More than two decades after Gian Carlo Minardi bid farewell to the Formula 1 team bearing his surname, the Italian remains involved in the sport as the president of the Imola circuit. On the eve of possibly the last Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Minardi selects his dream winner for this Sunday's race. At the end of the exclusive interview with GPblog, it appears to be the hardest question. The extremely affable Minardi has to laugh briefly before thinking deeply and then sharing who, in his opinion, should win the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
“Let's put it this way, given that I have a triple role: I am the chairman of ACI (Italian Automobile Club), I am president of the Imola circuit, and I am a commentator. Ideally for me, it would be Kimi in first place, Leclerc in the second place, and Hamilton in third place,” the 77-year-old explains.
The last time in Imola?
If Minardi is correct, then Andrea Kimi Antonelli could very well be the last winner of this Grand Prix. There is no contract with Formula 1 for 2026, and actually, all 24 races are already filled.
The Italian would love to see
F1 continue to come, but he also says,
“It is my job to do the work as well as possible and make it difficult for those who have to make decisions. Unfortunately, these decisions are beyond our reach. Let's see what happens, never say never.”If
Imola falls off, it would mean the disappearance of another historic track from the F1 calendar.
“Unfortunately, history is important, but not decisive,” Minardi comments on this fact. “As I have said before, it’s a historic circuit, and it turned 50 last year.”“We have to do our best. And both F1 and the FIA congratulated us today for what we have achieved. We have to do our best and present those who make the decisions with a tough decision.”
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy