F1 | GP JAPAN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN CONTINUES TO IMPRESS. ANTONELLI DROVE LIKE A TOP DRIVER.

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Imola -MINARDI DAY

The Japanese Grand Prix was a very interesting race, perhaps not so much on the overtaking front, but in terms of lap times with the first six finishing within 19 seconds, the top three within little more than 3”.

Verstappen once again made the difference in Red Bull, confirming all his worth, after having given us a preview on Saturday by taking home an extraordinary pole position, ahead of the two McLarens, despite having an inferior car.

Tsunoda, in his first outing with Red Bull, paid for what is the true value of the car. If, during free practice he had managed not to make a bad impression in comparison to his teammate, in qualifying the Dutchman made the difference. Starting so far back it became difficult to catch up. He set good lap times, but he crossed the finish line 58’ behind.

This weekend consecrated the forces in the field in both the constructors’ and the drivers’ fronts. Although Piastri had something more than Norris, I agree with the strategies and the choices made by McLaren which, in any case, with second and third places, consolidated its leadership in the championship. In both qualifying and in the race, the team from Woking “gave” Verstappen a tenth of a second, which cost it the win.

Positive signs came from Mercedes which consolidated second place, thanks to fifth and sixth places with Russell and Antonelli respectively. In particular, Antonelli raced like a top driver on a demanding track like Suzuka which he, just like the other rookies,  did not know, setting not only the fastest lap of the race, which gave him not only the new track record and the youngest driver to set it, but he was the driver who completed the most laps with the “yellows”. After a defensive first part, from the 32nd to the 53rd lap he consistently lapped within a few tenths of a second from his best performance, recovering six/seven tenths of a second on his teammate on each lap. A strategy that decidedly paid off in terms of lap times. The support of an engineer like Bono, who worked alongside Hamilton for the last twelve years, is invaluable. Let us not forget that this is only the third round.

Although improving on a year ago, Ferrari finished in fourth place with Leclerc, 16 seconds from the top, which translates into a gap of almost three tenths of a second. This is not a lot, but it may not be easy to make up.

I was positively impressed by Hadjar, who was excellent in both qualifying – just behind Antonelli-, and also in the race with eight place and important points for the team.

However, there is little time because they go back on the track on Friday with the fourth round in Bahrein, a track that everyone knows very well, including the rookies.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP CHINA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “GROUND CLEARANCE IS A PROBLEM FOR FERRARI”

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The Chinese Grand Prix, the second round of the world championship, confirmed the values in the field with McLaren bringing home the team’s first one-two ahead of an excellent Russell, once again on the podium, Max Verstappen and the pair of Ferraris.

Compared to what we saw a week ago in Melbourne, some positive signs certainly came from Ferrari, but I am convinced that even without the problem with his right front wing, Leclerc would not have been able to fight for the win. A win that, however, came in the sprint with Hamilton, who also took the pole position.

I believe it is precisely in this difference of performance, between the Sprint and the GP, that the real problem lies with the SF-25 which must race very low to be competitive. Qualifying, the Sprint and the race, are fertile ground, dictated by the limited mileage (100km), and less fuel on board. This situation changes drastically in the run up to the GP. To avoid wearing the skid pad, they are forced to raise the car, thus sacrificing performance. This, however, did not allow them to avoid the disqualification of both cars (even if for different reasons between Leclerc and Hamilton) that came when the race was already over, thus cancelling the fifth and sixth places.

Red Bull has quite a different problem, if we can call it that, in the sense that it finds itself once again racing with only one driver, Max Verstappen. However, it is not possible that whoever comes alongside him has such enormous difficulties. It is probably a very difficult car to drive and manage, having been built entirely around the Dutchman who has a particular style of driving, putting his teammates in difficulty. I find it hard to imagine a different explanation, since the same “cousins” let themselves be faster and better performing than Lawson.

Racing Bulls managed to wipe out an excellent job by the team and its drivers with a totally wrong strategy that kept them outside the top 10 despite Ferrari’s double disqualification. They threw away important points, to the advantage of their direct rivals.

Once again, I would like to congratulate the rookies. Particularly Isack Hadjar who redeemed the bad impression in Australia, while I found the Jack Doohan’s penalty excessive. Well done “Kimi” Antonelli, once again in the points with the Mercedes and without making any mistakes, he occupies fifth place in the overall ladder.

Now we move to Japan, to Suzuka, another demanding “old style” track characterized by sandy escape routes.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP AUSTRALIA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MCLAREN MINDBLOWING, PUT OFF. WILLIAMS A PLEASANT CONFIRMATION

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Between confirmations and twists and turns, also dictated by particular weather conditions, Formula 1 gave us an exciting first grand prix in Australia.

We rediscovered some results that had already emerged during the Bahrain tests, especially related to McLaren and Williams, and even Ferrari, albeit negatively.

We are looking at a mind-blowing McLaren that demonstrated incredible solidity, despite some mistakes by the two drivers.

Behind them we found an incredible Max Verstappen whose talent most probably hid Red Bull’s difficulties by making himself the protagonist of an amazing race keeping Lando Norris and Oscar busy from the first to the last lap. He tried to chase down the winner right to the end.

Third and fourth place for Mercedes with Russell and Antonelli. I was very pleased that the marshals backtracked on the 5” penalty given to “Kimi”, giving him back fourth place. I had found the decision very questionable. He was the protagonist of an excellent comeback, finishing his first grand prix ahead of Albon’s Williams. He certainly started from a position that did not reflect his true potential, favouring him in overtaking, however, he made only one slip where many made important mistakes, which were paid for heavily with retirement. The rain and the slippery asphalt brought out his natural talent.

The real surprise of the start of the season is probably Williams that confirmed the excellent signs seen in Sakhir. Decidedly underwhelming for the whole weekend was Carlos Sainz, who was also the protagonist of an important mistake in the race that an expert driver such as he should not allow himself.

Even Fernando Alonso was the protagonist of a mistake, ending up against the “wall”, but this time it was Lance Stroll who stepped forward to save Aston Martin’s Sunday by taking it to sixth place ahead of an excellent Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber.

So, we come to Ferrari. When the weekend entered the thick of things, see free practice 3 and Q3, they got lost. They got everything wrong, including the strategy. The perplexities that emerged during the tests were confirmed in Australia. In fact, compared to last year, they are the team that improved the least in the tests and we saw it today. The season is certainly long because there are still 23 grands prix, but in China and Japan important positive responses must come. We hope that it will be a salvageable job. Let us not forget that this year, with the 2026 regulations just around the corner, the commitment id double.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP ABU DHABI, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MCLAREN’S TITLE IS THE ANTECHAMBER TO THE FIGHT IN BOTH CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2025. CONGRATULATIONS TO ANDREA STELLA”

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One of the most beautiful championships goes into the archives, especially the second half where several teams took home a win.  McLaren came back to win the world championship, a success in the constructors’ championship that had been missing since ’98.

A result the reflected the forces in the field. Certainly, they will have to revise some internal aspects to try to avoid repeating some mistakes, but they can start from a base that is already solid. Unlike Ferrari, Mercedes and, probably Red Bull, the reigning champion will be able to rely on the stability of the design and on the best pair of drivers, in my opinion, launched into the future. Andrea Stella has done an exceptional job in these years, bringing back to the top a team that had fallen to the rear. He is a fantastic young man that I had the luck to meet, and he deserves this victory that, historically, is the antechamber to fighting for both titles next season. This is precisely why I expect McLaren with an advantage for 2025.

It was also a positive second part of the season for Ferrari that closed this very long championship with second and third place, and they can celebrate second place in the constructors’ title, finishing only 14 points behind. Unfortunately, in one part of the season, they had lost sight of the main objective, making some mistakes that turned out to be decisive. Next year they are in for a major challenge with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc.

Behind Ferrari were the two Mercedes with Hamilton and Russell, ahead of the world champion Max Verstappen, once again the protagonist of a solid race. On the contact with Piastri, in my opinion the 10” second penalty was excessive. He was on the curb, and that was a far as he could go.  This could have been dismissed as a race accident with 50/50 responsibility or by penalizing McLaren’s Australian driver as well.

A positive race also by Gasly, an excellent seventh place with Alpine finishing in sixth place, behind the Aston Martin, and ahead of Haas, which is also growing and it too files away the season with Hulkenberg’s eighth place ahead of the “warrior” Fernando Alonso who continues to fight tooth and nail.

The aspect I appreciated most of this season was precisely the alternation at the top and the ability of the teams and drivers to turn things around from race to race. It really was hard to make predictions. We saw this both at the top with Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, and in mid table. Alpine was able to right the season, achieving a result that was almost unhoped for until a few races from the end, as did Haas.

We are approaching the end of a technical cycle and next year it will be even more interesting, together with the new developments in Mercedes with the arrival of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and the already mentioned Hamilton in Maranello. All that is left is to choose is who will be Verstappen’s teammate in Red Bull…

Gian Carlo Minardi

 

F1 | GP QATAR, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN THE ONLY CERTAINTY IN THIS CHAOS“

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In this chaos of penalties, the only certainty is called Max Verstappen who took his latest win, demonstrating once again that he is a champion with a great vision of the race: from the mirrors he noticed the irregularity committed by Lando Norris.

Honestly, although probably necessary, I do not share these changes within the Federation a few races left in the world championship. The FIA must take another step forward in the professional management of its structure. In recent weeks we seen several changes, the fruit of palpable internal nervousness. Despite some penalties being dictated by the guidelines (we are still waiting for the decision on Piastri), other decisions have left me perplexed: Verstappen’s penalty in post-qualifying, both due to the motivation and the type of  penalty, or not “calling” the Virtual Safety-Car for the removal of the mirror lost by Albon, subsequently hit by Bottas that led to the punctures of Sainz and Hamilton.

On the race front, both Norris and Piastri were the protagonists of some ingenuities which are part of professional growth, but that they should try to avoid, above all for the sake of the team. In any case, I do not think McLaren will have problems taking the world constructors’ championship back to Woking, having, as of today, a twenty-one-point lead over Ferrari.

Ferrari said goodbye to Quatar with second place, as positive as it was unhoped-for. For once the wheel turned in their favour, especially for Leclerc who took himself within eight points from Norris.

Also, among the surprises were Gasly’s fifth place with Alpine and the first points for Sauber, thanks to Zhou’s eight place.  Gasly made himself the protagonist of a positive weekend, once again demonstrating his qualities in a team that found its stimulus again and the way to emerge by consolidating itself as the sixth force in the world championship.

We are heading towards the last round in Abu Dhabi, already the scene for unforeseen upsets in the past, with the open battle between Ferrari-McLaren,  Norris-Leclerc for second place and Alpine-Haas for sixth place.

F1 GP LAS VEGAS, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “LECLERC-SAINZ: DIRTY LAUNDRY IS WASHED AT HOME. AN EXCITING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RIGHTLY IN VERSTAPPEN’S HANDS”

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We are witnessing one of the best, if not the best, season in Formula 1 history. Las Vegas gave us an exciting grand prix made up of a lot of correct overtaking that did not require the intervention of the safety-car or the virtual one.

Once again, the predictions were overturned with a Mercedes that was one of the great protagonists right from free practice. It knew how to make the most of its advantage in these particular conditions, taking the one-two.  Just a few months ago I had pointed out Mercedes as one of the possible arbiters of the constructors’ championship, which is occurring in the McLaren-Ferrari challenge.

This is a championship in which the slightest slip is enough to find oneself in the rear, especially in qualifying in which there are six drivers within a handful of tenths of a second. We saw this with Hamilton. He started from tenth place and climbed up to second place.

With third and fourth place Ferrari reduced the gap from the leadership to 24 points, even if what happened between Leclerc and Sainz must give them food for thought. It could be a foretaste of 2025 with the arrival of Hamilton in the red car. I do not want to blame one or the other. They are both right, even based on the agreements made at the start of the race. Sainz managed the tyres better, but what I did not like were the comments Leclerc made on world vision. He is a champion and dirty laundry is washed at home. The team has to learn how to manage its drivers in that it will have a hard season under this aspect. It will be much harder to manage Leclerc-Hamilton compared to the current pair.

Las Vegas gave us the first verdict. Max Verstappen took out his fourth world title. An absolutely deserved result, the result of great professionalism, preparation and seriousness. Despite the difficulties with his car he did not relent, fighting and taking home fifth place ahead of his direct rival who consoled himself with the fastest lap. Once again, Verstappen made the difference within the team, even if, this time, at least Perez contributed with a point.

The duel in the rear is also very nice. Haas goes one point ahead of Alpine (forced to retire with Gasly), but the Racing Bulls also reduced the gap with the usual Tsunoda, with an excellent ninth place.

We are approaching the last two rounds with trepidation. Qatar and Abu Dhabi within just two weeks.  In between the two Grands Prix, the sixth, and last, Sprint scheduled for Saturday.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BRAZIL, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN OUT OF THIS WORLD. RACING BULLS DEPRIVED OF AN IMPORTANT RESULT BY A RED FLAG WAS SHOWN TOO QUICKLY”

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As long as the Brazil Grand Prix continues to be scheduled in this part of the year, we will have races strongly affected by the rain and the weather.

We witnessed a Sprint Race won by Norris, ahead of Piastri with Max Verstappen the protagonist of some mistakes that took him to a penalty, something that he did not do during the grand prix managing to outclass the direct rivals. From the 46th lap he made himself the protagonist consistently setting fast laps, outpacing his adversaries by more than five tenths of a second. The second fastest lap of the race is found a more than second slower (Verstappen: 1:20.472  – Norris: 1:21.517).

He gave an important signal, making it clear that his three titles were not won by chance, and that the fourth is coming. Let us not forget he started from sixteenth place on the grid. It will certainly not be easy for Norris to make up the 62-point gap, not only because there are only three rounds, but above all because he is up against a great driver who, once again, cancelled his teammate: absolutely irrelevant for the whole weekend, the protagonist of various mistakes and also ridiculed by Lawson.

After the last two grands prix won, Ferrari partially disappointed with Leclerc only fifth. Who disappointed in particular was Carlos Sainz, who made mistakes in both qualifying and the race.

It was a decidedly favourable weekend for Alpine that, thanks to the double podium, took sixth place on the constructors’ ladder. An unhoped-for result only a week ago, which certainly came thanks to the weather conditions that mitigated the problems of the power-unit, but also to excellent work by the team and its two drivers. In these difficult conditions they were competitive.

Instead, it was decidedly underwhelming grand prix for McLaren that ended the long Sunday with only sixth and seventh places, and a number of mistakes by the poleman Norris.

It was a weekend decidedly conditioned by the bad weather that put a strain on the drivers – who made various mistakes – but also the race management that was first forced to delay qualifying until Sunday morning, and then to abort the start following Stroll’s  mistake in the formation lap, until the red flag was shown due to the difficult track conditions  and Colapinto’s  going off the track.

Precisely Williams was the “victim” of a number of incidents which had a major impact on costs. I believe that Colapinto could come into the financial operation aimed at balancing the finances considering that the team from Grove already has two drivers under contract for 2025 (Albon and Sainz) and that Red Bull is racing with only one driver…

So far, the race marshals have not commented on the investigation begun due to the departure of some drivers, despite the display of the flashing lights for an aborted start. In fact, at different times, all the drivers left the starting grid (with the sole exception of Sainz who started from pit-lane). I am of the opinion that any penalties should be assigned quickly, but, in any case, the track has already given its verdict.

In addition to the bad weather, the race was also strongly conditioned by the red flag, which was shown too quickly because they then restarted with the same conditions and tyres (intermediates). Among other things, it was shown in a time that strongly affected in a negative way the Racing Bulls that had guessed the strategy and the best moment for passing onto the full-wets. I find that the team was deprived of a very important result. It could have found itself in Alpine’s place.

It was certainly not easy for the race marshals and the Federation to manage this type of race, but I believe it would take a uniform work group throughout the season, especially for minimizing possible non-uniformity of views.

We leave this demanding weekend behind and prepare to experience the final three rounds in which rain should not be a problem.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP MEXICO, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FERRARI IS TO BE APPLAUDED. THE DIRECT CHALLENGE WITH MCLAREN STARTS AGAIN. VERSTAPPEN: HEAVY PENALTIES BUT CORRECT “

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Once again, these young men knew how to entertain us, giving us a good grand prix, and on the whole it was a very interesting weekend. Carlos Sainz made the most of his performances in the best way possible, just like Ferrari took home a second straight win. Together with important points with Leclerc’s third place, to which is added the additional point for the fastest lap.

As we had been expecting for some time, the challenge between McLaren and Ferrari has started again. McLaren, that keeps the lead in the constructors’ world championship, finished the weekend with an important second place with Norris, but a Ferrari not only removed Red Bull from second place, but it got closer to its direct rivals from Woking. Now the gap is 29 points.

This is certainly an important sign in view of the near future that was hard to foresee until a few months ago, and it is synonymous with peace of mind, and a rediscovered tranquillity within the team.

In Red Bull they were probably aware of this possible scenario, finding itself having to race with only one driver, especially after having made the decision to trust Perez. It is an incredible involution by the Mexican.

Staying in Red Bull, Verstappen paid, all at once, for all the bonuses accumulated up now. Besides everything, they are severe, but correct, penalties, probably the fruit of the meeting on Saturday between the drivers and the marshals. They are two penalties that Verstappen paid heavily, managing anyway to climb back to sixth place.

The challenge within Mercedes between the seven times world champion and the possible next world champion was exciting. It was a very correct challenge, with Hamilton taking advantage of indecision by Russell. He showed his experience and all his worth.

Between all the teams that are growing in this end of the season we surely find Haas, once again in the points with its drivers, so consolidating sixth place at the expense the Racing Bulls that was deprived right from the start of its driver, who was blameless. These are episodes that are part of the races.

Next week we go back onto the track once again, in Sao Paolo, Brazil for the fourth last race round.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP USA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FERRARI PERFECT. LAWSON AND COLAPINTO TO BE APPLAUDED. CORRECT TAKING AWAY THE POINT FROM THE GPV”

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The three races in America started with an extraordinary double by Ferrari. Charles Leclerc was the protagonist of a perfect start. That type of attack by Verstappen on Norris was probably expected.

The driver from Monte Carlo was just as skilled at the start after the safety-cay caused by Lewis Hamilton (protagonist of a mistake not worthy of a seven times world champion), maintaining a high pace for all the grand prix. Just as infallible was the strategy regarding Carlos Sainz that allowed the double taking them to only eight points from second place on the constructors’ ladder with five races still to be run.

This was a prestigious result for Ferrari and a good omen that confirms the important step forward, especially in the long run configuration. They must still improve something in qualifying, but we are talking about tenths of a second. Leclerc and Sainz can only recriminate for having blocked each other excessively during the sprint. Otherwise, they would have made it harder for Verstappen to return to success.

Third place for Red Bull with Verstappen, who found his smile once again, the fruit of a tussle with the poleman Norris and the subsequent penalty. Unfortunately, we do not know the guidelines dictated during the briefing between the race director and the drivers. It certainly seems to me that there was more permissiveness during the first lap compared to the rest of the race, because the two episodes – always with Norris and Verstappen as protagonists – are very similar.

George Russell and Lian Lawson also stood out. Both, starting from pitlane, were the protagonists of important comebacks with both finishing in the points zone. Sixth place for the Mercedes driver, with the mistake in qualifying that probably wiped out a result that could have been more important, and eighth place for the Racing Bulls flagbearer in his first race of the season. An important result for the direct challenge with Haas in view of sixth place, currently to the hands of the American team with a two-point lead, the result of both Hulkenberg’s eighth place and, above all, the better result in the Sprint.

Just as important, tenth place by Colapinto who put an unjudgeable Albon in serious difficulty. In just a few races the young man has shown that he deserves to stay in the world championship. We hope that correct choices are made in his regard. Until a few laps from the finish, he had also set the fastest lap of the race, taken away only in the final lap by Ocon with an action that has little to do with sport or technique.

Precisely for this reason I am absolutely in favour of eliminating this regulation. It would be fair to reward if it is done during the race. Used in this way it has so sense.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SINGAPORE, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THE FINAL RESULT OF THE WEEKEND IS THE SUM OF QUALIFYING AND THE RACE”

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Compliments must be made to these young men.  In such a complicated race, dictated above all by a high level of humidity, once again the safety-car stayed in the pits. Only Norris “gave” us a few seconds of suspense by touching the battier despite an important lead over Max Verstappen.

As could have been expected, it was a very tactical race by Lando Norris in an excellent McLaren that left the world champion almost twenty-one seconds behind. It was certainly an important gap. A positive second place however for Verstappen who kept the leadership with a 52-point advantage.

The final result of the weekend is the sum of the results between qualifying and the race, Ferrari paid a high price for a disastrous Saturday. Fifth place, a hand full of tenths of a second behind George Russell(fourth) is certainly a positive result, but, considering the pace on the track by Leclerc, supported by a good strategy (change of tyres after the 37th lap, Ferrari certainly has something to recriminate, also together with the physical difficulties in the end felt by the winner. We could probably have seen a Baku-2 with the two drivers very close. But this is racing.

The other factor to emerge from the final placings was the only seven drivers on full laps, Carlos Sainz, seventh it the first non-lapped driver. A result of the mistake in qualifying, but also a perfect start and a different strategy compared to his teammate’s. The Spaniard was amongst the first to make a pit-stop, switching to the whites after barely fourteen laps of the sixty-two.

Even always being competitive, right now the gap between the four top teams (McLaren-Red Bull-Ferrari-Mercedes) and the rest of the group is strongly becoming evident at the moment. The result is the lapping of drivers that have not been seen for quite some time, see Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin.

Theee was team play between Red Bull and Racing Bulls with Ricciardo recalled to the pits at the end to set the fastest lap and take the extra point away from Lando Norris. Racing Bull however says goodbye to Singapore with zero points, counting the 2 points gained by Haas’ direct rivals (9th Hulkenberg, ahead of Perez) in the fight for sixth place on the constructors’ title.

We have another six grands prix. The appointment is in Austin on October 18-20.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP AZERBAIJAN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “51 HEARTSTOPPING LAPS. PIASTRI PHENOMENAL. PEREZ-SAINZ? THE MEXICAN WITH THE GREATEST FAULT

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These young men know how to entertain us. They gave us 51 heart stopping laps with as many as 4 drivers within little more than two seconds. Piastri, Leclerc and Perez within less than one and a half seconds.

It was a hard-fought grand prix, won by a very good Oscar Piastri, author of a wonderful overtaking move at Leclerc’s expense, but above all skilful in managing the not easy situation on a track as complicated as Baku. This is certainly not a surprise because Piastri is a young man with all the credentials to make people talk about him. Plus, he has a car that is a notch above all the others, that allows him to brake later than the others and with better DRS. This was particularly evident when he overtook the Ferrari driver. He was able to recover 5 tenths of a second, against the mere 2 tenths of Leclerc, the author of a magnificent pole position. This however should make the men in Maranello pause for thought.

It was a shame only about the finish. We could have had a race with no interruptions despite a very high pace.

Until that moment it was an incredible comeback by Carlos Sainz, after a sluggish first part of the race. It was an equally remarkable race by Sergio Perez, who always gives his best on these tracks. Right now, Red Bull’s difficulties seem to be punishing mostly Max Verstappen. It is not easy to analyse the Sainz-Perez collision. Speaking from the television images, it seems to me that the Mexican had a higher percentage of blame since the Spaniard was ahead of him. Plus, he did not have a favourable view of him. He had plenty of space to move, there was enough to the left, to avoid the fatal contact.

Sainz’s retirement cost Ferrari dearly in terms of points, with the gap from the lead growing to 54 points with another seven races still to go.

It was a double celebration for McLaren. In addition to the win, it also took home the leadership of the constructors’ ladder, climbing above Red Bull after 55 races. Lando Norris’s race was also to be applauded. Starting from fifteenth position, he finished fifth ahead of Verstappen, also taking the additional point for the fastest lap-

The double retirement favoured George Russell, who took an unhoped-for podium, as well as the 2 Williams drivers and Oliver Berman, protagonists of an excellent weekend and rewarded with important points. Positive results especially for the two young men (Colapinto and Berman). The Argentine, an excellent shield bearer in regard to Albon. In his second grand prix, Berman once more entered the points zone with two different teams. Certainly not a result to be taken for granted driving a Haas.

We are approaching the final rounds which we predict will be fiery I am looking forward to seeing what will happen in Singapore street circuit.

As for our flag bearers, important results came in, starting with Gabriele Mini’s podium in Formula 2 (on his debut). Followed by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s third place despite a car damaged in a collision. In Japan, Davies Rigon drove the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 to the win in the FIA WEC World championship, and Raffaele Marcielllo took second place at the wheel of the BMW Hypercar. These results are all a source of great pride, as well as the fruit of the work carried out over all these years by the Federation and ACI Sport.

Gian Carlo Minardi

 

F1 | ITALIAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “A SENSATIONAL WEEKEND NETWEEN “KIMI” ANTONELLI, LECLERC AND FORNAROLI”

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It was a weekend full of excitement, that began with the debut of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in F1 at the wheel of the Mercedes during the first free practice, followed with the confirmation as an official driver for the 2025 World Championship alongside Geroge Russella and ended with the incredible win by Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in the GP. In between, the F3 World Championship win by Leonardo Fornaroli with an incredible move on Mansell in the last bend of the last lap.

As far as “Kimi” is concerned, it is an honour for Italy finding its flag bearer again in the F1 World Championship. In this case, the pride is double because the debut came with a top team with eight world constructors’ title to its credit and goes to the GP to win. Of course, as ACI and ACI Team Italia, we are proud of this achievement and we will continue to support and help him even in the eventual difficult moments, should they come, because we must not forget that we are talking about a team that starts the season to win the constructors’ title.

As the Federal School, Leonardo’s win makes us just as proud since it opens the doors for him into Formula 2. I wish that Gabriele Mini can quickly forget this disappointment and that those who follow him closely will help him in continuing his adventure in racing cars. He has shown on a few occasions that he has the right qualifications to do well in this world.

Coming to the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari put together an incredible strategy, solidified by excellent work by Charles Leclerc, assisted by Carlos Sainz. Unlike the direct rivals, they opted for a single stop managing to overtake the excellent McLarens, by managing to protect the tyres. The constancy of the driver from Monte Carlo was incredible, from the 37th lap to the 52nd he consistently lapped between 1’23.5-1’23.7.

This weekend everything went well for Ferrari, putting the work into practice. It was a breath of fresh air, and we hope it can bring some peace of mind within the team.

To be applauded was Oscar Piastri’s overtaking Lando Norris. Done like a true champion. As I have always maintained, we are talking about one the most promising drivers who, as the grands prix pass by, gains the serenity to impose his choices on the team. So, we are talking about two young, very promising drivers. For some time, I have been saying for a long time that McLaren has the best pair of drivers,

It was a defensive race for Mercedes.  A result that did not live up to their expectations, also considering the fantastic engine that it has, as shown by the same McLaren. Russell’s initial mistake made a big impact on the result.

It was another defensive race by Red Bull that said goodbye to Monza at the head of the constructors’ ladder, but with the lead reduced to only eight points.

Now we wait for Baku, that will not see Kevin Magnussen amongst the protagonists, disqualified for having accumulated 12 penalty points this season. Decisive was the collision wit Gasly (a 10” second penalty and 10 points on the license).  We will see who will be entrusted with his Haas.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | DUTCH GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MCLAREN HAS SETS ITS SIGHTS ON THE CONSTRUCTORS’ TITLE”

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The Dutch grand prix gave us 72 demanding laps, run at a very high pace, and without a single accident or safety-car. It was a long and complicated grand prix, with a Lando Norris leading the way, despite an imperfect start, just like for his teammate.

I believe McLaren’s politics is to take out the constructors’ title, so they set up a particular strategy on Piastri, aimed at winning the highest number of points without worrying Norris who also took home the additional point for the fastest lap on the final lap with an excellent 1.13 812, leaving Verstappen 20 seconds behind.

In this circumstance Verstappen showed he is a champion. Having guessed that it would not have been a race to aim for the win, he managed his car as well as possible without taking any particular risks, bringing home an important second place. At this moment he must defend himself from the overwhelming power of this McLaren.

Excellent job by Charles Leclerc who took his Ferrari onto the podium in third place. An almost unhoped for outcome after the result in qualifying and could not have been predicted at all, especially having raced for the last 15 laps over the limit with a Piastri constantly on the edge of of a one second gap.

Carlos Sainz was just as good. The Spaniard recovered up to fifth place, after having started on the sixth row. A positive result for Ferrari ahead of Monza.

On the other hand, Mercedes was inexplicable. I saw them struggling after the latest positive results, but above all I find it hard to understand their strategy.

We are heading towards a very interesting end of the season with an important alternation. In a weeks’ time it will be back to the track with the Italian Grand Prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi