The point on 2014 F.1 racing season’s engines

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Intense days for F.1, not only for the speculation about Pirelli tyre test with Mercedes, which hogged newspapers’ pages, but also for the agreements involving the supply of turbo engines which will be the “beating heart” of F.1, starting from next racing season.

All the eleven teams have signed an agreement with Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault “With Mercedes’ choice to become Williams’ official engine supplier, along with McLaren and Force India, the team base has been 100% covered, says Gian Carlo Minardi “This choice sounds like a measure to avoid other manufacturers to enter into F.1 as suppliers, but the situation is still far from coming to an end, as we know that Porsche and Toyota are carrying out the new engine unit. What is more, even Ford and BMW are interested in entering the Circus.”

Car manufacturers are interested in F.1 again “The future of car racing is focused on KERS, turbo, and electronics. Manufacturers have already begun to invest on those three aspects. So, supplying teams with one’s own engine for free or upon a little payback, could be an added value in terms of communication and brand image. It has also to be considered that many teams are undergoing financial difficulties and the lack of sponsors doesn’t help the whole situation. This is the reason why costs will increase. We will go from 6-8 millions dollars spent nowadays to 18-21 millions with the introduction of turbo engine. Due to that, there could probably be some news in the future; who wants to get into the Circus will have to display a great showdown. Something unexpected could happen.”

Rigon keeps the leadership at Silverstone

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After winning the Blancpain Endurance Series’ opening race on the track of Monza, Davide Rigon, along with his teammates Cesar Ramos and Daniel Zampieri, finished in the points again, on a demanding and technical track like the Silverstone circuit.

The talented driver still leads the Championship, even if at Silverstone he didn’t manage to get a podium finish. At the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT3, the Italian and Brazilian trio almost qualified in the top five, finishing only 4 tenths away form the pole position, after working hard during the two qualifying sessions, in order to get the best set-up.

The English track displayed the 26-year-old driver’s technical skills; in the first stint the young driver managed to recover very quickly, leading the Ferrari #44 to the third place, before giving way to his teammates for the conclusive rush “It was an intense week end, we knew since the beginning it would not have been so easy to emulate Monza’s successful race”, says Rigon “Me, Cesar and Daniel, have done a good team job in free practice and pre-qualifying sessions, in order to find the best set-up for the car. The top five was within our reach, but unfortunately we missed it for a little while.”

At the beginning of the three-hour-race Davide was the first to take control of the Ferrari, finishing third “The race was good, despite heavy traffic and the presence of numerous lapped drivers who didn’t make the race easier, as we had to risk more than ever in order to be in the lead of the race. To be honest, some drivers should be more cautious, especially when they see faster cars coming”, tells Rigon.

“In the first stints our pace was really good and we demonstrated to be able to compete with our main rivals. Before racing at the Paul Ricard we have to analyze what didn’t work in the final part of the race, where our pace was not so good any more.”

“The Aston Martins were on another planet, even if they seemed to have no balance….”, ends Davide “We want to get a podium finish again at the Paul Ricard. We don’t have to be afraid of anyone, because we have only one goal”. Next racing weekend will take place at Le Castellet on June 29th – 30th . 

GTS win for Bhai Tech Racing at the Nürburgring

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Perfect racing weekend for Bhai Tech Racing. The team scored an amazing double win in GTS at Nürburgring. The Italian team based in the advanced factory of Mestrino (Padua) and directed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, drove an almost perfect racing weekend, leading both McLarens MP4 12C driven by Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia to the first and second place of GTS, in the two races which made up the third event of International GT Open Championship.

Low temperatures and a thick fog welcomed teams and drivers, forcing Championship planners to change the weekend schedule, getting drivers to perform the two 15 minutes qualifying sessions consecutively. Despite difficult weather conditions, Advanced Vehicle Centre McLarens got the GTS first pole of the season with Van Der Drift’s 1’59’’436 (3rd position overall) and Suzuki’s 10th place. In the second session it was the Padua- born ex F.1 driver Giorgio Pantano who set the best chrono (5th overall) ahead of his Brazilian teammate Razia (GTS’ 5th place and 8th overall).

In the two races, which were both run in the dry, the four drivers equally shared out the first and second position, which is the 4th place overall. At the end of the 70’ race on Saturday afternoon, the #66 Brazilian and New Zealander racing crew almost got the podium, finishing 4th overall ahead of the Italian and Brazilian duo, scoring the GTS class double win.

In the Sunday’s event it was the duo Pantano /Suzuki who won the race, followed by teammates who respectively finished 4th and 6th overall.

“It was a fantastic weekend as we achieved good results, but it was also very intense, as we were very tight on time. There was only 1 hour break between the two qualifying sessions and race-1. So I want to pay our staff and drivers many compliments on their performances as they all were fantastic”, says the technical director Mr. Roberto Costa “We had a good race pace in the first two races, even if the track’s low temperature condition didn’t help us. We had to deal with a completely new situation as we got a handicap in race-2. We managed to handle the handicap very well as we know our race pace.”

The development work at the factory is bearing fruits and the team is going to the right direction “The work done at the factory between the Portimao racing weekend and this one was really important. Anyway, we will continue to develop the car as we have to improve in every sector. This is the reason why we’ll go to Jerez on Saturday 8th to drive a 3-hour- testing session, to get ready not only for the next racing event (to be held on the Spanish track) but also for the following racing weekends”, comments the Brazilian engineer “Success like the one achieved in Germany is an incentive to continue to work and progress”, ends Mr. Costa.

Much work on the simulator to Rigon

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Preparations are in full swing for the Canadian Grand Prix, taking place on Montreal’s Ile Notre Dame, at the track named after Gilles Villeneuve. Parallel to the usual and unusual work required on the cars that Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will use, there is also the activity at the simulator, which over the past few days has involved Andrea Bertolini, Davide Rigon and today, Pedro de la Rosa.

It’s an obscure task that takes place in the simulator building, but a very important one in terms of the development of the car, both in the short and medium term, which mainly involves the official test drivers and others who are available to the Scuderia for this type of work.

Bhai Tech Racing heads to Nurburgring

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Three weeks after the Portuguese racing weekend in Algarve, Bhai Tech Racing team is getting ready to get back on track for the third International GT Open racing weekend to be competed on the mind-blowing track of Nürburgring next weekend.

On the strength of the first points scored in the first Portuguese round, thanks to the team’s four drivers Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia, the Mestrino-based team which is directed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, has painstakingly worked at the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre, the team’s cutting-edge headquarter (2.800 square metres over three floors), to develop the two McLaren MP4-12C racing cars. The staff has carried out the car development work, analyzing data coming from the first two racing events, which were both run in different weather conditions “We’re carrying out a complete development; we haven’t focused only on next race. We’ve planned a long term programme, to be extended to following races”, says the Brazilian engineer.

Low temperatures and rain are once again forecasted for the next racing weekend; such weather conditions are far from being ideal for car-tyres duo “Unfortunately weather conditions won’t be on our side again, as rain tyres don’t interact with our car in a correct way. At Paul Ricard we demonstrated to be able to keep a good race pace in the dry, but we had hard times in the wet. So, we’ll have to try to find the best set-up for the race. With the support of our drivers, we’ll continue to carry out our development programme.”

Drivers have taken several driving sessions at the advanced 6-DOF full- motion driving simulator, which is the technological centre’s flagship. It is fully immersive with five off-board projectors and a 210 ° 8 m diameter curved screen and rear view visuals “ Drivers have continued to work at the simulator to study and analyze the German track, running about 850 laps. We’re also developing a GT car configuration platform to join the already existing Formula car configuration platform”, ends Mr. Costa.

The racing weekend will start on Friday with two sessions of free practice lasting 60 minutes each, to go on with the two qualifying sessions and race-1 scheduled for Saturday morning. Race-1 will start at 4pm and last 70 minutes. Race-2 will take place on Sunday, starting at 12pm and finishing at 12.50pm.

Monaco GP – Up & Down

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Nico Rosberg – 10. He never put a wheel wrong. His race pace was unbeatable; he set a stunning qualifying time. He’s standing comparison with his teammate who is considered as the Championship’s best driver. He deserved victory.

Lewis Hamilton – 8. He drove an excellent race, but he took an imperfect start.

Mercedes – 10.  Besides tyres testing, the German team demonstrated to be capable to strive for the win. The team has the best driving duo in terms of performance, race speed and points.

Vettel –Webber – Red Bull – 8. They accomplished their job; they handled Friday issues at best. If they manage to finish 2nd and third even when they’re not at the top of their potential, rivals have something to be worried about.

Adrian Sutil – Paul Di Resta – Force India -8. The Indian team is one of the most dangerous outsiders; once again both drivers finished in the top 10, nibbling away important points to Alonso. They do a very good job and deserve the position they hold now.

Jenson Button – 7. The Englishman is fighting tooth and nail; he’s experiencing a difficult moment. He got an unexpected position at the beginning of the weekend.

Sergio Perez – 6. If, on the one hand, he deserves some penalties because of his impetuousness, on the other hand he made good passes and shoot-outs. He doesn’t want to be a second class driver, but he still has to gain so much experience.

McLaren – 7. Despite the English team is facing a difficult moment, they managed to take home important points. If Perez hadn’t been so impetuous, both drivers would have finished in the top 10.

Fernando Alonso – 5. When Button, Sutil and Perez overtook him, he was too compliant. After driving many brilliant races, it happens to drive a less good race; the Monaco weekend was not so exciting for the whole team. Anyway the team scored 6 points which are so important with regards to the standing.

Ferrari – 5. The team is regretfully because it didn’t manage to get some extra points. It happens to have a difficult weekend, but it will be so important to analyse the whole weekend.

Jean – Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso – 8. Vergne qualified in the top 10; during the race he kept a top 10 position. The Italian team handled a good strategy. Their car has been finishing in the top 10 since a few races; the team still keeps the seventh position to the standing.

Lotus – Kimi Raikkonen – 7. Thanks to a very performing car, the team continues to drive good races. The Finnish drove a too defensive race, obstructing Perez too much.

Romain Grosjean – 4. The team cannot make so many mistakes in a single racing week end. The team has to think over it. I hope Valsecchi will have the chance to draw attention on himself.

Monaco GP – THE POINT

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The Monaco GP was featured by several accidents, the presence of the safety car and a very competitive Mercedes. Despite “one swallow doesn’t make a summer”, the GP was run at a very particular circuit, using two types of compound that will be hardly re-used. The German team showed to be very competitive and if the team demonstrates to have tyres degradation’s issues solved, it will strive for the title, as well.

I use the conditional clause as things change so quickly, so what happens in a GP never happens in the following one. Anyway, the German team has demonstrated to run so quickly since the beginning. We have to give credit to Nico Rosberg, not only for the win but also because he has demonstrated he can handle tyres and car at best, both during practice and race. This result restores Michael Schumacher’s performances. The German ex-driver competed with a driver who is not considered as a second class driver, but a top class one. Today the German young driver is standing comparison with an emerging driver who is a world’s champion and is considered as the best by everyone. This time he didn’t take a good start.

If, on the one hand, Mercedes successful performances will make this racing season even more uncertain, on the other hand, the presence of one more rival will make it difficult to regain points. This aspect remarks Ferrari and Alonso’s unlucky weekend, featured by Felipe Massa’s double accident. The Italian team will have to roll its sleeves and try to focus on the mistakes made after the Spanish successful race. In Canada, weather and tyres could probably affect the final result.

Positive race for Force India and Toro Rosso; Vijay Mallya’s team confirm the 5th place and demonstrates to be a powerful outsider. We saw an excited Perez who wants to demonstrate at all costs he can make it and he’s not a second class driver. He was very impetuous but also so unlucky at the same time. He was treated quite badly by other drivers. Raikkonen pushed so hard in the last part of the race and hindered the Mexican driver twice. It is important that Commissioners judge drivers in the same way, in every race.

It was a contentious Sunday, the argument was fuelled by the Mercedes-Pirelli test. Mercedes took a 1000 km testing on Pirelli tyres using a car which was not 2 years old accordingly to FIA’s regulations.  Regulations are clear but their interpretation is based on teams needs.

Minardi “Monte Carlo should set a trend”

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With the free practice sessions, the racing weekend in Monte Carlo has officially started. This GP is rich in history and well known all over the world, as it offer a stunning scenario due to its breathtaking geographical location. You can love or hate Monte Carlo’s street circuit, in any case it is not an ordinary track and qualifying is so important, since overtaking is almost impossible despite KERS, DRS and Pirelli tyres.

Monte Carlo has one more feature that makes its circuit even more unique: racing enthusiasts have the chance to get close to their racing idols and see cars running among buildings and almost touching side walls “It’s not an ordinary track. We race here to entertain the audience who has the chance to see racing cars zipping through the narrow streets of the circuit at 250 km per hour” says Fernando Alonso “The track is a very particular one, as much as the race. We drive a lonely race, since it’s very difficult to overtake. The real battle is the one against time on Saturday and against on-track mistakes on Sunday. During the race drivers have to take car’s mechanical parts under control and avoid crashing against guard rail”. Alonso’s thoughts are echoed by Gian Carlo Minardi, the man who helped the Spaniard to enter F.1 “The atmosphere you have the chance to experience in Monte Carlo is never experienced in any other circuit all around the world. Despite all the barriers which make you feel like being inside a cage, you feel you can touch cars with your own hands. You just tremble to the rhythm of engines. People have the chance to pass by Motorhomes and be so close to their idols. It’s really incredible!!”

The GP in Monaco should be taken as an example to try to bring racing enthusiasts and sponsors closer to F.1. A great amount of money is involved in the world of F.1, but despite that, even F.1 has been affected by the crisis. Many teams won’t be able to stand comparison with top teams to bring the development process of the cars to the end and develop the 2014 racing season’s plan. At the same time, they’ll have to “sell” their seats to the best offerer who is preferably supported by nations. “From this point of view F.1 has to rejuvenate. Between ‘90s and 2000 it was almost impossible to get a pass paddock. It was an honour for sponsor companies to attend F.1 racing events and they were very interested in the world of Circus. Now everything is changed and I think F.1 has to open itself outwards. A race enthusiast wants to have the chance to get close to his idols and cars. Monte Carlo should set a trend”, says Minardi “In Spain on Thursday afternoon, you had the chance to visit paddocks by adding an extra pay. Paddocks were so crowded. TVs have always been privileged from this point of view, as they pay rights. I think that it would be interesting if enthusiasts could have the chance to experience a F.1 day, as far as possible, without disturbing teams’ work. This would facilitate the entry of new sponsors into F.1. Today you see always the same people inside paddocks, along with professionals. F.1 should have been taken to a more human level”, ends the manager from Faenza.

A bit of Minardi even at Indianapolis

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In concomitance with the GP in Monaco, spotlights will be focused on one of the most expected motorsport events overseas and all over the world: the 97th edition of the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.

Among the 33 drivers to line up in the 11 rows which compose the starting grid of the world’s most famous American race, three drivers who made their debut into F1 with the Minardi Team between 2003 and 2005 will also take part in the competition: Justin Wilson, Will Power and Katherine Legge. Drivers will be competing for almost 800 km.

The English driver Wilson competed in the F.1 Championship in 2003 behind the wheel of the PS03, while the Australian driver Will Power, who is in contention for the win and the then-25-year-old English driver Katherine Legge had an exciting experience in F.1 in 2004 and 2005 behind the wheel of the PS04 and PS05 on the tracks of Misano and Vallelunga.

“I’m so glad to see three Dallaras driven by three ex-Minardi Team drivers. The 500 Miles of Indianapolis is a historical race which made the history of car racing, especially overseas. The race has been hard-fought till the end over the last few years. It’s a very tactical race, where no mistakes have to be made and drivers have to make the most of the different safety cars.

Justin Wilson raced with us the entire 2003 F.1 racing season. His debut into F.1 was related to a very particular episode: supporters and friends invested on the Englishman, buying some shares from him. He drove a dignified season and I will always remember with pleasure his first test at Imola before leaving to Australia. Despite the car was making his debut in the competition and its tyres were borrowed from Ferrari, he managed to set a time which could be compared to the 6th or 7th time of official free practices. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get the same performance throughout the season, even because of a troubled relationship with Bridgestone” says Gian Carlo Minardi.

“Katherine Legge was the fastest driver at that moment and the racing day was so interesting. He displayed good performances at Vallelunga, even if her standards didn’t fit F.1 so much. Although it was clear that her performance level was above the average, just as Will Power’s who tested the Minardi in 2004 on the track of Misano. Unfortunately the Australian driver didn’t have enough financial resources to run even the following year. This week end will be full of important motorsport events. After the GP in Monte Carlo we’ll enjoy the show of Indianapolis”, ends the manager from Faenza.

Monaco GP – Preview

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I’ve experienced so many races in Monaco in my whole life, but unfortunately I’ve never experienced Montecarlo’s night life. I spent my days and nights at the box, as we used to have dinner with friends and sponsors in our Motorhome on the harbour.

The F1 GP in Monaco has always been an exciting racing week end both for specialists and for enthusiasts, who have the chance to be so close to cars. The atmosphere you have the chance to experience in Monaco is never experienced anywhere else. Despite the crush barriers that make you feel like being inside a cage, you feel you can touch cars with your own hands. You just tremble with the engines. People have the chance to get so close to teams’ Motorhomes and see their idles. It’s really incredible.

This racing weekend has many unknown matters, which are mostly linked to soft and super soft tyres and to the absence of a leader. Many drivers will make us live an interesting racing weekend. Ferrari showed to keep a faster pace during the race, but the team will have hard times if it doesn’t have a good qualifying race, where it’s so easy to make some mistakes. On the other side we have a Mercedes which is so good in qualifying on soft tyres. If they manage to get the pole, they’ll drive a good race at least until the first pit-stop. I’ve heard they almost solved long run issues. Then we have a very competitive Lotus and a Raikkonen who could be a dangerous threaten for rivals. We don’t have to forget Red Bull even if it complained about Pirelli tyres so much. I don’t agree with Pirelli’s decision to change rubber just in the middle of the racing season. I do agree with Lotus and Ferrari. Common consent would be needed to change technical regulations.

Among outsiders, the most dangerous is Force India. The Indian team could score some important points. McLaren hasn’t displayed its maximum potential, yet. Due to its features, the Montecarlo street circuit requires a high downforce level, while a car’s total weight is less important since the most important thing is to finish the race. Cars will be modified to prevent clashes.

Let’s hope weather won’t affect on track performances. At this point of the season teams are working hard to get ready for the second half. 2-3 pit-stops are expected. It’s a short track and the asphalt is non-abrasive and neat. Pirelli tyres performance has always been so good in these circumstances, even if one of the most important things will be to choose the right moment to pit.

Minardi raises an alarm: “Without a solution, the existence of lower formulas doesn’t make sense”

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Private testing: YES or NOT? This is the great dilemma Formula 1 is focusing on. To cut off costs the Circus decided to ban private testing. Private testing is still a controversial subject for the Circus who has different opinions about it. On the one side some teams like Ferrari want to reintroduce them into F.1, on the other side teams like McLaren don’t stand up for them.

Gian Carlo Minardi is one of the strong supporters of private testing. The former Minardi Team owner competed in the top series for more than 20 years, running 340 GP; he has always dealt with young drivers, helping them to hone their talent and enter the world of F.1 “I’ve always supported private testing, because I think this is the right way to hone drivers’ racing skills. If costs have to be cut off, private testing shouldn’t be involved. The more a young driver has the chance to practice, the more he knows a F.1 car and has the opportunity to draw attention on himself.”

Minardi focuses his attention on another important subject: preparatory formulas. “If we don’t give fast drivers the chance to enter the world of the top series, it won’t make sense for lower formulas to exist. It won’t make sense to compete in an expensive championship such as GP2 if the series’ winner isn’t awarded a prize. This is what happens now in all other racing categories. Serious solutions should be found.”

“The project Ferrari Driver Academy is carrying on is the result of a cooperation work between ACI CSAI and FDA itself. Antonio Fuoco has made his debut into Formula Renault 2.0 and he’s drawing attention on himself and Prema Powerteam’s driver Raffaele Marciello is leading the F.3 Euroseries Championship. All these results are a good omen for the future. This means that all the efforts made over the last few years are bearing fruits. It is important to teach young drivers a working method, but if they don’t have the opportunity to enter the top series, all the work done will turn to be useless!” 

Minardi “Young drivers have to run at least 3-5000 km before they know their car”

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At the Spanish GP, people talked about F.1 testing again and the Ferrari’s chairman Mr. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said that the Maranello- based team strongly supports the return of testing in F.1. On the opposite, McLaren is contrary to the reintegration of testing into F.1.

Gian Carlo Minardi talked about this subject, expressing his opinion in his website www.minardi.it. He supports Ferrari’s point of view, saying that he has always been interested in testing and young drivers, with whom he’s always worked and shared his long experience in the world of motorsport.

“I’ve always supported the importance of cutting down costs in other fields, without penalizing private testing which play an important role: satisfying young drivers. A driver has to run at least 3-5000 km before knowing his car. According to present regulations, that is almost impossible to do. Moreover, at the beginning of the racing season, most of the circuits young drivers have to race at are almost unknown to the majority of them.” says the manager from Faenza “If we want to ensure a generation change, we’ll have to give these young guys the opportunity to practice. I hope that what Mr. Montezemolo said will be soon supported by facts. That would mean that more and more attention will be focused on young drivers, who will have the chance to express themselves and display their potential through on-track practice. I’ve been supporting the idea of reintroducing Friday free practices for rookie racers, for a long time. We don’t have to forget that racers such as Vettel and Kubica (only to mention a few) caught the attention of racing experts just thanks to free practices.”

In this start to the season, the Sauber Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez has been criticized and called into question. Just in Spain he set the fastest lap, finishing ahead of his team mate “Before blaming Gutierrez, more time should have been given to him to express himself. Now the team has to make him work quietly. It would be extremely unfair to pan him now, only after 5 GP, he mostly run on unknown tracks. Unfortunately he didn’t have the opportunity to prepare for racing at best”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

Spanish GP – Up & Down

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Together with Gian Carlo Minardi, let’s take some votes on the Spanish GP.
Fernando Alonso: 10. – No doubt he’s top of the class. He prepared for the event by analyzing GP2 races and taking a walk around the track. He made an excellent pass which will go down in history. He’s a step ahead of any other driver and won the Spanish GP, driving a car which has a good potential during races but it’s not the best car in the Championship, yet.
Kimi Raikkonen: 9. – He drives his car in an excellent way and has a very good tyres’ handling. His cold-heartedness makes him be the driver who has to be defeated.
Felipe Massa: 8. – He was seriously penalized in qualifying. He scored a podium finish starting from 9th and he drove an exciting race. He will help Ferrari so much. He’s leaving hard times behind him.
Nico Rosberg: 7.5- 8. – In qualifying he kept Hamilton behind him for the second time. He finished 6th driving a hard race which was affected by tyres’ delamination. Let’s hope they’ll manage to sort out problems as soon as possible.
Paul Di Resta: 7.5. – Both him and the team are handling an excellent racing season and the fifth place in the constructors’ championship is a clear proof of the Indian team’s brilliant performances. They’ll have to go on like that.
Daniel Ricciardo: 6.5. – Good race, Toro Rosso is getting better and better to try to defend the 7th place in the constructors’ championship, but it won’t be easy at all.
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber: 6. – When not all the pieces of the puzzle are in their right place, the team doesn’t handle a good strategy and the drivers lack that leadership power to guide the team. Anyway, they deserve a 6 because they’re so fast during practice.
Jenson Button: 6. – He’s so comfortable on hard tyres, just like his McLaren.
Sergio Perez: 6. – The Mexican driver has improved his performances over the past two races. He’s recovering, this is the reason why he deserves a 6.
Esteban Gutierrez: 6. – He deserves a 6 even only for setting the fastest lap during the race. Even when he raced in the GP2 Championship he alternated good races to on-track mistakes. We have to let him work. This is the reason why I always point out the importance for young drivers to take pre-season testing. He didn’t have the chance to prepare for the season at best. It would be unfair to vote him down without giving him the chance to show his potential.
Pirelli: NC. –  It’s time to revise the project. 80 pit stops per GP are too many. It’s also a matter of safety. 6-7-8 pit stops per car per race are really too many. Pit Stop time to change tyres is too short.