Racing in Formula 1 is every driver’s dream, and managing to drive a car even for a single Grand Prix represents the pinnacle of a career. Winning a race, or even a world title, is an achievement attained by only a few drivers in the history of the championship that began in 1950.
Senna, Stewart, Lauda, Mansell, Prost, Alonso, Vettel, Verstappen, Schumacher, and Hamilton are the most successful drivers in history, but over the decades there have also been drivers who won less yet entered the history of the sport – or even legend – such as Fangio and Nuvolari.
Among the drivers who have made Formula 1 history are also Barrichello and Räikkönen, who after Alonso are the ones who competed in the most Grands Prix over their careers. And among them there is also an Italian: Riccardo Patrese, a driver born in Padua, Veneto, who until the last century held the record for races contested and for consecutive years behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.
From 1977 to 1993, Patrese competed in 256 Grands Prix, driving for the Shadow, Arrows, Brabham, Alfa Romeo, Williams, and Benetton teams. He ended his career after 17 consecutive years, achieving 6 victories, 8 pole positions, and 37 podium finishes, as well as second place in the drivers’ standings in 1992 with Williams.
He became one of the most iconic Italian drivers in the history of Formula 1, tied to an era in which the “Circus” was changing rapidly, amid evolving technologies and legendary rivals to compete against. Patrese’s résumé deserves to be told not only through numbers, but also through context: he faced and fought against some of the strongest names in Formula 1 history.
During his career he challenged champions such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell, and in his final years Michael Schumacher, then a young driver destined to dominate F1. This closeness to such different generations of drivers is one of the most fascinating aspects of his story: he experienced Formula 1 of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, a period very different from the modern era from a technical, competitive, and human standpoint. Patrese was not only a protagonist because of his victories and the longevity of his career, but also because of his on-track duels with great rivals.
With Senna they were never “enemies,” but often rivals on track and protagonists of direct confrontations, especially in the early 1990s. The two frequently found themselves in the decisive phases of races, with Patrese often pressuring the Brazilian on the straights and during overtaking attempts, particularly in 1992 at Hockenheim, where Patrese kept Senna under pressure in the final stages of the race without managing to pass him.
With Mansell, on the other hand, he had one of his most technically intense relationships: teammates at Williams during the years of greatest glory (late 1980s–early 1990s), the Englishman was often the “number one,” but Patrese never backed down from the comparison. The 1992 season was the Italian’s best: with a dominant car Mansell won the world championship, but Patrese finished second overall, demonstrating consistency and competitiveness alongside his more famous teammate.
With Michael Schumacher he shared the garage in 1993, the final year of his career: he was in fact the teammate of the young German talent at Benetton, in what was a kind of generational passing of the torch. In addition to these three great champions, Patrese also competed against drivers such as Nelson Piquet and against Italian colleagues with whom he shared races, friendships, and intensely felt rivalries, such as Elio de Angelis, Alessandro Nannini, and Andrea de Cesaris.
Turning to his successes, one of his most celebrated victories was at the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix with Brabham. In a race made uncertain by rain and accidents, Patrese had a bit of luck but above all showed great cool-headedness in managing difficult conditions, earning a victory that over the years has become a symbol of his ability to adapt to unpredictable situations. A spectacular episode, fortunately without serious consequences, occurred at the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix: while trying to follow Gerhard Berger, Patrese touched the McLaren and his Williams took off, literally flying before coming back down near the pit wall.
Patrese is remembered not only for the numbers and records, but for his tenacity, his ability to adapt to countless technical evolutions, and an authentic passion for driving, which led him to become a symbol of Formula 1’s era of great challenges and great names. His career is the story of how a legend is built not only through victories, but also through the moments shared with the greatest drivers of his time.
