Road To China | 1000th Gp. MINARDI “Proud to have taken part in 340 Gp with the Minardi Team”

What sort of grand prix will Shanghai be? This is the question that many fans and experts have been asking since the first two rounds in Australia and Bahrain showed two markedly different potentials, even if, in the end, the result was the same. Two wins for Mercedes, first with Bottas and then with Hamilton and only a third place for Ferrari with Leclerc.

For Ferrari the Chinese Grand Prix will be an appeal for verifying whether they have really identified and solved the problems of reliability that ruined the celebration in Sakhir and which is the real Ferrari; the one we saw in Melbourne that suffered a major gap from its direct rivals or the “red” that won the front row of the grid two weeks ago and subsequently dominated the race with the driver from Monaco up to 10 laps from the chequered flag.

Last year Ferrari did very well with Raikonnen’s third place and I hope that this Sunday too it can repeat the result by taking this season’s first win. It will be a tough grand prix for the cars in which the engines, tyres and brake systems will be put to a hard test.

Formula 1 will cut the ribbon of 1,000 grands prix. This is an important result, of which Minardi took part in 340 rounds, 34%. This result makes me proud,, also because as of today the Minardi Team is the ninth team with the most races, behind, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Lotus, Tyrrell, Brabham, Sauber and Renault. We will tell a part of these 340 grands prix in Imola on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28, April at the fourth edition of the Historic Minardi Day, together with many friends, drivers and engineers and the newest recruits who are taking their first steps in the world of karting. There will be a parterre of high calibre cars and drivers. We are now at the last stages and we are fine tuning the final details to excite and entertain the enthusiasts who will come to visit us.

I will be waiting for you at Imola Circuit and we will be in touch again on Sunday to comment, I hope, another exciting race.

Gian Carlo Minardi