F1 | MEXICAN GP, THE POINT BYGIAN CARLO MINARDI “THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BETWEEN NORRIS AND PIASTRI IS WIDE OPEN. VERSTAPPEN WAS SAVED BY THE MARSHALS”
Lando Norris 357 points against Oscar Piatri’s 356.
The Mexican Grand Prix completely reopened the battle for the drivers’ world championship between McLaren’s drivers. With four races to go – and two sprint races still on the calendar – the two teammates are separated by just one point.
We witnessed one of the most exciting Grands Prix in recent times, enlivened by different strategies and a decisive change of compounds by Pirelli. For the first time, the choice of tyres really had an impact on the result, keeping the verdict in suspense until the last bend.
A perfect Norris
Lando Norris raced one of his best weekends ever, impeccable in qualifying and dominant in the race. His win, with a 30 second lead over Leclerc, was clear-cut and well-deserved.
For Ferrari, second place was an important result: their second consecutive podium and the highest possible outcome at this point in time. A podium earned on the track and defended until the very last lap, with the usual fighting Verstappen right behind them.
Verstappen saved at the first bend
As always, Red Bull’s Dutchman fought tooth and nail. However, at the first bend, he was saved by the marshals; penalties have not been imposed for similar incidents for some time for such incidents, but, in this case, he was already a few metres of the line, with two tyres on the grass.
He was excellent in controlling the car, avoiding contact with the barriers, but if there had been gravel instead of grass, his race would have ended there.
Hamilton and the right penalty
It was a very different situation for Hamilton. I agree with the marshals’ decision: not only did he fail to follow the instructions for returning onto the track, but he also gained ground with that manoeuvre. It is true that following the correct trajectory at that point was not easy and, in any case, anybody would probably have done the same, but seen in this light, the penalty was correct.
Bearman surprised with Haas
It was an excellent performance by Oliver Bearman, fourth across the finish line and fighting for the podium for a long time. It was a valuable result for both the young driver and the American team, which found a high-level weekend once again.
Mercedes confused but Correct
The situation in Mercedes was more chaotic. Russell then gave back the position to Kimi Antonelli, demonstrating great fairness, but these incidents should be managed more quickly: these are decisions that must be taken immediately, without waiting too many laps.
Piastri saved what could be saved
It was a more complicated weekend for Oscar Piastri, who struggled with a very slippery McLaren. Despite the difficulties, he managed to finish in fifth place, limiting the damage.
The world championship is now wide open. The battle between Norris and Piastri is heating up, while Verstappen’s race for the title seems definitively over.
Gian Carlo Minardi



The change of performances that we saw this weekend in Ferrari was completely unexplainable, especially between before and after the sprint race.
The weekend in Singapore officially awarded the title of World Constructors’ Champion to McLaren for the second consecutive year and also saw Mercedes’ win with a fantastic Russell.
We experienced a very interesting Grand Prix, especially in lap times set by the first ten drivers. It was however a race that confirmed how important technology is, but that everything else is decisive.
A fantastic weekend just finished at Monza on both the technical and sporting points of view with the new record set in qualifying by Max Verstappen, which he then converted into a stunning win with a lead of almost 20” over the two McLaren drivers, It will be interesting to see whether this trend, dictated by Laurent Mekies, will continue throughout the rest of the season.
Despite the premises for a possible anomalous grand prix, we saw a lively race marked by three safety-cars, and with many surprises, starting with Piastri’s excellent start and Verstappen’s masterpiece in managing the car that was about to get out of control.
At the Hungaroring McLaren scored its seventh one-two finish of the season, the fourth in a row, demonstrating its overwhelming domination. So far both Norris and Piastri have been the protagonists of a very fair duel, the likes of which we have rarely seen. They knew how to manage any type of strategy in the best way possible, changing them (rightly so) between the two drivers, with Norris earning the win on the track.

Silverstone gave us a race that was as crazy as it was spectacular, marked by many mistakes by teams and drivers, with Ferrari and Mercedes among the protagonists in the negative way.
McLaren put on show all its technical supremacy, giving us a battle between Norris and Piastri that was as good as it was fair, especially in the first 20 laps. Luckily, they were there to entertain us, otherwise there was little to see behind them, except for a few good battles. Their technical advantage is such that the two drivers can battle it out cleanly, and now it seems that they can only lose the races.
Kimi Antonelli’s podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix represents a moment that is as wonderful as it is important for Italian motor racing. This podium came after three hard grands prix for the driver from Bologna, mainly due to reliability problems.
Barcelona gave us some important surprises. Such as Sauber’s fifth place with Hulkenberg, as well as the confirmation of Racing Bulls again in the points zone with the excellent Hadjar, seventh across the finish line.
Monte Carlo is a race that is run on Saturday with qualifying. You can put all the pit stops you want, but the only variables that can possibly change the result are accidents and safety-cars.