Riccardo Patrese ahead of the Monza GP: “Antonelli is revered, Leclerc and Ferrari will win!”

In 2019 at Monza, Charles Leclerc achieved what no one had managed since Michael Schumacher in 2006 – victory in the Royal Park! In 2024, the Monegasque driver Leclerc repeated his triumph at Monza, and long-serving Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese is convinced that Charles is now due for his third Monza victory.

Patrese, 72, who finished runner-up in the World Championship in 1992 and is a six-time Grand Prix winner, spoke to the Vision4Sport website about the situation ahead of the traditional Monza weekend: “It would, of course, be wonderful if championship leader Kimi Antonelli were to become the first Italian to win at Monza since 1966. Other Italians have tried, such as Michele Alboreto and myself, but none of us has won since Ludovico Scarfiotti sixty years ago! A new Italian Grand Prix winner at Monza – that would be fantastic for the country.”

Clearly, the Tifosi are torn between their love for Ferrari and their admiration for Antonelli. Patrese says: “Kimi is very, very popular in Italy, but the fans are also very surprised because Antonelli has become so good so quickly. No one would have expected an Italian driver to be in contention for the World Championship title at such a young age.”

“Fans in Italy are split between Antonelli supporters and Ferrari supporters! It’s been so long since Ferrari won here with an Italian driver that young fans in Italy tend to support Kimi rather than Ferrari. The new generation is fully behind Antonelli.”

Riccardo Patrese

Foto: XPB

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“Kimi is a very friendly and courteous person. He’s nice to everyone. Even Ferrari fans would be delighted if Kimi won at Monza. In my day, it was all about Ferrari; nobody cared whether I won or lost, because it was all about Ferrari.”

Nevertheless, Patrese, who has competed in 256 Grand Prix races, is tipping a different driver to win at Monza in 2026. Riccardo: “We know who the strongest driver-car combination is at the moment, and that’s Kimi in the Mercedes and Lando in the McLaren. But Monza is unique. Charles Leclerc loves this circuit, where he’s already won twice. So I’d predict that Leclerc will win, Lando Norris will finish second and Kimi Antonelli third.”