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
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
