Riccardo Patrese

Patrese in his Williams overalls (1989)

**Riccardo Gabriele Patrese** (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from 1977 to 1992. He is the most experienced F1 driver in history, with 241 races from 242 entries. Patrese also competed at the World Sportscar Championship for the Lancia factory team, finishing runner-up in 1982 and collecting eight wins.

## Early life and career

Patrese began driving karts at the age of nine. Growing up near the Italian Alps, he was also a competitive swimmer and was selected for the Italian national ski team as a teenager. In 1974, he won the Karting World Championship at the Estoril circuit, finishing ahead of teammate and future F1 driver Eddie Cheever, who finished second. The following year, he was offered a seat in Formula Italia, where he finished second to another future F1 driver, Bruno Giacomelli. He advanced to Formula Three in 1976, winning both the Italian and European titles. The following year, he advanced to Formula Two before making his Formula One debut in the middle of the season.

## Formula One career

### Shadow and Arrows (1977–1981)

He made his début with the Shadow racing team, sponsored by Italian businessman Franco Ambrosio, at the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix, replacing Renzo Zorzi. Later that year, he earned his first point at the Japanese Grand Prix. Later that year, Jackie Oliver, the team's leader, and sponsor Ambrosio left Shadow to form the Arrows team. Patrese and Shadow teammate Alan Jones both received offers from the Williams team for 1978; however, while Jones joined Williams, Patrese joined Arrows with Rolf Stommelen. Shadow later sued Arrows, claiming that Arrows had stolen the design of the Shadow DN9 and were essentially running a DN9 under a different name. The court agreed, forcing Arrows to design and build a completely new car, the Arrows A1, the first in the Arrows F1 bloodline.

Patrese almost won Arrows' second race, the South African Grand Prix, in 1978, but engine failure forced him to retire 15 laps from the finish. He then finished second in the Swedish Grand Prix, trailing Niki Lauda's Brabham BT46B "fan car" in its final race before being withdrawn. His driving style, however, was perceived as overly aggressive by some established drivers, including Ronnie Peterson and James Hunt. Patrese's reputation for aggressive driving was blamed for a major incident on the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix later that year. One of the causes suggested was a premature start by the Monza race director, which resulted in cars at the back of the field catching up to those in the middle of the field who had been completely stopped when the green signal was given. Having said that, Patrese, Peterson, and 8 other drivers were involved in a 10-car pile-up before turn one, causing the race to be stopped. Peterson died the day after the Grand Prix from an embolism, despite the fact that his injuries from the chain reaction wreck were not life-threatening.

By the next race, the United States Grand Prix, five top drivers - Hunt, Lauda, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Jody Scheckter - had declared that they would not compete unless Patrese was banned. Although Patrese later stated that he obtained a ruling from a local judge in Watkins Glen stating that the ban violated his right to work, Arrows decided to withdraw his entry due to pressure from the organisers and the FIA. He returned to racing the following race, the Canadian Grand Prix, finishing fourth.

For years after the crash that killed Peterson, Hunt (along with other drivers) blamed Patrese for causing the accident, and viewers of Hunt's Formula One commentaries on BBC Television from 1980 onward were regularly treated to bitter diatribes against Patrese when the Italian appeared on screen. Patrese claimed that his muscling past caused the McLaren driven by Hunt and the Lotus driven by Peterson to collide, but Hunt claimed that he was already well ahead of the pair before the accident. Patrese and race director Gianni Restilli were charged with manslaughter in Peterson's death in an Italian criminal court. On October 28, 1981, both were found not guilty.

Patrese's most notable performances for Arrows came at the United States Grand Prix West in Long Beach, where he finished second in 1980 and took pole the following year before being forced to retire due to a clogged fuel filter.

### Brabham (1982–1983)

Patrese joined Brabham in 1982 and won his first race, the Monaco Grand Prix, in sensational circumstances. Patrese took the lead after Alain Prost crashed out, only to spin on the next lap in dampening conditions. Ferrari's Didier Pironi now led, however his battery had not been fully charged prior to the race, and the engine began to misfire on the final lap, eventually stopping in the tunnel. Andrea de Cesaris then ran out of fuel before passing Pironi, while Derek Daly, the next leader, had already lost his Williams' wings in a collision and injured his gearbox, which froze up before he could begin the last lap. Patrese, who had managed to restart his car by sliding downhill and bump-starting, came through to win his maiden Formula One race, with Pironi, de Cesaris, and Daly finishing second, third, and sixth, respectively. Later that year, he led the Austrian Grand Prix before retiring due to engine failure. Patrese finished tenth overall, just ahead of teammate, reigning World Drivers Champion Nelson Piquet.

The 1983 season proved to be more difficult. Patrese crashed out late in the race while leading in San Marino, much to the delight of the *tifosi*, handing the race win to Ferrari driver Patrick Tambay. In a later interview, he said he suspected his engine had been left in qualifying trim, rendering it extremely powerful but fragile, because he had not been offered a new contract for the following year, and had been reluctant to sacrifice his chances of winning his home Grand Prix for teammate Nelson Piquet, who was fighting for the World Championship. Despite winning his second race at the season finale South African Grand Prix, Patrese finished ninth, while Piquet won his second Drivers' Championship. He wouldn't return to the top step of the podium for another eight years.

### Alfa Romeo (1984–1985)

A move to Alfa Romeo in 1984 resulted in two lacklustre seasons, eight world championship points, and a single podium appearance at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix. Patrese and teammate Eddie Cheever were hampered by cars equipped with Alfa Romeo *890T* V8 turbo engines that proved too thirsty for the amount of fuel allowed (220 litres (58 US gallons)). Both drivers frequently drove good races to finish in the points, only to run out of fuel two or three laps from the finish, dropping them out of contention. Indeed, Patrese's third-place finish at Monza in 1984 (to date, Alfa Romeo's final podium finish in F1) came at the expense of Cheever, who was denied a podium finish when his car ran out of fuel six laps from the finish.

Their cars also hampered the pair. The Alfa Romeo 184T was fast in qualifying, but due to fuel restrictions, it was well off the pace in most races. The 1985 car, the 185T, was even less competitive, and the team replaced it halfway through the season with an updated version of the 184T (dubbed the 184TB). Despite the fact that the updated car was faster, results were not forthcoming. Patrese has described the 185T as "the worst car I ever drove".

Patrese's former teammate Nelson Piquet began his 14th lap and was attempting to lap Patrese as they crossed the start/finish line at the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix. When the cars collided, Patrese spun out while Piquet lost suspension. Patrese then hit the wall and collided with Piquet, knocking both drivers out of the race.

### Return to Brabham (1986–1987)

Patrese returned to Brabham in 1986, this time with fellow Italian Elio de Angelis, but the team had run its course and would never again take a driver to victory in a grand prix. Two more winless seasons followed, despite the team's BMW engine being considered the most powerful on the grid at the time. Despite the trials of uncompetitive machinery, Patrese never publicly chastised the team and earned the respect of his peers for his professionalism.

### Williams (1988–1989)

This section is incomplete. If you'd like to help, please add the relevant information.

## Formula One Statistical Overview

### Wins

 2
 3

### Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in **bold** indicate pole position; races in *italics* indicate fastest lap)

Notes

* † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Up until 1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (see list of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
2. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>*FIA Year Book of Automobile Sport 1979*. Patrick Stephens Ltd. white p. 39. ISBN 0-85059-320-4.
3. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Birthday's today". *The Telegraph*. 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2014. Mr Riccardo Patrese, former racing driver, 58
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Biography. rpatrese.net.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Widdows, Rob (November 2007). "Patrese: more sinned against than sinning?". *Motor Sport*. pp. 98–101. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Taylor, Simon (May 2010). "Lunch with... Riccardo Patrese". *Motor Sport*. pp. 84–90. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Monza Defendants Cleared in Fatal Crash". *The Tampa Tribune*. 1981-10-29. p. 74. Retrieved 2019-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ↑ Throwback: Piquet and Patrese's dramatic exit from the 1985 Monaco GP. *Fox Sports*.