F1 | ITALIAN GP GIAN CARLO MINARDI “IT IS AN HONOUR TO SEE AN ITALIAN DRIVER IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ONCE AGAIN. COLAPINTO, AN INTELLIGENT CHOICE”

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We have left behind the Historic Minardi Day in Imola and the Dutch GP in Zandvoort and it is already time for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

A Monza that is getting ready for two new developments. On the Mercedes front, it is an honour to have one of our drivers in the world championship once again. in this case the pride is double because the debut is with a top team that has eight constructors’ title to its credit and on a track like Monza. It is certainly a reward for everything he has been able to achieve over the years, starting with karting. It will be important to keep his feet on the ground.

The Argentine Franco Colapinto, born in 2003, will make his debut in Williams. Twenty-three years after Gaston Mazzacane, who made his debut with Minardi, Argentina has once again found its flag bearer. I believe this is an intelligent and fitting choice. He is a fast young man who knew how to put himself on show in Formula 2, as he did in the minor formulas. What is more, he comes from a country with a strong tradition in Motorsport.

This weekend will see an important grand prix based on strategy and reliability with the engines at full throttle for more than 75% of the lap. It will also be interesting to see the first bend after the finish line- which has been modified following the works that involved the Monza facility and track in recent months.

All eyes are on McLaren that is worrying everyone, with Red Bull having to defend itself to keep the lead in both rankings. Watch out especially on the constructors’ front. At the present time McLaren can count on the best pair of drivers. For some time, Red Bull had been racing with only one driver: Verstappen.

After the almost unhoped for third place a week ago, Ferrari will try to exploit in the best way possible the conditions of the track that require a low load to try and improve its performances.

After an anonymous weekend in Holland, I am convinced that Mercedes will return to the fight for the podium, considering that their engine is not second to none.

There are plenty of cues for following all the stages of the sixteenth round, starting with free practice on Friday.

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

 

 

HISTORIC MINARDI DAY AT IMOLA AND THE DUTCH F1 GP. IT STARTS AGAIN! MAXI SCREEN AT IMOLA

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With the end of the summer break, we can restart with a super weekend of Motorsport and Formula 1. On the one hand, at the Imola Circuit there will be the 8th edition of the Historic Minardi Day, an event that confirms that it is growing, with many cars, drivers and F1 cars (37 the historic F1 cars expected) for two days of fun.

On the other hand, the World Championship starts again from the Dutch GP. It is a particular circuit in which the host Max Verstappen will try to make up for what was lost in the recent rounds. We expect an extremely competitive second half of the championship with three/four teams fighting for the win. It will be interesting to see which new developments will be brought onto the track by all the teams which surely have not been with their arms crossed.

In my opinion, Verstappen and Red Bull remain the point of reference for everybody, but they must be wary of both McLaren and Mercedes.

Mercedes will rely on its reliability, but, above all, on the quality of its power-unit which, in addition to having a consistent number of “horses”, is the one with the lowest consumption

In this moment McLaren can count on the best pair of drivers as shown also by the ladder. If Norris was not perfect in the last few rounds, making fundamental mistakes (especially at the start), Piastri has shown all his worth. As far as I am concerned, I consider him to be one of the best drivers of the new generation, and as he grows, he is able to put another driver who demands respect in difficulty, like Lando.

Zandvoort will be the antechamber to Monza.

Considering the conjunction of the Historic Minardi Day and F1, there will be a maxi screen within the Paddock of the Imola Circuit to follow all the phases of the 15th round of the world championship.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Imola.

Gian Carlo Minardi

THE 8TH HISTORIC MINARDI DAY RETRACES 36 F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH DREAM CARS IN THE PADDOCK BETWEEN VR EXPERIENCES AND PIT-STOP SIMULATIONS

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There are 37 historic Formula 1 cars expected – the absolute record of presences – which will liven up the 8th edition of the Historic Minardi Day scheduled for Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit, spanning 36 years of the World Championship.

It starts from the 1975 Embassy Hill GH2 – a unique piece constructed by Graham Hill in 1975 for the 1976 Formula 1 season. It should have replaced the previous model, the Hill GH1, born as the Lola T371. The tests in Silverstone and Paul Ricard gave positive results and the team had prepared for a positive season. Unfortunately, the aircraft accident in which Graham Hill lost his life, together with Tony Brise, Archy Smallman and Ray Brimble, led to the discontinuation of the GH2 project – going all the way to the Williams FW33 of 2011, driven by Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello, passing through the Ensign, March, Tyrrell, Shadow, Theodore, Wolf, Merzario, Ferrari, Minardi, Fondmetal, Osella, Alfa Romeo, Arrows, Monteverdi, Prost GP, Dallara, Scuderia Italia, McLaren, Jordan and Jaguar.

Not only Formula 1 cars for a weekend of Motorsport passion.  Almost 400 cars between F.Junior, F. Abarth, F. Italia, F3, F4, GP3, GP4, F3000, Prototypes, historic GT cars, and GTS will liven up the fifteen daily sessions on the track, also thanks to the important and decisive contribution of the Scuderia Tazio Nuvolari, Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo and the R.I.A.R (Registry of Italian Alfa Romeos). The parterre will be enriched by the ACI Historic Festival through the Terre di Romagna (Lands of the Romagna) rally, an event organized by the AC Ravenna in collaboration with ACI Storico, scheduled for Sunday. There will be no lack of incredible Supercars and Hypercars branded Pagani, Dallara, Lamborghini and Pambuffetti. The Historic Minardi Day is the occasion to admire up close, amongst other cars, Pagani Zonda S, Pagani Zonda F, Pagani Utopia e Pagani Huayra Roadster BC.

Fun facts: the oldest vintage car is the 1953 Lancia Aurelia B20. Amongst the more recent, we point out the Ferrari SF90, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Lotus Elise S3 S CR and Tesla Plaid.

There will be many novelties in the Paddock. Thanks to IMOLA VR EXPERIENCE (the Digital Lighthouse stand), the fans will be able to personally dive into the excitement of a unique, totally immersive and involving experience: a lap of the track alongside Gian Carlo Minardi to discover one of Italy’s most important circuits thanks to the VR Oculus visor technology. Thanks to the images recorded with an innovative filming system – a movie camera equipped with 8 wide angled stabilized lenses fixed beside the driver through a special support – it can capture a 360° immersive image in real time, you have the possibility of exploring the Imola circuit and discovering its main features through the voice of its constructor himself.

For those who want to dress like a mechanic, they will be able to put their skills to the test in the “pit-stop” area with a simulated pit-stop. The Dino Paoli-AWA (Automotive Women Association) Stand will host a Formula 1 racing car for the change of tyres (times 9.30am – 12.30pm / 3.30pm – 6.00pm). The experience will require registration on the spot and participation at the briefing.

Due to the conjunction with the Dutch F1 GP a maxi screen will be set up to follow all the sessions of the fifteenth round of the world championship. In addition, there will be a screening of an episode of the documentary series dedicated to the life and career of Roland Ratzenberger made by the German director Peter Levay.

Not to be missed will be the appointments at the Conference Room (https://www.minardiday.it/intrattenimento/) – beginning 10 10.00 am until 5.30pm – with many book presentations, conferences, lectures, Talk-shows on the history of the Cosworth engine, a screening of the documentary series dedicated to the Andrea Moda racing team, and award ceremonies.

The gates of the Imola circuit will open on Saturday 24th at 8.30am with the first track session – dedicated to the track days – starting from 9.00am with the engines switching off at 6.30pm. At 12.30am and 4.00pm the engines of the F1, F2, F300 e GP2 will be switched on, preceded by the Historic GT cars, prototypes and the minor formulas (F. Junior, F. Italia, F3, GP3…). Download the weekend programme here (https://www.minardiday.it/portfolio-items/programma-in-pista/)

Do not miss the chance to see these fantastic cars up close, we remind you that the tickets can be purchased through the circuit, Ticketone (https://www.ticketone.it/artist/historic-minardi-day/).

BIG MOTORSPORT NAMES EXPECTED TO FEATURE ON THE EIGHTH EDITION OF THE HISTORIC MINARDI DAY, TICKETS CAN BE BOUGHT ON TICKETONE

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There will be more than thirty champions and protagonists of Motorsport on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August who will come to the Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit on the occasion of the eighth Historic Minardi Day (tickets can be bought on the website www.ticketone.it, and in the authorized Ticketone outlets and the Circuit’s ticket booths.

It will be an opportunity to meet people who wrote important pages of worldwide motorsport, and who have always been linked to the world of Minardi. Not missing on the Historic Minardi Day will be: the President of ACI, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, engineers Aldo Costa and Gabriele Tredozi,  CEO of Aprilia Massimo Rivola, Alessandro Nannini, Andrea Levy, Arturio Merzario, Benito Battilani, Beppe Gabbiani, Carlo Facetti, Fabio Babini, Francesco Bergami, Frits Vaan Eerd, Fulvio Maria Ballabio, Gabriele Lancieri,  Gianni Giudici, Giorgio Francia, Giovanni Lavaggi, Lamberto Leoni, Luca Badoer, Marco Antonelli, Marco Apicella, Massimo Ciccozzi, Miguel Angel Guerra, Pietro Corredig and Sonia Borghese, Nicolò Piancastelli, Pierluigi Martini, Paolo Delle Piane, Raffaele Giammaria, Riccardo Patrese, Roberto Farneti, Roberto Ravaglia, Sergio Campana, Siegfried Stohr, and Thierry Boutsen. Amongst the protagonists there will also be the famous illustrator and cartoonist “Matitaccia” Giorgio Serra, and the young Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Brando Badoer.

Points of interest: there have been a few former racing drivers who have come back to wear the overalls and helmet on the occasion of the Historic Minardi Day. Some are Emanuele Pirro who in 2017 took the wheel of the Minardi M198 for the first time, Gaston Mazzacane who returned to the wheel of “his” Minardi M02, and Gian Carlo Minardi in turn driving the M192—Lamborghini. In the 2018 edition the then technical director of Mercedes AMG F1, Aldo Costa, took to the track with the Mercedes W04. In 2020 Riccardo Patrese warmed the hearts of the many fans present by returning behind the wheel of “his” 1991 Williams FW14.

In 2023 Thierry Boutsen thrilled the crowd by taking to the track aboard the Ferrari 312 T5 #2 formerly of Gilles Villeneuve, engineer Gabriele Tredozi drove the Minardi PS04B, and engineer Aldo Costa took to the cockpit of the Dallara Stradale EXP, as did the World Rally champion Miki Biasion, Gianni Morbidelli at the  wheel of Pier Luigi Martini’s Minardi M189, Miguel Angel Guerra of Vittorio Brambilla’s March 761, alternating with Roberto Farneti, Arturo Merzario returned behindthe wheel of the Lucchini Alfa Romeo (Scuderia del Portello). Never missing is Pierluigi Martini, accompanied by his Minardi M189, the perfectly restored Tyrrell P3402 and P34/07, by the Ralt RT30 Ford-Cosworth and the Ferrari 126 C4 formerly driven by Michele Alboreto in 1986.