F1 | GP LAS VEGAS, MINARDI “I APPROACH THIS ROUND WITH A LOT OF CURIOSITY. A TRACK FULL OF PITFALLS”

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Formula 1 returns to Las Vegas after forty-one years. This time it is not to race on a circuit set up in Caesar’s Palace’s carpark but in a real city circuit with all the pitfalls a street circuit of this type hides connected to the runoffs and the entry of the safety car onto the track.

Added to this is the unknown factor of the weather given the forecast for very low temperatures which will affect the performance of the tyres and the strategies. We are talking of a grand prix that is 310km long, a track of more than six kilometres (6,201m) with a 2km long straight.

Formula 1 returns to the capital of Nevada, a city that is alive 24 hours a day. I am certainly curious to follow and observe how the whole weekend will develop. Everything is new and therefore unpredictable. Among other things, to reconcile the various time differences, the race will be run Saturday evening (7.00am Sunday morning Italian time).

There are still two rounds on the calendar, many points to be awarded and important positions at stake in both sporting and economic terms.

We have Ferrari which must make up 20 points on Mercedes and intense duels between McLaren and Aston Martin and Alpha Tauri and Williams for seventh place.

I will approach this weekend with a lot of curiosity to then make the evaluations calmly, but the main aspect remains the sporting one.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BRAZIL, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FOUR GRANDS PRIX IN FIVE WEEKS ARE TOO MANY, NOT ONLY FOR THE TEAMS”

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The Grand Prix of Brazil, the 21st round of the world championship, third last of the 2023 season and third of the four rounds in the Americas scheduled in these five weeks. Certainly a real tour de force for the participants, but also for the spectators. On the weekend the schedule also changes as it hosts the sixth and last sprint race. At the moment we have a lot of quantity, but quality has probably been lost.

I believe it really is too intense as a programme and I hope that the necessary evaluations will be made at the end of the season, on both the “short race” and the number of GPs.

Formula 1 has arrived in Interlagos, a particular circuit that is run anticlockwise (one of the few), and one of the shortest of the season with its length of little more than 4 kilometres, which stresses the tyres with nine left hand bends and five right hand to which is added the very rough asphalt. The choice should fall on two stops, but the weather, which in this period quickly changes from dry to wet, could also influence the strategy.

Many teams, one of them Ferrari, will find it hard to finish the season without incurring new penalties. Therefore, they must decide when to change the components, opting for the most favourable track for a possible comeback. Interlagos might just be a choice, unlike the layout of Las Vegas.

The fight for the support positions has been rekindled, between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place among the constructors and between McLaren (in great shape) and Aston Martin for fourth place. At this time Aston Martin is the team in most difficulty, both in terms of the performance of the car and on the driver front, since it is fighting with only one driver, given Stroll’s difficulties.

In Mexico, in particular, we saw an Alpha Tauri in great shape which recovered a number of points on the ladder, catching up with Alfa Romeo and taking itself to only ten points from Williams. At this moment the points lost by Tsunoda weigh heavily, but there is still time to recover. Considering the start of the season, reaching seventh place would be a very important result.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THE SPRINT IS A LESSER COPY OF THE GP. IN MEXICO I EXPECT A MORE SPORTING PUBLIC”

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While Formula 1 is ready for the stop in Mexico City for the nineteenth round of the world championship, the Circus is wondering about the future of the Sprint race. Created in 2021 to increase the spectacle, particularly in the programme for Saturday, up to now the mini-GP of 100km has failed to meet expectations.

As often happens on these occasions, they seek alternative solutions aimed at improving the show. Among the ideas there would be the use of an inverted starting grid, the creation of a championship apart with points and a dedicated prize pool as an “incentive” for the drivers. We wanted to ask Gian Carlo Minardi what he thinks about it.

“The sprint-race was created with the intention of increasing the show. Today this expectation has been strongly unsatisfying. At this moment the format does not help. It is only a lesser copy of the Grand Prix, without adding anything more as we saw in the last two rounds in Qatar and Austin,” commented Minardi.

The sixth and last sprint-race of 2023 will take place at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “There also needs to be a constant weekend programme, without having to go crazy remembering the format for the single grand prix.

“Furthermore, the sprint creates another problem. Only one hour of free practice for setting up the cars is too little, especially when thousands of a second make the difference from one qualifying session to another.

“When a driver lowers his visor the only goal is the win. I do not believe that there is any driver who saves himself with a view to the Sunday race. For this reason, I do not see the need to having to add a separate prize pool, or dedicating a ranking to it,” continued the manager from Faenza.

“Perhaps they can increase the points up for grabs, but at the moment I do not have the recipe. We are faced with an incredible domination on the part of Red Bull which will be hard for the rivals to end. Let us not forget that the history of Formula 1 is full of winning cycles. It is part of this sport. And you certainly will not stop it by creating a separate championship or putting mind blowing figures up for grabs.

“Now we get to the Mexican Grand Prix, I do not think there are any doubts on the leadership, but all the interest will be directed behind Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

“In front of his public, Sergio Perez must find the proper peace of mind. I was left very annoyed with the booing aimed at Verstappen by the American public. I hoped that fanaticism was part of other sports. I hope that they will be more gentlemanly in Mexico.

“In Austin, McLaren completed its comeback at Aston Martin’s expense, while Ferrari took its gap from Mercedes to 22 points (aided by Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification).

“The challenge will be between these four teams, each one with its own objective to achieve. We will wait and see who will be the most skilled. It will also be interesting to follow Alpha Tauri which comes from a very favourable GP in Austin,” concluded Gian Carlo Minardi.

F1 | GP AUSTIN, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “PEREZ’S RESULTS DO NOT REFLECT HIS WORTH”

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The Formula 1 world championship has arrived at the Austin Circuit in the Americas, the home of the United States Grand Prix, the 19th and fifth last round of the season.

For the first time in its history, it will also host the sprint-race (scheduled for Saturday at midnight, Italian time, editor’s note, the GP will start at 9.00pm Sunday), which will be preceded by only one hour of free practice and the Shootout qualifying.

Pirelli, which has available to the teams the C2-C3 and C4 compounds, has drawn the attention to the asphalt detached from the track which could cause problems of anomalous overheating of the tyres. One more variable to be considered in the strategies.

With the drivers’ and the constructors’ titles in the hands of Max Verstappen and Red Bull respectively, all the attention is focussed on the duels between Mercedes-Ferrari and Aston Martin-McLaren. Amongst the four the team from Woking is the one passing through the best moment and is only twenty-one points from fourth place. An objective that is not so hard to reach also considering that Aston Martin is fighting with only one driver, Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari will not bring anything new, having decided to block the development t of the SF-23. The direct challenge with Hamilton and Russell must be based solely on the strategies and the correct set up of the car.

In recent days the rumours about the future of Sergio Perez have taken the stage. Currently the Mexican is not experiencing one of his best moments, but the results on the track do not represent his true potential.

He must find his peace of mind and the statements by Helmut Marko have certainly not helped him in this sense. At the moment second place in the world championship does not seem to be at risk, but he will have to be careful not to make mistakes. From here to Abu Dhabi there are still many points at stake and Lewis Hamilton is only 30 points away. Losing second place would be the equivalent of a debacle.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP QATAR, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “IN THE ’90S THE TEAMS WERE WELL OVER THE CURRENT TEN”

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In the last few days, the International Federation sanctioned with a press release the acceptance of Andretti Formula Racing as the eleventh Formula 1 team. I find this decision absolutely correct, especially when a team respects all the many and severe prerequisites required.

Let us not forget that the current Formula 1 regulations allow for up to twenty-four drivers on the track, in other words, twelve teams.

I find it hard to understand all this obstruction by Liberty Media and the current teams. Nowhere is it written that those who are already an active part of the world championship must necessarily receive the bonusses. They are conquered on the track.

Let us not forget that in the ‘90s the teams enrolled were well over the current ten or eleven. To get into the top ten of the constructors’ ladder you must fight and invest. The Minardi Team always earned access to the TV rights on the track. When we entered the world championship back in 1985, we fought to earn the right to stay in Formula 1.

Amongst other things, the entry of Andretti will guarantee two more seats. I see only positive aspects from this whole operation, including a growth in the duels on the track to earn precious points.

We are also at the threshold of the GP in Qatar, the seventeenth round. We are in a hot phase of the season which will determine the vice-champion. Red Bull has already taken the constructors’ title and Max Verstappen is one step away (3 points to go) from his third drivers’ title. There is still however a hard-fought battle behind them between Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren.

At this moment Aston Martin is the one suffering the most, also because it can count on only one driver. Fernando Alonso is defending tooth and nail the points won in the first part of the season, but he could use the support of the second driver.

All the teams, with the sole exception of Williams, have confirmed all the drivers, 2024 will therefore be a good test bench for everyone which could open up a few changes.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | ITALIAN GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “UP TO NOW THERE HAS BEEN A LACK OF CONTINUITY BEHIND VERSTAPPEN”

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Formula 1 left Holland to come to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, the fifteenth round (fourteenth after the cancellation of Imola) of the World Championship, the last round in Europe.

It is a very fast track where the aerodynamic load is decidedly less important with the tyres highly stressed.

Stability in braking and traction while coming out of the two chicanes, such as the Parabolica now named after Michele Alboreto, and the Grande, are the factors that put the tyres to the hardest test on this track, even if the lateral loads felt in the fast bends must not be underestimated. Pirelli has opted for the three softest compounds, PZero White Hard C3, PZero Yellow Medium C4 and PZero Red Soft C5.

Last year the first ten cars adopted eight different strategies, for this reason we can expect anything. One exception, the competitiveness of Max Verstappen who is charging towards the tenth win of the season, which would mean the new absolute record for the highest category.

After Hungary, Monza will be the setting of the new test of the new qualifying format “Alternative Tyre Allocation” in which the drivers will have the compulsory compound for each session: the hard in Q1, the medium in Q2 and the soft in Q3. I think it proper to make these experiments considering the possible changes for the future which have already given us an excellent show in Hungary. It will be interesting to see it in action on a circuit with decidedly different characteristics.

If in Zandvoor we saw Fernando Alonso with the Aston Martin once again on the podium behind the leader of the world championship it will be interesting to see what happens in Monza. Up to now, there has been no continuity behind Max Verstappen. We have seen a good alternation between Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari. Ferrari must try to recover after the uncompetitive Dutch weekend, saved in part only by Sainz’s fifth place.

Too little.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GIAN CARLO MINARDI “I AM WAITING FOR YOU IN IMOLA AT THE HISTORIC MINARDI DAY FOR TWO DAYS OF PASSION” MAXISCREEN IN THE PADDOCK TO FOLLOW THE GP

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Imola -MINARDI DAY SABATO MATTINA MINARDI GIANCARLO

We have entering into an intense weekend full of events: at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit there will be the 7th edition of the Historic Minardi Day which, between the track and the paddock, will see more than 400 cars of which more than 20 are historic Formula 1 cars and in Holland the 13th round of the F1 World Championship will take place.

And this year too there will be a maxi screen inside the Imola Paddock to follow the Zandvoort weekend (qualifying and race) to experience it within the Minardi Day.

On the F1 front we are about to enter the second part of the season after a three-week break. It will be interesting to see what new developments the teams will bring onto the track to try and counter Red Bull’s domination, even if I believe it is practically impossible.

Very interesting on the other hand, is the challenge for second, third and fourth places in the constructors’ championship which currently sees Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari fighting it out.

This period of the year was historically characterized by the announcements by the drivers, but this year all the attention is turned towards the signing up of technicians and engineers which the teams are trying to take away from their direct rivals.

If Binotto should effectively go to Alpine, I am sure that many technicians currently in Ferrari will follow him. And they will not be second rate technicians or new additions.

F1 is coming to a particular circuit characterized by 14 bends and a straight of just over four kilometres with a narrow track. Pirelli has brought the hardest compounds (C1-C2-C3). In the race space should be given to the C1s and C2s.

They will go back to the traditional format of qualifying, while in Monza the compound imposed for each session will be imposed once again.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Imola to experience two intense days under the banner of Motorsport.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BELGIUM, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “GREAT UNKNOWNS BEHIND VERSTAPPEN”

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If, on the one hand, we have a Red Bull that is absolutely beyond the limits of which we will (probably) never know (as shown by the fastest lap set in Budapest), there are great variations behind Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman is certainly making the difference. Without him we would be watching a championship with five/six different winners. For this reason, in view of Spa-Francorchamps the real question is: Which will be the second force?

Since the first grands prix we have seen radical changes from second to sixth place, due to the management of the tyres, weather conditions and, obviously, the developments of the car. It is not an easy to predict the name of the second place, above all in view of a long and demanding circuit such as Spa.

Today we have McLaren as the second force. At the start of the season, it was Aston Martin, then overtaken by Mercedes, with the introduction of the B version. Who is missing from the roll call is Ferrari. Let us see if they will be able to patch things up. They are passing through a moment of discomfort, as we can see from the strained faces. It will not be easy to recover.

Among the things we are seeing is an exciting competitiveness in qualifying, with the drivers enclosed within a handful of tenths of a second. A situation that changes drastically in the race.

It will be interesting to follow Sergio Perez as well, after his third place in Budapest. The Red Bull driver came from the last five unexciting rounds.

To try and avoid the rain, this year the round in Belgium has been brought forward, even if the forecasts talk about temperatures of 17-19°C with the possibility of showers. All this reminds me of an anecdote:

On 2 June 1985 the Belgian Grand Prix should have been run precisely in Spa-Francorchamps (it was the first year in the world championship for us), but the race was suspended because the asphalt crumbled as the cars passed, making it all very dangerous. A situation created by both the high heat and the newly laid street surface. The GP was later recovered with Piero Martini finishing in twelfth place with the M185.

It will be interesting to see what will happen on Sunday, and also Saturday afternoon with the sprint race on such a long (the longest of the championship) and demanding track.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | HUNGARIAN GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “WILL THE PERFORMANCES IN SILVERSTONE BE CONFIRMED?”

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We have come to Hungary, the eleventh round of this world championship which, apart from the (practically) unchallenged domination of Max Verstappen (with 8 wins) and Red Bull (10 wins), has given us a number of upheavals of the forces in the field.

If at Silverstone we saw a competitive McLaren which allowed Lando Norris to take second place and his first podium of the season (with Piastri fourth), in Austria the podium went to Ferrari with Leclerc who then slumped in England. Even earlier Mercedes had leapt over a good Aston Martin, being able to finish on the podium five times with Fernando Alonso in the first 8 grands prix, presenting itself as the second force of the world championship. The position currently occupied by Mercedes. Instead, Monte Carlo gave us Alpine’s exploit with Esteban Ocon’s third place.

It will be interesting to see if, on the slow Budapest track, traditionally characterized by high air and track temperatures, these forces will be confirmed or if we will once again see a change, even in preparation for the second part of the season. If the drivers’ ladder is defined with Verstappen launched towards his third title, on the constructors’ side there is great uncertainty behind RB.

Exactly the uneasy situation of Alpha Tauri (currently in last place with only two points) led to the dubious change of steering wheels between de Vries and Ricciardo.

The Hungaroring will be the setting for new qualifying, with the drivers to the various sessions with compulsory compounds (Q1 Hard, Q2 Medium, Q3 Soft). It will be interesting following it in light of the near future.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | BRITISH GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “SAINZ AND LECLERC MUST BE ALLOWED TO FIGHT. I’LL EXPLAIN WHY.”

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Having said goodbye to Austria Formula 1 has already arrived in Silverstone, England. With some exceptions, historically it is a track for the English teams and here it will not be easy to annoy Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

But it will be a good testing ground for Ferrari after the positive result achieved last week, to verify if there will again be a further step forward. Certainly, the weather conditions could play an important role since the SF-23 was in trouble in low temperatures.

At this moment Ferrari must aim at recovering the gap from Aston Martin and Mercedes to try to take second place in the constructors’ ladder. I do not see any other goals.

The drivers themselves must work together in this direction. In the ladder Carlos Sainz is ahead of Charles Leclerc but both cannot aspire to any trophy. For this reason, they should be free to fight it out on the track, having as sole objective the most points for the team.

Mercedes and Aston Martin seemed in difficulty in Austria. Silverstone will be a testing ground for them as well, to verify if that was only an isolated episode. The situation for McLaren is different. With the introduction of the new car Lando Norris took fourth place. This weekend Piastri will also be able to count on the updated car. It will be interesting to follow their work.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the 2024 calendar was made public, made up of 24 grands prix, starting on March 2 and closing on December 8. Running on Saturday will be nothing new for Formula 1. In fact, the 1985 South African grand prix was already run on Saturday. Next year Italy will again be able to count on Imola and Monza. We will get to work immediately to recover what it was not possible to do this year due to the flood.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SPAIN, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FERRARI CANNOT BE THE ONE WE SAW IN MONTE CARLO”

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Not even the time to absorb what happened in Monte Carlo and is it already time to “dive into” the next round. This weekend the Formula 1 world championship will be in Montmelò in Spain.

It will certainly be interesting to evaluate, on the one hand, the major innovations announced by Ferrari and, on the other hand, verify the potential of the “new” Mercedes after the updates introduced in Monte Carlo. With the arrival in Barcelona, we will be able to have the first test of the team situation, without prejudice to the absolute domination of Red Bull.

I want to hope that what we saw a week ago in Monte Carlo does not represent the real face of Ferrari which must absolutely give a turn to its season around, as well as finding once again that peace of mind necessary to face difficulties. Lately I have seen too many drawn faces. They need to smile again and enjoy themselves. The results will come accordingly. I believe that, for the first time in his career, Fernando Alonso is also enjoying himself.

I welcomed with pleasure the news of new grafts. Having finished the period of gardening they can get to work with a view to 2024. Ferrari must inevitably reinforce its team and insert new life to start halving and then eliminating the gap from Red Bull. The road is long, but you have to start somewhere.

Monte Carlo gave us a growing Mercedes, just like Alpine (with the first point of the season) and McLaren which placed both drivers in the top ten. Monte Carlo is certainly an anomalous track, and I had the impression that, especially in McLaren, they had wagered a lot on the setup for rain.

Starting from Friday it will be interesting follow the “third tier” teams with McLaren, Alpha Tauri and Alpine. This winter Montmelò did not host the pre-season tests and therefore we can only make a comparison with 2022. In terms of the front-rank positions, I certainly do not expect an upheaval (except for disasters) with Verstappen and Perez dominating. I was amazed by the strong criticism levelled at the Mexican driver by the team. He certainly made a rookie’s mistake in qualifying but, in any case, he still won two grands prix this season.

I await free practice 1 and 2 which will inaugurate the seventh round with great trepidation, with the hope of being able to see an electrifying qualifying like a week ago and an exciting grand prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | MONTE CARLO GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR LECLERC AND ALONSO. IF YOU CAN DONATE FOR THE EMILIA ROMAGNA REGION”

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I look forward to the Monte Carlo weekend with pleasure to find a bit of normality after the events that strongly affected the territories of the Emilia-Romagna Region. A week after the disaster, the emergency is unfortunately not over yet and we at the Imola Circuit are trying to re-establish a touch of normality, as well as having given our contribution to the population by making the square available to house the water pumps coming from France, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Pumps which are already in operation with the capacity to extract thousands of litres of water every hour.

Amongst other things, the Local Council of Faenza, like the regional government, has decided to set up a fund raiser to support the people and the communities affected, thanks to the generosity of those who want to take part in this initiative.

On the ticket front, I also put my trust in the passion and the strength of our supporters who could reconfirm for the 2024 event. An effort by each one of them would be transformed into a big assist for the motor sport community.

In any case, the world must carry on and we have come to the weekend of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship after the cancellation of Imola. There is surely a lot of expectation both because Mercedes has brought many new developments (see suspensions and new barge boards) and for the ban on using the tyre warmers with the full wet tyres. This very experiment would have begun from Imola.

Unlike Toto Wolff’s men, Ferrari ‘s people decided to wager mainly on reliability, delaying the introduction of the new developments to Spain. We are faced with an anomalous GP in which qualifying traditionally plays a priority role. Up to now qualifying has not been a weak point for the “reds” and it could take advantage of this occasion.

The same also applies to Fernando Alonso. If he is supported adequately by the car the GP will be favourable for him. I heard the news of the Aston Martin – Honda agreement with pleasure. This is synonymous with continuity and growth. Those who enter (or come back to) the Circus to compare themselves with others is always welcome. This agreement can transform itself into a further technical leap for Aston Martin, a team in strong growth as it demonstrated in this first part of the season. Alonso-Honda? The agreement is for 2026 but, as much as I wish the best for “Nado”, it will be hard for me to see him still in the Circus for that date.

The race on the streets of Monte Carlo has been anticipated by the latest Hamilton – Ferrari “rumour”. The seven times world champion has been cornered with a downward economic agreement. I honestly think this is hard and I believe it is all talk. At the present time Ferrari has major difficulties on the car front and it would make no sense to lose a fast driver like Leclerc (even if not absent from mistakes) in favour of a driver, even if a 7 times world champion, of a certain age who at this moment has the wages of Russell. On the other hand, I do not see why Leclerc would move to Mercedes, even if with some problems to resolve, and alongside the British driver.

I would leave everything as it is and concentrate the efforts on the car.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | IMOLA, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FORMULA IMOLA’S TEAM WAS IMPECCABLE”

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As we know, due to the continuation of the weather emergency and the flood that hit the Emilia-Romagna region the “Qatar Airways: Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix” scheduled for May 19-21 was cancelled.

“Albeit with a heavy heart, it was an absolutely correct decision in full respect to the tragedy which struck all the population of the Emilia-Romagna region with repercussions also on the Marche region,” was the analysis of Gian Carlo Minardi when we contacted him by telephone while he was at Imola’s Circuit waiting for the meeting to verify the damages suffered.

“Excellent work had been done over the last seven months and the Formula Imola team, to which I extend public congratulations, was impeccable. Even the evacuation plan drawn up in the previous months worked perfectly despite an apocalyptic scenario that was not conceivable..

“On Thursday morning the paddock had already been cleaned and secured. Unfortunately, the situation surrounding the Circuit was, and still is, disastrous, completely under water and mud. All the security forces-doctors, paramedics, firemen and carabinieri- are involved 100% in rescuing people and it was unthinkable to take this human capital away to dedicate them to the Grand Prix.

“Today (Friday 19 May) we will start to count the damages that the Circuit suffered, even if they should luckily be very limited. As we have already announced yesterday, the mechanism for the refund of the tickets bought has already been activated via the TicketOne platform. As an alternative, people can convert tickets with tickets for the 2024 event,” continued the President of Formula Imola.

Given the current emergency in the region, the methods and times of refund will be announced with a subsequent notification which will be sent via email in the next few days by ACI Sport, a branch of the Automobile Club d’Italia, through the provider of the official ticket seller, TicketONe.it. Even Trenitalia through its portal has advised that it will be possible to request refund of the full ticket.

“Now we only have to roll up our sleeves and rebuild to start e programme for the future,” concluded Gian Carlo Minardi.