F1 | USA GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN UNSTOPPABLE. AND ALSO A SUPER LECLERC”
The change of performances that we saw this weekend in Ferrari was completely unexplainable, especially between before and after the sprint race.
The sole certainty has only one name: Max Verstappen. His consistency and the fact that he never gives up is incredible. Red Bull has found the right composure once again, and the Dutchman does the rest.
Despite this however, I remain of the opinion that the question of the world championship is a matter between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Only a Sprint style disaster (with both the McLarens out of the running) within the GP could really reopen the world championship.
Leclerc’s performance was no less impressive, in both qualifying and the race, with third place in the end. He was excellent. Taking risks by starting with the softs. Among other things, he finished “only” twelve seconds behind the winner, one of Ferrari’s best results of the season. With third and fourth places the Team reopens the challenge with Mercedes for second spot on the constructors.
Mercedes is in difficulty: it could not repeat the result and the performance shown in Singapore. At Austin, it was not up to the task. A pity however for Antonelli: apart from the fastest lap of the race his lap times were on par with Russell. Without the contact from Sainz he would have kept up with his teammate in sixth or seventh place. Williams’ Spanish driver, who is always very clean and correct, made a mistake this time
I also record what happened Saturday between Piastri and Norris as a mistake. The fact that no data was collected also had repercussions in the race: precious information on the pressure and the wear of the tires was missing. Norris, however, still crossed the finish line in second place.
There are still five grands prix remaining, and in a weeks’ time we will be in Mexico.
Gian Carlo Minardi



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.
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.
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.
Despite the premises for a possible anomalous grand prix, we saw a lively race marked by three safety-cars, and with many surprises, starting with Piastri’s excellent start and Verstappen’s masterpiece in managing the car that was about to get out of control.
At the Hungaroring McLaren scored its seventh one-two finish of the season, the fourth in a row, demonstrating its overwhelming domination. So far both Norris and Piastri have been the protagonists of a very fair duel, the likes of which we have rarely seen. They knew how to manage any type of strategy in the best way possible, changing them (rightly so) between the two drivers, with Norris earning the win on the track.

Silverstone gave us a race that was as crazy as it was spectacular, marked by many mistakes by teams and drivers, with Ferrari and Mercedes among the protagonists in the negative way.
McLaren put on show all its technical supremacy, giving us a battle between Norris and Piastri that was as good as it was fair, especially in the first 20 laps. Luckily, they were there to entertain us, otherwise there was little to see behind them, except for a few good battles. Their technical advantage is such that the two drivers can battle it out cleanly, and now it seems that they can only lose the races.
Kimi Antonelli’s podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix represents a moment that is as wonderful as it is important for Italian motor racing. This podium came after three hard grands prix for the driver from Bologna, mainly due to reliability problems.
Barcelona gave us some important surprises. Such as Sauber’s fifth place with Hulkenberg, as well as the confirmation of Racing Bulls again in the points zone with the excellent Hadjar, seventh across the finish line.
Monte Carlo is a race that is run on Saturday with qualifying. You can put all the pit stops you want, but the only variables that can possibly change the result are accidents and safety-cars.
The Grand Prix concluded three fantastic days at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit for both the excellent weather conditions and the 242,000 people who invaded not only the circuit, but also the city of Imola. As Formula Imola we are very satisfied with this excellent result that rewards nine months of intense work. The invasion of the track at the end was an indescribable spectacle.