F1 | GP MIAMI, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “NOW I AM WAITING FOR YOU ALL IN IMOLA. TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE THREE DAYS”
Miami gave us Lando Norris’ first win. An auspicious result not only for McLaren and its fans, but also for all of Formula 1 and for the continuation of the world championship, above all with the arrival in Europe and on tracks that are “as real” as they are historic, such as Imola.
It was a hard-fought grand prix up to the end as shown by the tight gaps: Verstappen (2nd) finished 7” behind Lando, and Leclerc (3rd) little more than 9”.
The contact between Oscar Piastri and Carols Sainz cost the Spaniard a 5” penalty, going from 5th place (16” from the leader) to Perez’s advantage. Once it would have been filed away as a simple race contact, but to conform with the guidelines adopted this season (certainly stricter), they decided to punish the Ferrari driver. Especially in view of the damage suffered by the Australian.
McLaren made (on Norris’ car) many updates that gave more than positive results. We are now waiting for Ferrari’s response. In Miami they already introduced some updates with positive results in anticipation of the important package expected in Imola. Red Bull remains the car of reference, even if it seems to have lost the peace of mind that has constantly distinguished them in recent seasons due to the well-known internal issues. Verstappen, author of the double pole position, the win in the Sprint race and second place in the race remains the fixed point. I think that the Dutchman wanted to satisfy without taking excessive risks.
The other highly awaited team in Imola in two weeks is certainly Mercedes. From what we hear their championship should start right from the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit. With sixth place, despite a car that was not at the highest level, they showed that they had not won 7 world championships by chance, and making the others pay a high price.
This race’s result opens many grand scenarios in view of Imola, with a battle for the win open to two or three teams. Miami gave us an important compaction of the performances.
I should point out that, contrary to what was said in the TV commentary, there are still tickets available for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I hope that Sunday’s result could be a good omen. Supported also by the excellent performance of the Racing Bulls with fourth place – in qualifying and the Sprint race – signed by Danile Ricciardo and Tsunoda’s seventh place in the race. Results that have consolidated the team in sixth place on the ladder-
The weekend also gave us the first positive result for Alpine, which is recovering and growing, with Estaban Ocon tenth behind Fernando Alonso.
The negative note of this weekend, and not just this one, is Kevin Magnussen. Probably the moment has come for a change within the Haas team, both because he is constantly slower than his teammate and because he incurs a penalty in every race. He lost more points on the license that what he has gained in the championship. He seems confused. There are a lot of drivers who, despite winning titles, are “parked” because there are no seats for them in F1. Honestly, between now and the end of the season, I do not see continuity for some drivers now on the grid.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the Imola Circuit in two weeks to cheer and support your favourites and to experience a weekend of Motorsport with an intense race programme.
Gian Carlo Minardi
