Lunch With… Karting Intervened When He Was 12
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iccardo Patrese is an enigma. He was once seen as the Bad Boy of Formula 1, arrogant and wild, and so disliked by some of his fellow drivers that they threatened a boycott if he were Rallowed to race. Yet he remained in F1 for an extraordinary 17 seasons and 256 Grands Prix, a record until Rubens Barrichello topped it in 2008. Now he’s remembered not just as a talented and determined racer, but as a loyal team player and a man of integrity. In short, one of Formula 1’s rare gentlemen. He still lives in Padua, the historic town in Northern Italy where he was born 56 years ago. The owner of the restaurant where we lunch, like half of Padua apparently, is a Patrese fan, and pictures of his greatest races adorn the walls. He’s always been a racer. As a boy he swam to competition standard, and could have represented his country as a skier had not Lunch with… karting intervened when he was 12. At once he showed real talent, winning races and national titles until, in 1974 at Estoril, he won the World Championship. Runner-up that year was a Rome-based teenager called Eddie Cheever. “Once I was champion that was the finish of riccardo karting, and my mother, a language professor, was very relieved. Now I could go to university and be a normal boy. But a Formula Italia team had seen me karting and got in touch with my father, offering me a car. My mother was not paTreSe happy: she knew my studies would suffer again. His Formula 1 career lasted a remarkable 17 seasons, But my father said, ‘One more year, then he can during which there were some dark moments go to university.’ So I did Formula Italia for a season, came second in the championship. but also six well-deserved wins. And through it all, Bruno Giacomelli beat me: he had more Patrese emerged as one of the good guys experience. But I had a lot of poles and I won some races. Then, again, I was going to stop. By Simon Taylor “But Pino Trivellato came to me. He had just taken the Chevron concession for Italy, and he it started to rain and, driving sensibly on his thought if he could put a young driver in an F3 slicks, he slipped to third. His first win came Chevron and win a few races he would sell some two weeks later at Zandvoort. That year he cars. My first F3 race was at the old Nürburgring, won the European F3 Championship, and the 23 kilometres, and I had never seen it before. Italian title as well. We arrived on Tuesday, to learn the track in our For 1977 Riccardo moved up to a Formula 2 road car. But it was booked for the week by a Trivellato Chevron. He led the Easter Monday tyre company, and we weren’t allowed to drive Thruxton race until slowed by a misfire and round. So I said, ‘OK, let’s look at the first bit.’ then, at the Nürburgring again, he galvanised My friend and I, we walked down the first hill everyone by taking pole in 7min 15.3sec, almost and up the other side. I was writing down notes two seconds clear of local hero Jochen Mass. about everything, like a rally navigator. And we He led the race, only to spin off under pressure kept going. After four hours we said, ‘Now we from Mass, but the point had been made. should go back.’ But by then it was as quick to In the Shadow F1 team, Franco Ambrosio’s go on as go back, so we walked on. I think the sponsorship required the second driver alongside lap took us about eight hours. Then I went to Alan Jones to be Italian. But the incumbent, bed and read through my notes, over and over.” Renzo Zorzi, was proving slow. Jackie Oliver It worked. Against the cream of Europe’s F3 and Alan Rees of Shadow heard about the drivers Riccardo qualified third, finished a close Nürburgring F2 race, and got in touch. “It was second in Saturday’s national race, and led the Thursday, and Alan says, ‘Would you like to Sunday’s European Championship round. Then James Mitchell try F1? We have a day’s test at Paul Ricard 84 l u n c h w i T h . on Monday.’ I did about again to the organisers, ‘If Patrese races, we 200 kilometres at Ricard, don’t race.’ They were champions, Andretti was and half of it was wet. at his home Grand Prix, I was a nobody. So I Then they say, ‘OK, this went into the town of Watkins Glen, got a weekend we go to Monaco.’ hearing with the local judge and stated my case. A little bit strong, to do my The judge ruled that nobody could stop me first F1 race there.” doing my work, and gave me a piece of paper Riccardo qualified his saying that. When I got back to the circuit, Shadow 16th, less than half Jackie Oliver said, ‘Riccardo, we are a new a second slower than team-mate Jones, and team, we are under some pressure here. So we finished ninth, lapped only once by Jody have withdrawn your entry.’ That was it, I could Scheckter’s winning Wolf and Niki not race. A week later, at Montréal, nobody was Lauda’s Ferrari. This fine drive saying anything now. I finished fourth. confirmed his place in the Shadow “When somebody is killed in Italy they have team, but he found it a daunting a legal process, and both I and the starter, experience. “I was 23, shy, very Gianni Restelli, were accused of the culpable closed into myself. I didn’t speak homicide of Ronnie Peterson. In my case the English very well, and I found it process went on for three years. It was very difficult to communicate with F1 unpleasant, but in the end the judges said there people and with journalists. That shyness was seen by many as Clockwise from above: the arrogance, which it was not. And the first F1 win, following a well-established drivers tried to fraught final few laps at intimidate me. That first weekend in Monaco ’82; with de Angelis, Monaco, every time one of the Gordon Murray (centre back) seniors was coming close I had to and the difficult BT55; sharing slow down and give them room, and a Lancia Beta with Walter when they came past they kept giving Röhrl in the ’79 Brands Hatch me the finger. They didn’t like young Six Hours; leading at Thruxton newcomers. When I had been in F1 a in ’77 – star turns in F2 that long time and a new driver came along, I would “The first Arrows was built in seven weeks, season led to F1 break with always try to be friendly with him, make him at and when we flew it to its first race in Brazil it Shadow; 1989 brought home. In the 1970s it was not like that.” hadn’t turned a wheel, because Silverstone was Renault power to Williams, Riccardo did eight more GPs that year, under 10cm of snow. In practice in Rio the fuel but also bad luck – in Canada qualifying sixth at Monza, and scoring his first wouldn’t pick up unless the tank was half full, a loose undertray cost victory; point in Japan. He still had his contracted F2 so I qualified with heavy tanks, and in the race I in the Arrows A1B at Monaco races for Chevron, too. “I went from the had to stop for more fuel, but I finished 10th. So ’79; as a shy F1 newcomer Japanese GP to the F2 Donington, then straight we knew that when we got the fuel system right with Shadow, Patrese back to Japan for the F2 Suzuka, which I won, the car would be quick. And it was. Second race, struggled for acceptance; on All images LAT and then on to Macau, which I won as well. By the South African GP at Kyalami, by lap 27 I winning form for Williams at now my mother had waved the white flag, and was in the lead. It was a fantastic day, because Portugal ’91; Alfa years were Champion Mario was no fault for me. Some more photos were accepted that I wasn’t going to do my degree.” it was only the team’s second race. I stayed in a disaster, but a return to Andretti, plus former found later that had been taken from the top of front until, with 14 laps to go, the engine blew. In those days the job of starting an F1 race well clear of the McLaren when he had Brabham saved his career champions Hunt, the tower at Monza, and they showed very eanwhile Jackie Oliver had A very big disappointment.” was usually given to a local official. The man at to move left as the track narrowed. Lauda and Emerson clearly that I was well ahead when the accident fallen out with Shadow boss The Arrows was in the points at Long Beach that year’s Italian GP switched on the red light, Photographic and video evidence later confirmed Fittipaldi, and soon-to-be champion Scheckter, happened. But James Hunt never changed his Don Nichols and left to set and Monaco, and was lying second at Brands and then the green, much too early, while the this.