F1 Great Riccardo Patrese explains why he told Kimi Antonelli he had to win a championship this season

It was an incredible run that, it turns out, started with some wisdom from another Italian F1 great, Riccardo Patrese.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.

This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.Patrese competed in F1 from 1977 to 1993, driving for numerous teams like Benetton and Williams, and won six Grand Prix, including the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix while with Brabham.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEF1 great Riccardo Patrese told OutKick about the preseason advice he gave to Mercedes' world champion Kimi Antonelli.(Photo by Bob McCaffrey/Getty Images and Richard Callis/Fotoarena/Sipa USA)"Kimi is a very good friend of my family, and we are friends of Kimi's family as well.

So we’ve known each other very well for a long time," Patrese told OutKick over Zoom, promoting Jackpot City Casino."So in the end, to see Kimi be world champion is a fantastic feeling because, for me, it's like [having] another son."That relationship, coupled with his own 256 Grand Prix starts, made Patrese a perfect person to offer some advice to the young Italian.Riccardo Paterese celebrates his win for Williams at the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix.

(Photo by LAT Images)Advice which centered on the fact that Mercedes came into the year with the best car on the grid."I said to him, ‘Look, Kimi, you have to be really world champion this year because it's an important [year],’" Patrese recalled."Because at the beginning of the season, Mercedes was the best car, the strongest car, and of course ...

you never know if next year it can be the same."THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!Antonelli at least seemed to have taken that to heart because he made the most of Mercedes' early dominance, including a run of five straight wins through the spring.That gave the 20-year-old enough of a points...