F1 | BRAZILIAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “ANTONELLI WAS EXTRAORDINARY, LIKE VERSTAPPEN AND NORRIS. IT WAS A SHAME NOT SEEING LECLERC AMONGST THEM”
It was a weekend that could have tipped the world championship in Lando Norris’ favour, given the number of mistakes made by his teammate and main rival for the title. There are still three GPs and one Sprint Race left, and it will take little for him to find himself on zero points – as happened to Piastri in the Sprint Race – but at the moment Norris is leading with great composure, managing his tyres and car perfectly. It was a great show of strength by McLaren, but above all by Lando.
Kimi Antonelli’s performance for the entire weekend is to be applauded: second in qualifying, second in the Sprint Race and in the GP. He masterfully resisted Verstappen’s comeback in the final laps, managing his tyres and race pace in the best way possible. We have a young man who is growing, making the experience gained in his first season in F1 bear fruit, including the mistakes that are part of a rookie’s growth path.
Max Verstappen was also very good. Starting from pit lane, he secured the podium with an impressive third place. Although he was helped by the safety car and the virtual safety car, he showed his talent once again, completing the 71 laps at qualifying pace regardless of the compound used, and a set up that penalized him in the most demanding part of the track.
It was a shame for Ferrari, forced to retire with both its drivers. It would have been interesting to see Leclerc battle it out with Norris, Antonelli and Verstappen. With the two Ferraris failing to cross the finish line, Haas and Racing Bulls took advantage with important placings in the Constructors’.
Haas is doing an excellent job, especially with Bearman: it is a team that works calmly and consistently, and the results prove it. Racing Bulls also did well, with seventh and eight places that consolidates sixth place in the world championship ahead of Aston Martin – out of the points today – with a lead of ten points.
The next round will be in two weeks with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Gian Carlo Minardi





Lando Norris 357 points against Oscar Piatri’s 356.
We are at the threshold of the Mexican Grand Prix. Making predictions is increasingly complicated, as we saw last week in Austin, with a drastic change in performance by some teams – see Ferrari – between the Sprint Race and the GP. Even the participants cannot explain this type of leap, although they still finished the Sunday with a third and a fourth place.
The change of performances that we saw this weekend in Ferrari was completely unexplainable, especially between before and after the sprint race.
Formula 1 arrives in Austin, Texas, with the constructors’ title already in McLaren’s hands. The battle for the title between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is still open, with the team repeating its intention to allow the two drivers to battle it out and race freely.
The weekend in Singapore officially awarded the title of World Constructors’ Champion to McLaren for the second consecutive year and also saw Mercedes’ win with a fantastic Russell.
McLaren’s in-house battle is ready to reignite on Singapore’s street circuit, with Max Verstapppen potentially tipping the scale in the world championship battle. After Red Bull’s win in Baku, Piastri’s unfortunate exit from the track and Norris’ lost opportunity, the championship lands at a treacherous circuit which, as is the tradition, is raced at night. The weather conditions remain restrictive; about 30°C with a 70% humidity, factors that will put the drivers to the test.
We experienced a very interesting Grand Prix, especially in lap times set by the first ten drivers. It was however a race that confirmed how important technology is, but that everything else is decisive.
From Monza to Baku, passing through Imola where we celebrated the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day with a new crowd record, – more than 20,000 – and more than 700 historic cars at the Imola Circuit. For this reason, I would like to thank all the collectors who took part by taking extraordinary cars onto the track and the paddock, together with the enthusiasts and fans who, with their warmth, made this weekend memorable.



A fantastic weekend just finished at Monza on both the technical and sporting points of view with the new record set in qualifying by Max Verstappen, which he then converted into a stunning win with a lead of almost 20” over the two McLaren drivers, It will be interesting to see whether this trend, dictated by Laurent Mekies, will continue throughout the rest of the season.


