, more possibility for drivers to go into Formula One.”
