F1 | BELGIAN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “ANTONELLI WON LIKE A CHAMPION. FERRARI IS IMPROVING. THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IS ENTERING ITS DECISIVE PHASE”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won in Spa-Francorchamps, his sixth win of the season at the end of a race he handled with great maturity and intelligence. Once again, he demonstrated he has a quality that is making the difference in this world championship: the ability to read a race and manage every situation in the best way possible.

What happened at the start of the race was particularly telling. Having been overtaken by Max Verstappen, Antonelli did to look for an immediate response that would have compromised the management of his power unit. He let the Dutchman go without dropping the engine’s revs, he stayed in his wake and overtook him a few seconds later. It was a manoeuvre that was as simple as it was clever, which demonstrated the maturity achieved by a driver of just nineteen years of age.

From that moment on he set an exceptional race pace, also managing the Safety Car perfectly, and forcefully holding off the pressure from Charles Leclerc who also had an excellent race. This win was fully deserved and also serves as a fitting comeback after the misfortune that plagued him in Silverstone.

Mercedes continues to prove that it is the benchmark car of the championship, but Ferrari leaves Belgium with extremely encouraging signs. While the gap seemed significant before Friday, between qualifying and the race the Team took a strong leap forward, confirming in the long runs a potential that had only been glimpsed during free practice. On circuits with different characteristics, it could prove that it is even more competitive and continue to challenge for the win.

This is precisely why Charkes Leclerc’s second place is so important. Ferrari confirmed the improvement it had shown in recent races and is building on the results, boosting confidence ahead of the upcoming rounds.

The incident involving Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the first lap left me rather perplexed. Personally, I would have considered it a normal racing incident, one of those collisions that happen at the start when the group is still bunched up. The five second penalty for Lewis Hamilton seemed rather harsh to me, even if it must be acknowledged that the race marshals used the same standard in similar situations. This probably prevented him from challenging for the podium.

McLaren also continued to improve behind the leaders. The fastest lap set by Lando Norris confirms the car’s improvement, although the team needs to improve, especially in qualifying, to turn its strong race pace into even better results.

The fight for fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship is also proving interesting. Racing Bulls continues to achieve strong results, while Alpine stays in contention thanks to Franco Colapinto’s tenth place. This is a battle that could go down to the wire.

Antonelli’s win assumes even more importance in the World Championship ladder. With 204 points the young Mercedes driver extends his lead from his main rivals, Lewis Hamilton, who remains on 159, and George Russell on 154. This is a significant lead because it will allow him to face the next crucial phase of the season with greater confidence.

In fact, with the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last round before the summer break, we are entering the decisive stage of the championship. It will be an important weekend also in terms of strategies, because many teams will start to evaluate how they manage the components of their power units and the potential penalties on the grid could prove to be decisive ahead in the run up to final part of the season.

It was yet another positive weekend for Italian motorsport. Brando Badoer’s second place in Formula 3 and Gabriele Mini’s fifth place in Formula 2 confirmed the excellent period for our young racing drivers who are increasingly making their mark on the international stage.

For Italian fans, it is a source of great satisfaction to see a young man of just nineteen leading the Formula 1 World Championship and, at the same time, Ferrari back in the running for victory. If these signs are confirmed in the coming races, there are all the ingredients for experiencing an exciting end of the season, with Monza already shaping up to be one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year.

Next week the World Championship will head to Hungary for the last round before the summer break. We expect another very important race before entering the final stages of a championship which, race after race, is proving to be increasingly open and hard-fought.

Gian Carlo Minardi