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 | GP HOLLAND, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “A LIVELY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BEHIND (THE UNBEATABLE) VERSTAPPEN”

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Race winner Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium.
27.08.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 14, Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Netherlands, Race Day.
– www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com © Copyright: Coates / XPB Images

Despite the three-week summer break, Red Bull and Max Verstappen confirmed they are unbeatable in every track condition. Once again Verstappen took home the win without making the slightest mistake, outclassing his team mate on whom questionable tactics were adopted.

The 5” penalty on the Mexican helped Gasly (third across the finish line), who was also penalized, but thanks to the many pitstops and the red flag waved at the end, he managed to recover.

We are certainly experiencing a new era of Formula 1. In the past this grand prix would never have restarted. Precisely for this reason I believe it is wrong to compare results and statistics.

It was also an excellent performance by Fernando Alonso who found himself in second place on the podium. At the restart he tried to worry the leader who, as always when needed, put on show his worth and that of his car. In any case, he can console himself with second place and the fastest lap of the race.

Without the Dutchman we would have witnessed a hard fought and extremely lively world championship with a lot of interchange. Behind him we saw once again Aston Martin after a less favourable period. Fifth place for Carlos Sainz who once again put in difficulty his teammate who was the protagonist of a mistake in free practice. The retirement cancelled the mistake in the pitstop.

There were also mistakes by McLaren, but both Norris and Piastri managed to recover to still finish in the points zone. There was also a nice comeback carried out by Lewis Hamilton, sixth behind the Ferrari driver.

In Holland the New Zealander Liam Lawson made his debut with Alpha Tauri, finishing a difficult race despite absolutely absurd rules which do not allow training. Tsunada’s performance was also positive. With regard to the team, I was particularly pleased with the combination of the name “Minardi” in anticipation of the next change. It will not happen, but it would have been nice. Adding together the 340 GPs run by Team Minardi to those of Scuderia Toto Rosso and Alpha Tauri, we are talking about a reality that ranks fourth overall. Staying in Faenza, I am very pleased with the arrival of Laurent Mekies. I hope this can be a good omen for leaving last place behind them.

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

THE 7TH EDITION OF THE HISTORIC MINARDI DAY CELEBRATES THE CENTENARY OF THE SAVIO CIRCUIT WITH UNIQUE PIECES. TICKETS ON SALE ON TICKETONE

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Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 August the Passion on the Track will come back to Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit on the occasion of the 7th edition of the Historic Minardi Day.

The intense programme of the event conceived by the Minardi family, in collaboration with Formula Imola, in addition to warming the hearts of fans, will have fantastic Formula 1, F2, F3, F3000, GP2, historic GTs, Prototypes, supercars and hypercars taking to the track (there are fifteen rounds each day) to tackle the 19 bends along the 4,909 metres of the track. The event is also enhanced by the ACI Storico (historic) Festival which celebrates the “100 anni del Circuito del Savio” (100 years of the Savio Circuit). It was June 17, 1923, and Enzo Ferrari at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio number 28 won the first Savio Circuit.

Sunday August 27, on the occasion of the centenary of the Circuit of the Savio, the not to be missed Raduno Terre di Romagna “100 ANNI DEL CIRCUITO DEL SAVIO” (Lands of the Romagna Gathering, “100 years of the Savio Circuit”) will return. A day entirely dedicated to passion, culture, and the territory. Starting from the Imola Circuit, the convoy will wind through the countryside of the Romagna, passing through Lugo and Ravenna, also running through a stretch of the original circuit. In the afternoon, starting from the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the convoy will return to the track with the parade of the closing of the event (Info and registration https://minardiday.it/raduno-terrediromagna/)   To celebrate the “100 years of the Savio Circuit” the Motor Valley Showroom in the Checco Costa Museum at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit reopened to the public on July 28 with the “100 Anni di Passione automobilistica in Romagna” (100 years of automotive passion in the Romagna) exhibition.

Through the display of vintage cars and digital photos the exhibition tells the story of the passion for Motorsport in a territory, the Romagna, which still burns intensely today, and recalls the protagonists and the most significant automotive events of the last one hundred years of history.

On display there will be, amongst other things, cars from 1923 to1927 which were the protagonists of the editions of the “Savio Circuit”, together with some iconic cars which made Formula 1 history with the presence of an area dedicated to Alpha Tauri, all enriched by digital images projected onto the screens which show the evolution of the Imola track. Thanks to the close collaboration and friendly relations with the Historic Minardi Day, the Scuderia Tazio Nuvolari has made available for display unique pieces of the calibre of: a 1922 Itala 51 Sport, a 1924 Lancia Lambda Sport Torpedo and the 1927 Bugatti T37. These cars are “sisters” which participated in various editions of the Savio Circuit. The collector and driver Venanzio Fonte has made available to visitors the extraordinary Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio of 1924 looked after by the Bonfanti Garage, “sister” of the Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio number 28 with which the young Enzo Ferrari won the first edition of the Savio Circuit one hundred years ago. From the Pierluigi Martini collection, there are the 6 wheeled Tyrrel P34 and the Ferrari 126 C4 driven by Michele Alboreto.

As a testimony to modern Formula 1, and of the continuity of international competitions in the territory with the return of the Imola track to the F1 World Championship, Alpha Tauri celebrates the anniversary with the STR05 (protagonist of the 2010 World Championship with Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari) and the Alpha Tauri with the 1922 livery.

Furthermore, in the Museum Shop it will be possible to buy the celebratory book “Imola, il romanzo dell’autodromo” (Imola, the novel of the circuit) by Pino Allievi which is part of the “machina” (car) series of FormulaPassion.it, edited by Mauro Coppini, with the coordination of Antonio Azzano, created to celebrate the 70 years of the Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit.

The exhibition will be open to the public until Sunday 10th September. During the Historic Minardi Day entry will be included with the event’s ticket, which can already be bought on TicketOne (https://www.ticketone.it/artist/historic-minardi-day/) and at the authorized TicketOne points of sale. A single ticket to also have access to the most exclusive areas of the facility to experience the event as a protagonist.

All the information is available on the website www.minardiday.it, www.autodromoimola.it and on the Imola70 app.