F1 | B RAZIL GP BRASILE, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI: ANTONELLI RETURNS TO THE TRACK AS WORLD CHAMPION, AT THE HOME OF HIS IDOL SENNA

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After having won the title in Mexico, Kimi Antonelli will run the Brazilian Grand Prix as World Champion for the first time, on the Interlagos circuit in Ayrton Senna’s home country. The battles for second place in both the drivers’ and the constructors’ World Championships are still wide open.

Formula 1 arrives in Brazil, at Interlagos, for the twenty first round of the season. It will be a special weekend, especially for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will take to the track for the first time as World Champion. After having won the title in Mexico, he will find himself in the very country of his idol Ayrton Senna to whom he feels deeply connected.

It is a short but especially demanding track. The race is run anticlockwise, a characteristic that will subject the drivers to physical demands that are different compared to most of the circuits on the calendar. The track has major changes in elevation, a surface that is not always even and a sequence of corners that requires good balance of the car, precision and the ability to find traction when exiting the slower corners. This is a circuit where the weather can be a decisive factor and where the races often give us surprises and dramatic turns of events.

Pirelli has chosen the softest trio of its range: C3 for the Hard, C4 for the Medium and C5 for the Soft. This choice could offer a range of possibilities in terms of the strategies. The management of the tyres and the ability to find the right balance between performance and duration will therefore be crucial aspects for securing a good result over the course of the weekend.

With the drivers’ title now decided, the battle for second place remains very interesting. Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell are separated by just eleven points. Leclerc is some points behind. This is a challenge that will also directly involve the respective teams and one that promises to keep the excitement high in the final races.

Ferrari arrives in Brazil after a Mexican Grand Prix that left lingering issues, especially regarding what happened between Hamilton and Leclerc in the early stages of the race. It will be crucial to see how the team reacts and how they manage future head-to-head encounters. The Team from Maranello is still in the thick of the battle for second place on the Constructors’ World Championship, with a 122-point lead over Red Bull. Strong results will be needed, and above all, effective teamwork from both drivers.

Interlagos will therefore be a round with many implications. The weather could be a major unknown factor. In fact, the forecasts predict a rather unsettled weekend, especially on Saturday when thunderstorms are expected during qualifying. And even Sunday is not excluded from rain, even if conditions could improve during the afternoon. At Interlagos, we know just how quickly the weather can shift the balance of power: the ability to adapt to track conditions and read the race correctly could prove decisive.

Gian Carlo Minardi​

F1 |MEXICAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THANK YOU KIMI, THANK YOU MERCEDES. ITALY IS BACK ON THE PINNACLE OF FORMULA 1”

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At twenty years of age, Kimi Antonelli has brought the world championship title back to Italy 73 years after Alberto Ascari. Minardi: “This is a historic moment for all of Italy’s motorsport. I never had any doubts about Kimi”.

This is a historic moment for Italian motorsport.  Kimi Antonelli, at just twenty years of age, has been crowned the World Champion, bringing the title back to Italy 73 years after Alberto Ascari. The best thing is that, when his adventure began, I told Andrea that I would have loved to see him become world champion. This all came true in a very short time. This is a huge source of satisfaction and a cause of great pride for our entire movement.

On Friday, during the first session of free practice, we had three drivers on the track: Leonardo Fornaroli, Gabriele Mini and, of course, Kimi Antonelli, who then finished an extraordinary race, in which he only made a handful of mistakes, on the podium. This is the result of a journey and hard work carried out over these years.  For this reason, I would like to thank everyone at ACI Sport who have collaborated in this adventure, not only Kimi, but also all the other drivers who are part of our family.

I have never doubted Kimi, not even in the toughest times. Those who have been in this world for many years know full well that there are happy moments and others that are more challenging, and these are precisely the moments that, with hard work and determination, you have to learn to overcome. I have never doubted his abilities, and today we can celebrate an extraordinary achievement that recognizes the work of so many people.

The image of Hamilton and Verstappen lifting Kimi onto their shoulders was also wonderful. For me this gesture on the podium had a strong symbolic worth, almost a passing the baton between world champions: an act of esteem, faith and recognition towards a young man who had just reached the pinnacle of Formula 1.

Kimi’s race was fantastic. He made two exceptional starts, he managed the race with intelligence, and he took home a third place that let him crown this season in the best way possible. Now that the title race is over, attention turns to the battle for second place between Verstappen and Hamilton

Speaking about Ferrari, on this occasion I believe Hamilton deserved more support from the team, and also from Leclerc. Lewis was showing all his worth on the track and is driving the team forward. Leclerc must understand that, at this time, the interests of Ferrari come first. The Scuderia is still in the running for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship and everyone must work in the same direction. In this perspective, I did not like Charles’ attack during the early stages of the Grand Prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi