F1 |MEXICAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THANK YOU KIMI, THANK YOU MERCEDES. ITALY IS BACK ON THE PINNACLE OF FORMULA 1”
At twenty years of age, Kimi Antonelli has brought the world championship title back to Italy 73 years after Alberto Ascari. Minardi: “This is a historic moment for all of Italy’s motorsport. I never had any doubts about Kimi”.
This is a historic moment for Italian motorsport. Kimi Antonelli, at just twenty years of age, has been crowned the World Champion, bringing the title back to Italy 73 years after Alberto Ascari. The best thing is that, when his adventure began, I told Andrea that I would have loved to see him become world champion. This all came true in a very short time. This is a huge source of satisfaction and a cause of great pride for our entire movement.
On Friday, during the first session of free practice, we had three drivers on the track: Leonardo Fornaroli, Gabriele Mini and, of course, Kimi Antonelli, who then finished an extraordinary race, in which he only made a handful of mistakes, on the podium. This is the result of a journey and hard work carried out over these years. For this reason, I would like to thank everyone at ACI Sport who have collaborated in this adventure, not only Kimi, but also all the other drivers who are part of our family.
I have never doubted Kimi, not even in the toughest times. Those who have been in this world for many years know full well that there are happy moments and others that are more challenging, and these are precisely the moments that, with hard work and determination, you have to learn to overcome. I have never doubted his abilities, and today we can celebrate an extraordinary achievement that recognizes the work of so many people.
The image of Hamilton and Verstappen lifting Kimi onto their shoulders was also wonderful. For me this gesture on the podium had a strong symbolic worth, almost a passing the baton between world champions: an act of esteem, faith and recognition towards a young man who had just reached the pinnacle of Formula 1.
Kimi’s race was fantastic. He made two exceptional starts, he managed the race with intelligence, and he took home a third place that let him crown this season in the best way possible. Now that the title race is over, attention turns to the battle for second place between Verstappen and Hamilton
Speaking about Ferrari, on this occasion I believe Hamilton deserved more support from the team, and also from Leclerc. Lewis was showing all his worth on the track and is driving the team forward. Leclerc must understand that, at this time, the interests of Ferrari come first. The Scuderia is still in the running for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship and everyone must work in the same direction. In this perspective, I did not like Charles’ attack during the early stages of the Grand Prix.
Gian Carlo Minardi
