F1 | GP IMOLA, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “120.000 TIMES THANK YOU. SATURDAY’S SPRINT RACE IS TO BE FOLLOWED CAREFULLY”

/in , /by

After two editions behind closed doors the Imola Circuit is ready to host its fans and the response from the enthusiasts has been sensational. We have exceeded the incredible quota of 120,000 tickets sold and there is still some availability for Friday and Saturday that can be purchased on TicketOne.

Unlike the past editions this weekend will also see the return of the support races and the race programme is interesting. Together with Formula 1 there will be the Formula 3, Formula 2 and Porsche Supercup races.

On Friday Formula 1 qualifying will determine the grid for the start of the sprint race of one hundred kilometres scheduled for Saturday afternoon. In the first three rounds we had a very hard fought start with great competitiveness amongst the cars. This could change with a truly interesting race that could give us an innovative grid for Sunday. And the new points system which will assign world championship points for the first eight placings is not to be underestimated.

On the competition front the challenge between Ferrari and Red Bull will be rekindled. Charles Leclerc will take to the track as the world championship leader with two wins and a second place to his credit against the two retirements of the reigning champion. We are only at the fourth round and the championship is still too long to make predictions. Then we will have to pay attention to Mercedes that in Australia already showed important signs of growth.

It will be interesting to know if and how many new developments the teams will bring to the track considering the little time available and the subsequent trip to Miami before the return to Europe with Spain. I believe that there are the conditions to experience a wonderful weekend of Motorsport.

2022 will be a year to frame for the Circuit. In addition to Formula 1 we have hosted the opening race of the GT World Challenge with a record paying audience which will be followed by the Ski weekends, the Le Mans Series in mid May, the DTM the month after, the Historic Minardi Day (27-28 August) and the Ferrari World Championship Finals. I have a lot of good memories of this track but even that accursed May 1st remains indelible…

Gian Carlo Minardi

GIAN CARLO MINARDI ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF THE FIA SINGLE-SEATER COMMISSION

/in , /by

Gian Carlo Minardi, the eponymous Formula One team founder, has been elected as President of the FIA Single-Seater Commission.

The Italian has been elected after an e-voting process by members of the World Motor Sport Council.

Starting out as a competitor in Hill Climb and Rallying in the late 60s, Mr Minardi switched to management by running teams in Formula Italia. He eventually took his successful Formula Two operation into Formula 1 in 1985 where an engine supply partnership with Ferrari followed.

The Minardi name featured in Formula 1 until it was acquired by Paul Stoddart in 2001. The team eventually morphed into Scuderia Toro Rosso and has been known as Alpha Tauri since 2020. It still operates from the original Minardi team base in Faenza, Italy.

At the Minardi team, Gian Carlo Minardi shaped the careers of a number of Formula One drivers including Gian Carlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber and current BWT Alpine F1 Team pilot Fernando Alonso.

He is President of the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) Land Speed Records Commission since 2004.

In 2020, Mr Minardi was elected President of the Autdodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, the site of Formula 1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to be staged on April 24.

Mr Minardi will oversee a Single-Seater Commission which has been instrumental in reshaping the FIA’s junior racing portfolio while introducing innovative technologies and improved safety measures in recent years.

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “I warmly welcome the election of Gian Carlo Minardi as FIA Single-Seater Commission President. He is a major figure in motor sport. I look forward to working with him to further develop the Single-Seater pyramid around the world.”

F1 | GP AUSTRIALIA, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “NOW I AM WAITING FOR ALL OF YOU IN IMOLA”

/in , , /by

Pole position, fastest lap, the win and always at the top of the ladder. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari dominated the Melbourne weekend taking the second win in the first three rounds of the season with a second place also to its credit.

A Ferrari that transmits calm, in addition to an important supremacy, especially in terms of reliability for the rest of the season. The fastest lap set by Leclerc in the final lap is a decidedly positive sign, as well as the progression of times from the 31st to the 40th laps. It is a Ferrari great in great shape that must exploit to the fullest this positive moment by accumulating the largest margin possible in the two ladders. Too bad for Carlos Sainz. If he had been a little unlucky in qualifying, he made an amateur’s mistake in the race. After a bad start he may have become nervous.

It was the second forced stop for Max Verstappen, the only one at the moment he can stay close to Ferrari, at least in the times. It is an uphill road for Red Bull on the reliability front and at the present time it is in third place in the constructors’ ladder behind Mercedes with Russell climbing to second place with 37 points (against the 71 of the driver from Monaco).

Today we already saw an improvement in Mercedes. They won eight world titles in the last eight years and they certainly know how to react. For the second time, helped by the retirement of the Dutch driver, they took the third step on the podium, this time with Russell who finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren put itself on show again after the “crisis” in Saudi Arabia. They confirmed they are the fourth force in the world championship. The result in Jeddah was probably only an isolated episode. We must congratulate FIA that got the regulations right and Pirelli that brought fantastic tyres. Even if we are only at the third race weekend we have all the conditions for seeing an exciting world championship

I am waiting for you all in Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit for the first European round. Amongst other things there will also be the first sprint race of the season. I hope to see the circuit full of fans starting from Friday to show the whole world that the passion for Motorsport beats strongly in Italy too.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP AUSTRALIA, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “AN INTERLOCUTORY RACE”

/in , /by

After an absence of two years Formula 1 returns to Albert Park. In Melbourne the teams and drivers will find a renewed and very fast circuit. Bends 1, 3 and 6 have been changed with the removal of bend 8 that has been transformed into a straight. There are 4 DRS zones.

Despite all these changes I do not expect an upheaval of the forces on the field. I expect an interlocutory grand prix where reliability will dominate. Ferrari is building its strong point on this front with Mercedes forced to give chase. On the tyre front, Pirelli will bring the C2-C3-C5 compounds. This is a reason for attention and evaluation, especially during free practice.

Only with the arrival in Europe, particularly the Spanish GP considering the unknown quantity of Miami, the teams will bring the first major evolutions with an eye on the budget cap. At this moment the focus is on the “slimming cure”.

As we wait for the Made in Italy and the Emilia-Romagna GP, it was very nice to see Imola once again full of fans with a positive attendance record. Certainly the debut of Valentino Rossi contributed to this result but it was also due to the desire of Italians to go back to touch Motorsport to the full. There is not only Formula 1. This year the circuit has very rich racing calendar and the Motor Valley is the centre of the motoring world. Last Sunday we watched a very tight three hour race that ended on the edge of seconds with excellent drivers and teams, with beautiful cars.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SAUDI ARABIA, THE POINY BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “WHAT A BATTLE BETWEEN FERRARI AND RED BULL”

/in , , /by

We saw a wonderful grand prix and I am very satisfied with what I saw. An exciting season awaits us with a battle played on the edge of thousandths of a second but very correct between two great drivers and teams who will certainly know how to entertain us. I am satisfied with the current race management which was much more attentive than in the recent past. There is uniformity of views in the decisions taken and I hope it can continue on the same path.

Seeing a win slip away in the last three laps certainly leaves a bitter taste in the mouth but Ferrari confirmed its competitiveness that consolidates its lead in the ladder but we are only in the second GP. They will have to continue working hard because in front of them is a Red Bull that is exceedingly beautiful to look at and much more stable compared to the Ferrari that must compromise by giving something away in speed.

Mercedes is still in difficulty. It was not exempt from errors of strategy both on the occasion of the Safety Car and the start with the hard compounds. They gave a big sign to the direct rivals. Russell was much better than Hamilton during all the weekend, however, I am convinced that they will know how to solve their problems quickly and with the arrival in Europe the fight could extend to three.

It was an interesting GP in the rear with a lot of overtaking even if there was no lack of reliability problems in Alpha Tauri, McLaren and Alpine. There is a great competition and above all overtaking is possible in breaking.

Now we will see what will happen in two weeks in Australia.

 

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BAHRAIN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “RELIABILITY THE DECIDING FACTOR”

/in , , /by

During the test sessions Ferrari won the reliability grand prix and today it confirmed all the good of its plan with an incredible double. When you start with a completely new car being able to count on its reliability is a very positive sign since you can concentrate all the forces on the car. The situation is decidedly different when this is lacking since you must divide your efforts.

What happened to Max Verstappen in the end was a pity because he showed he is a true champion. The scrimmage with Leclerc was as wonderful as it was correct. The driver from Monaco left absolutely nothing to the rivals taking pole position, the fastest lap and the win. It was an excellent result for Italian Motorsport that comes from a few difficult years. Congratulations to everyone in Ferrari. Excellent work by Sainz as well.  As a passionate fan and the President of Imola it is a result that bodes well.

Hoping that this is not the just a “swallow that makes Spring”, the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship started on the right foot giving us wonderful duels on the track with cars that are very different but equally competitive.

On this first weekend we saw a major upheaval of the players on the field with a good leap forward by Haas and Alfa Romeo that even put both its cars in the top 10 with the first point for China’s Zhou. As emerged from the tests, Mercedes confirmed it is in difficulty and currently the championship’s third force, and also lucky. Helped by Red Bull’s double retirement Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took third and fourth place.

Red Bull was certainly missing amongst the top teams, betrayed by reliability problems as the car showed it was already very competitive. Gasly too paid the price as he could have brought an important result for Alpha Tauri. The team can be consoled by Tsunoda’s eight place.

Now we wait to see the second grand prix in Saudi Arabia in a week’s time.

 

Gian Carlo Minardi

MINARDI “HANDS OFF THE TARGA FLORIO”

/in /by

Built in 1906 by the will of Vincenzo Florio, the future of the historic landmark structure of the Targa Florio has been put at risk by the new infrastructure modernization project of the Italian railway network (Rfi).

In fact, the railway project of the Palermo-Catania-Messina stretch requires the creation of a viaduct and roundabout that would overwhelm the area of Floriopoli on which the pits, grandstand and the timekeepers’ tower stand.

Following the presentation of the plans the agencies have until April 21 for approval. Any favourable outcome would jeopardize a heritage of inestimable value, as well as the beauty and historic significance of the territory.

 “The risk of seeing more than 116 years of Motorsport history being swept away is very high, as well as unacceptable,” cried out Gian Carlo Minardi, “the Targa Florio circuit is a heritage that must be protected and preserved. No project should put it at risk. I hope that the people involved can sit around a table to find a solution that, on the one hand, can save the historic structure ad on the other the new infrastructures without damaging the territory”