Gian Carlo Minardi in doubt: Who does he prefer to win the Grand Prix in Imola?

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.

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.”