F1 | DUTCH GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FROM A POSSIBLE ANOMALOUS GP TO A LIVELY RACE”

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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.

The first four drivers lapped with impressive times, including Hadjar who took third place on the field, starting with his position on the grid, despite the problems that affected the two Ferrari drivers, Norris and Russell.

With Norris’ retirement due to reliability issues, the Australian stashed away twenty-five points in their direct battle. Even without the retirement, Piastri would still have gained, as Norris himself admitted that he would not have gone beyond second place. It is an important result in the battle for the title between the two McLaren drivers, which remains open anyway as we have nine intense races ahead, also considering the possible penalties for the replacement of components, or reliability issues, as we saw today.

Important points for the constructors’ ladder were won by Albon and Bearman, finishing fifth and sixth respectively with Williams and Haas. Hadjar’s third place takes Racing Bulls to only two points behind Aston Martin. The battle is intensifying, as is the one between Ferrari and Mercedes for second place. With the double retirement by the team from Maranello and Russell’s fourth place, the lead of the” red” cars has been reduced to just twelve points.

It was a rookie mistake by Hamilton. After showing signs of recovery during free practice, he was behind Leclerc in qualifying to then drop out from the race.

In seven days, they will go back on track, and we head to Monza amid many unknown factors.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | DUTCH GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “PUSHING FOR TWO PIT STOPS! MCLAREN FAVOURITE BUT KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER”

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As we await the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day scheduled to take place on 13 and 14 September at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit, we look ahead at the fifteenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship which will be held in Holland, at the Zandvoort Circuit, home of world champion Verstappen.

There are several factors that could make this Grand Prix interesting, starting with Pirelli’s choice to bring softer compounds than 12 months ago, aiming at C2, C3 and C4. The impression is that everything is being done to push the teams towards two pit stops, as demonstrated by FIA’s decision to increase the speed limit in pit lane to 80km/hour (compared to the previous 60 km/hour). I find this last choice quite questionable.

As far as the weather is concerned, temperatures are not expected to be particularly high, ranging between 15° and 19°C, with the chance of intermittent rain and rather strong winds over the weekend. It is needless to say that McLaren will be the car to beat but with all these unknown factors it is hard to make predictions.

The battle in the second half of the ladder is always interesting, with four teams very close together. This is very exciting for a fan like me.

In recent days the anticipation of the GP has been heightened by Cadillac’s press release that announced Bottas and Perez as its official drivers. Since this is a new reality, I would have expected a more forward-looking choice, perhaps with a young driver paired with an expert one.

There have also been rumours about the future of Colapinto. The young man must be left to work in peace, and I hope that these weeks off have helped him to regain his composure and to put the mistakes he made during the first part of the season behind him, the last one during a test. Let us not forget that Alpine also has several internal problems to resolve since it is currently the team at the bottom of the table.

Gian Carlo Minardi

AT THE 9TH MINARDI DAY, AN INTENSE PROGRMME IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM WITH PRESENTATIONS OF BOOKS AND AWARDS CEREMONIES

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The intense programme of the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day scheduled for September 13 and 14 at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit continues to grow, as does the incredible fleet of cars

In addition to the intense activity on the track with the exhibitions of extraordinary historical cars including 20 Formula 1 Minardi, Ferrari, Williams, Lotus, Tyrrell, March, Monteverdi, Merzario, Wolf, Fondmetal, Shadow, Arrows, GP2, Formula 2, Formula 3, F3000, Formula Junior, Historic GT, Prototypes that wrote the most important pages of international Motorsport, together with cars from the Scuderia Tazio Nuvolari, Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo, and the Raduno Terre di Romagna (Lands of the Romagna Rally) within the ACI Storico Festival, to the elegance and the technology of Pagani, Dallara, Lamborghini, Pambuffetti and Mazda Hypercars and Supercars, The programme is enriched by many activities within the paddock area, with areas dedicated to numerous activities from the professional simulators, to model cars, the car village and the LEGO® exhibition. Do not miss the presentations of books by the most authoritative names in Motorsport in the Conference Room.

APPOINTMENT IN THE BOOKSHOP – THE PROGRAMME

 Programme for SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER, Imola Circuit, – Conference Room

10.00 to 11.00: Presentation of the book L’ultimo garagista: La storia della Forti Corse raccontata da chi l’ha vissuta (The last gearhead: The history of Forti Corse told by who lived it) by Claudio Maglieri and Gianfabio Forti

11.00 – 12.00: The Alboreto Prize, presented to Max Angelelli

12.00 – 12.50: Presentation of the book Senna, Le Verità (Senna, The Truths) with the author Franco Nugnes

14.30 – 15.30: Presentation of the book Quella volta che… memorie di vita e di corse (The time when…memories of life and races) by Ivan Capelli

15.30 – 16.30: Presentation of the book CRAZY RACERS I “folli” del Motorsport (CRAZY RACERS The “madmen” of Motorsport) by Mario Donnini and new illustrations by Giorgio Serra “Matitaccia”

16.30 – 17.30: Presentation of the book FORMULA 1 2023/2024 La tecnica – Technical insights (FORMULA 1 2024/2024 The technology – Technical insights) (Hot topics 2025) by Paolo Filisetti

17.30 – 18.30: Presentation of the book 5 anni di Formula 1 – 2018 – 2022 Cronache tecnico-umoristiche (5 years of Formula 1 2018 – 2022 technical humorous chronicles) by Herbert Stohr

 Programme SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER, Imola Circuit – Conference Room

9.00 – 10.00: Presentation of the book I primi 50 anni del Club Gilles Villeneuve di Erbè (The first 50 years of the Gilles Villeneuve Club of Erbè) by Stefano Benedetti

10.00 – 11.00: Presentation of the book Ferrari crisi e riscatto. Da Surtees a Hamilton, dissidi, tragedie, flop e grandi trionfi della Rossa in Formula 1 (Ferrari crisis and redemption. From Surtees to Hamilton, disputes, tragedies, flops and great triumphs of the Red Car in Formula 1) by Adriano Cisario

11.00 – 12.00: Presentation of the book Rivivere Ayrton (Reliving Ayrton) by Mario Donnini with the participation of the artist Alessandro Rasponi and the Associazione Tifoseria Ayrton Senna Italia (Italian Association of Ayrton Senna Fans)

12.00 – 12.45: Press conference with Gian Carlo Minardi

14.30 – 15.30: Presentation of the book Parole di corsa (Racing words) by Emiliano Maria Savini

15.30 – 17.30: Presentation of the book Un’estate lunga dieci anni – L’avventura della Scuderia DIEMME (A ten-year summer – The adventure of the Scuderia DIEMME) by Enrico Borghi and Marco Balbi

To make sure not to miss the packed programme of the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day, scheduled for the weekend of 13-14 September, tickets can be bought on TicketOne (https://www.ticketone.it/artist/historic-minardi-day/). All the information is available on the website www.minardiday.it.

EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING FOR THE 9TH EDITION OF THE HISTORIC MINARDI DAY SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 13TH -14TH TO CELEBRATE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MINARDI TEAM. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ON TICKETONE

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Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit, Passion returns to the track on the occasion of the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day which promises to be a record-breaking event in both quality and quantity with track sessions almost sold-out.

The event created by the Minardi family, in collaboration with Formula Imola, is ready to spark once again the passion of the thousands of fans (in 2024 there were more than 17,000) who, thanks to the tickets (daily-subscriptions-VIP, the latter reserved for adults 16 years and over with access to Pit-Lane and Paddock 2 parking) already available on TicketOne (https://www.ticketone.it/artist/historic-minardi-day/), will be able to access the most exclusive areas of the facility, experiencing the event as protagonists. It will also be an opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the debut of the Minardi Team in Formula 1 which took place on April 4, 1980, on Brazil’s Jacarepagua Circuit at 9.30am during the first free practice session, with new merchandize available in the circuit.

In the 15  sessions scheduled for each day, extraordinary Formula 1 racing cars that wrote memorable pages will take turns on the track, including the Tyrrel P34 and P34B, Lotus 72 E/5 and TYPE 91, Ferrari, Fondmetal, Shadow, Wolf, Motoverdi, Williams, March, McLaren, Arrows, Merzario and, of course Minardi, to mention but a few (the entry list is continuously being updated).

There will also be Formula 3000 cars such as Reynard, Lola and Ralt, F2 that forged great champions including the 1979 Chevron B48 of Siegfried Stohr, the 1977 March BMW 772, and the 1983 Minardi M283B-BMW, Formula Junior, Formula Italia, Formula Abarth, Formula Ford, GP2, Prototypes like the Lucchini Alfa Romeo, SR2, P392 with the iconic Martini Racing livery, GT, GTS and Historic GT such as the 1947 McLaren M1C Can-Am, Porsche 993 3.8 RSR, the 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ Le Mans Classic, the 1973 De Tomaso Pantera, the unmistakable 1989 Lancia Delta Integrale, Mercedes 190E 2.5 16 Evo DTM, thanks also to the important and decisive contribution of the Scuderia Nuvolari Italia, up to the more modern Ferrari 296, McLaren, Lotus, Porsche, Maserati, Alfa Romeo for a line-up that satisfies all the tastes of the fans. The Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo will be the protagonist with nine gems from its Museo Dinamico Alfa Romeo storiche da competizione (Dynamic Museum of historic Alfa Romeo racing cars) including the Formulas Alfa Boxer and Tatuus Monza, the Giulia TZ, 75 Superturismo, GTV2000, 33 CIVM, two GTAm models and the exclusive Berlinetta Effeffe. On the track there will also be supercars and hypercars created by the flair of Horacio Pagani, Lamborghini, Dallara, Juri Pambuffetti (PJ01) and the Mazdas. These are just some of the cars that will be featured in the 2025 Historic Minardi Day.

The packed programme of the ninth edition of the Historic Minardi Day is further enriched by the ACI Storico Festival which will feature the Raduno Terre di Romagna (Lands of the Romagna rally) on September 14, organized by the AC Ravenna. This event was made possible thanks to the valuable collaboration of (in alphabetical order):  AC Ancona, AC Bologna, AC Ferrara, AC Firenze, AC Forlì, AC Modena, AC Pistoia, AC Ravenna e AC Rimini. As per tradition, the programme is packed with events, starting with the departure from the Imola Circuit of the 100 teams enrolled that will pass through Faenza to visit the Racing Bulls F1 Team to then return to the track for the parade and the close of the event.

In addition to the activities on the track, there will be events in the Conference Room with many presentations of books and award ceremonies (the whole programme is available on the official website https://www.minardiday.it/intrattenimento-minardi-day/), featuring some of the most authoritative names of Motorsport such as  Franco Nugnes “Senna, Le Verità”  (Senna, the truths), Mario Donnini “CRAZY RACERS I “folli” del Motorsport” (Crazy racers, the madmen of Motorsport), Paolo Filisetti “FORMULA 1 2023/2024 La tecnica”  (Formula 1 2023/2024 Technology), Emiliano Maria Savini “Parole di corsa”  (Racing words), Heribert Stohr “5 Anni di Formula 1 2018 – 2022 Cronache tecnico-umoristiche” (Formula 1 2018-2022 Technical-humorous news reports). During the intense programme the following volumes will be presented: L’ultimo garagista: La storia della Forti Corse raccontata da chi l’ha vissuta by Claudio Maglieri and Gianfabio Forti (The last gearhead: the history of Forti Racing told by who experienced it), Quella volta che… memorie di vita e di corse by Ivan Capelli (The time that… memories of the life and races)  I primi 50 anni del Club Gilles Villeneuve by Erbè di Stefano Benedetti (The first 50 years of the Gilles Villeneuve Club),  Ferrari crisi e riscatto. Da Surtees a Hamilton, dissidi, tragedie, flop e grandi trionfi della Rossa in Formula 1 by Adriano Cisario (Ferrari crisis and redemption. From Surtees to Hamilton, disputes, tragedies, flops and great triumphs of the Red Car in Formula 1), and  Un’estate lunga dieci anni – L’avventura della Scuderia DIEMME by Enrico Borghi and Marco Balbi (A ten year long summer-The adventure of the DIEMME Team). Sunday 14, from noon to 12.45 Gian Carlo Minardi will meet with the Press for an open discussion. This will be the opportunity to take stock of the event, share reflections of the current state of motorsport, and discuss prospects and future projects. Saturday 13, during the photo shoot on the track with all the protagonists (1.00pm) the “Nando Memorial” Prize will be presented. There will be plenty of entertainment in the Paddock area with professional simulators, model cars, the car village and the LEGO® exhibition.

F1 | GP HUNGARY, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MCLAREN DOMINATES. FERRARI SLUMPS IN THE FINAL PART”

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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.

An excellent third place for George Russell who never gave up even though Mercedes was not perfect once again, especially during Antonelli’s tyre change. However, Antonelli still managed to take a point which should give his morale a boost. Now he has a month’s holiday to recharge his batteries and rediscover the right peace of mind for the last part of the season.

After Leclerc’s masterful lap in qualifying, Ferrari said goodbye to Hungary with fourth place. The driver from Monte Carlo was very candid after qualifying, declaring that he was absolutely surprised at having taken pole position because their real potential was for third or fourth place. Anyway, the collapse in performance after the second pit-stop was inexplicable, costing him over 37” (plus penalty) from Norris in just 30 laps, after running two thirds of the race at an excellent pace that allowed him to keep the two McLarens behind him.

It was another positive result for Sauber, with Bortoleto battling it out with his manager Fernando Alonso, finishing fifth. The Brazilian is putting his teammate in difficulty, confirming his excellent past in the lower formulas. After a few disappointing results, Aston Martin has been reborn, taking both cars into the points. A completely unexpected ninth place for Verstappen who, despite having fought tooth and nail, crossed the finish line more than seventy seconds behind McLaren.

We now have to wait almost four weeks before starting again with the Dutch Grand Prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi