  We introduce the concept of s-formal minimal model as an extension of
formality. We prove that any orientable compact manifold M, of dimension 2n or
(2n-1), is formal if and only if M is (n-1)-formal. The formality and the hard
Lefschetz property are studied for the symplectic manifolds constructed by
Donaldson with asymptotically holomorphic techniques. This study permits us to
show an example of a Donaldson symplectic manifold of dimension eight which is
formal simply connected and does not satisfy the hard Lefschetz theorem.
