Hungarian GP – PREVIEW

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Formula 1 is ready to be back on track, entering into the second half of the season. There are still nine events, one of which Hungary, that is before the long-awaited summer-break during which the teams will be able to recharge their batteries, after a really intense start of the season.

We arrive on a particular circuit, not really different from a Go-Kart track and just 4 kilometers long, where overtaking is very difficult. Therefore, it will be difficult to see again what happened in England and Germany, with amazing overtakings and battles. We are speaking, however, of a track in which it is dangerous to get out of the trajectories and the tyres, given the hot weather, could play an important role. For the occasion, Pirelli will bring the Soft Yellow and White Medium compounds, that have similar performances, with which the teams will play on two stops.

I expect the usual family duel between Mercedes drivers, Nico and Lewis, with Williams ready to consolidate the second place, especially if bad luck will finally abandon Felipe Massa. The track takes some time to rubber-in and placements will be unclear on Friday, since they’re going to improve steadily until Saturday afternoon. Due to the circuit’s layout, Qualifying will play an important role, as starting from the front rows means staying away from any possible contact, mainly in the first two corners.

At the moment, the forces in play seem consolidated with Mercedes, Williams, Red Bull and Ferrari. Then, depending on the track, there can be outsiders in the top ten, such as Force India and Toro Rosso. Maranello will have to slog and Raikkonen will have to pull out the nails to get into the score-zone and help the team.

In 2003, the Minardi F1 Team celebrated, together with some of its pilots, its first 300 races in Formula 1.

In our official FaceBook page you can find a Gallery with pictures of our GPs of Hungary.

German GP – Drivers’ Scorecard

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Nico Rosberg – 9 He showed all seriousness, professionalism and peace of mind needed to lead the World Championship.

Valtteri Bottas – 9 He showed to be the strongest emerging pilot, like Daniel Ricciardo. With his third consecutive podium, he is preparing to attack Alonso’s fourth place.

Daniel Ricciardo – 9 He struggled a lot, creating an amazing battle with Fernando Alonso and demonstrating not only all his talent, but also that he can fight on par with a double World Champion like the Ferrari driver.

Fernando Alonso – 9 Another great race. After Vettel, he changed rival, offering a beautiful show to the public together with the Australian driver of RedBull. He is holding the honor of Ferrari, but nevertheless they have become the fourth power of the World Championship.

Lewis Hamilton – 8.5 For the Sunday’s race; he certainly deserves a 9 too, but his nervousness has sometimes emerged, preventing him from attacking Rosberg seriously. It’s true that he came from a rather serious technical problem on Saturday, but he should be able to manage the tensions, being a World Champion.

Sebastian Vettel – 8 He completed his task, being able to stand before Daniel Ricciardo, that has been slowed by the opening contact between Magnussen and the unfortunate Massa.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7.5 He was good, because he brought his Force India in the seventh place.

Jenson Button – 6 He defended with his tooth and nail, despite not McLaren at its best.

Sergio Perez – 6 He also defended well, winning the last available point.

Kevin Magnussen – 5.5 The incident with Massa was not his fault, but he should be more careful.

Kimi Raikkonen – 5 He was very submissive and not really aggressive. At this time, he cannot earn a positive vote.

Formula 1 – 8 Despite Mercedes’ supremacy, they are making us relive the battles of the past. The same vote should be given to the stewards, while Charlie Whiting deserves a 5, not letting the safety car enter the circuit at 19 laps from finish and favouring, thereby, Nico Rosberg.

F.4 – Joao Vieira at work in Vallelunga and Magione

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With the memory of the podium at Mugello very much alive, Joao Vieira is ready to return to the wheel of his Tatuus #28 for two days of tests on the tracks of Vallelunga (Tuesday, July 22nd) and Magione (Wednesday, July 23rd).

For the 16-year-old Brazilian driver of Antonelli Motorsport, it will be the first time both at the “Piero Taruffi” and “Autodromo dell’Umbria” Circuits, that will be the theatre of the next two (out of seven) appointments of the Italian F.4 Championship powered by Abarth, now entering into the “hot” part of the season.

Joao is ready for the second part of the season, continuing the hard work at the Driver Program Center of Forlì and galvanized by the important result achieved in Tuscany, crowned by the podium finish in Race-3 that launched him in the Top Eight of the overall standings, with the same points of his team-mate and friend Matteo Cairoli.

“Thanks to these days of tests I will have the chance to discover the next two circuits of race, Vallelunga and Magione. For me, every track is a discovery and challenge. Thanks to the simulator of the Driver Program Center, I had the chance to try the layout of the ‘Piero Taruffi’ and the first impressions are really good, similarly to what happened with Mugello. It would be great to repeat the result, with another podium. At each session, I take more and more confidence with the car and this helps me to get closer to the limit”, the pilot of Minardi Management says.

“After the good work at Mugello, it’s now time to get to know two other circuits in the Championship calendar. For Joao, these will be two days of apprenticeship ahead of the weekend of race, since he doesn’t know the tracks. I hope he will like them as much as Mugello, as the results have demonstrated”, the manager Giovanni Minardi comments.

German GP – THE POINT… by Gian Carlo Minardi

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After Silverstone the show has moved to Germany in Hockenheim, with a race full of continuous overtakings and duels, in which the stewards have finally realized that for the sake of the show they need to take more risks, leaving more freedom to the players. In fact, we’re talking about race contacts, which are the trademark of this sport.

Despite an embarrassing supremacy of Mercedes, with Rosberg who has pretty much “gone for a walk”, we’ve seen great duels with Hamilton who conquered a podium starting from the twentieth position, with breathtaking overtakings, exciting the German public. The battle between Alonso and Ricciardo was also very exciting, with an amazing overtaking of the Australian driver on McLaren. In other words, a Grand Prix that took a revenge on all the negative comments of the beginning of the season.

The Achilles’ heel of Mercedes – reliability – adds a little extra spice to this World Championship, that remains an internal matter between its two pilots. Certainly Nico, with both pole-position and victory, has distanced his n.1 rival on the race field. He is consolidating his leadership within a team that is preparing not only to the title, but also to open a new cycle. The renewal of the contract is a significant fact and, under those circumstances, probably Hamilton will have to find a new team for 2015. Besides, Bottas – podium after podium – is undermining Alonso’s fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship and he is being much courted, considering that his manager is Toto Wolff. Therefore, little by little the games are taking shape.

The forces in play among Constructors are also being defined: Red Bull is growing, with Vettel able to stand in front of Ricciardo; Williams took the third place at the expense of Ferrari, that can count on a great champion as Fernando Alonso and on Kimi Raikkonen not at his best shape. We must not forget that Force India has overtaken McLaren and might even annoy whoever is standing before.

That being the case, we absolutely need to reserve our armchair and remote control, because in seven days drivers will be back on track, in Budapest, a circuit that is closer to a go-kart track for its layout. I have the impression that we will see many race contacts here too.

Besides the drivers’ market, there are interesting movements also regarding teams: it seems that Lotus has found a buyer and a new engine. So, we will have a really hot summer break.

German GP – PREVIEW

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Formula 1 is ready to arrive in the country of the World Champions in charge coming back, two years later, to the Hockenheim Circuit.

It will be a Grand Prix with several unknown elements, starting from the tyres. Pirelli, which has not run here since two seasons, will have the Soft and SuperSoft compounds that, in the previous appointments, contributed to make more uniform the performances of the competing cars, reducing the difference between Mercedes and non-Mercedes power units. After the last tests, Ferrari seems to have made some progresses, even if at the team they are still keeping their feet on the ground.
We expect a battle at the top between the two Mercedes drivers, with Lewis Hamilton almost forced to stand in front of Nico Rosberg, who recently renewed his contract. The English driver will have to try to cause problems to the team-mate before the team takes internal decisions. Behind them, the outsiders will try to consolidate positions by exploiting the only weak points of the “German Army”, related to reliability. On the front line there will be the “branch” of Mercedes, in other words Williams, with Bottas and Massa. Precisely the Finnish driver could be a bothering rival for Lewis, considering that his manager is Toto Wolff, who is also a shareholder of the British Team. This strategy, as it happens at Red Bull’s with Toro Rosso, should give origin to a reflection also at McLaren’s and Ferrari’s. It’s almost of vital importance to have a “satellite” team, in order to try and test new technical solutions, engineers and pilots.

The “back office” of the race will be very hot because there are several important seats that “burn”, such as Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso. In my opinion, Fernando will weight in the balance mainly the technical guarantees. Knowing him, he’d like to win his third title precisely with the team of Maranello.
In Silverstone, fifteen days ago, we saw a thrilling due between Vettel and Alonso. We hope that this will happen again, regardless of the first consolidated positions. We’re talking about a mixed-fast circuit where the weather could play an important role.

F.4 – Mugello on the podium for Joao Vieira

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The selective circuit of Mugello (Tuscany, Italy) has highlighted all the technical qualities of Joao Vieira who, at the third round of the Italian F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth, won his first podium.

The third place is the icing on the cake of a good weekend which has blown away the disappointment of fifteen days ago at Imola, scoring an excellent hat-trick with three finishes in the points-zone in as many races, for a total of 32 points.

After conquering the third row in the two rounds of Qualifying on Saturday morning, respectively with the fifth and sixth fastest time, the 16-year-old Brazilian driver from Gurupi scored points in the first two races, thanks to an excellent fifth place in Race-1 and a seventh place in the sprint race. The greatest satisfaction came right at the last race with an attacking attitude, that from the fourteenth position led him to conquer the third step of the podium (which means also the first podium of the season). “I’m really happy both for the first podium and for the weekend. Since the first times on the track, in the tests of the past weeks, I’ve liked it very much, because it’s very fast and technical. Therefore very suitable to my style of driving. I must also thank all the staff of Antonelli Motorsport – they are really very good – as well as the trainers of the Driver Program Center. This podium has to be just the beginning”, Joao Vieira comments.

“I’m really satisfied. During the test, I was immediately impressed and this podium is the confirmation of the good technical and speed qualities of Joao. The Mugello is a challenging track and he was very good at not making any mistakes. In Race-3, despite a non-perfect start, he recovered several positions until he conquered of the podium. A result that boosts the morale for the second half of the season”, the manager Giovanni Minardi comments.

Thanks to these precious results, Joao incredibly improves his position in the overall ranking, entering fiercely into the Top-Eight with 33 points.

Joao Vieira at Mugello, to leave Imola behind

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It’s already the time for the third round of the Italian F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth. After the difficult weekend at Imola, Joao Vieira has the chance to turn the tables on the demanding Mugello circuit, where a few weeks ago he surprised everyone by scoring from the first steps excellent lap times, reaching the top of the rankings.

The 16-year-old Brazilian driver of Antonelli Motorsport will have the opportunity to show his skills on the demanding layout of the international track in Tuscany, whose major marks are the “San Donato” corner, the “Casanova-Savelli” – a descending right-left chicane – and “The two Angry” (in Italian, “Le due Arrabbiate”), which enhance his driving style

After the points scored in the opening race at Adria, Joao will try to add a new useful result to his palmares. “I’m really happy to be able to return immediately to drive. Imola was a weekend of apprenticeship. Now I want to try an immediate ransom, building on the work done in the last few weeks of tests right here, on the hills of Scarperia. It’s a challenging and technical circuit that is well suited to my driving style. A podium would be the best result”, Joao Vieira comments.

“I’m glad Joao can be immediately back at the wheel of his car, in order to leave behind the week-end at Imola. Given the good performance during the tests a few weeks ago, I hope that the Mugello will be the theatre of a good result for him, even though races are always different to tests. I am very confident, given also the important work that he’s carrying out with the Driver Program”, the manager Giovanni Minardi comments.

The curtains will rise on the Mugello Circuit on Friday 11th July with the three free practice sessions, in preparation for Qualifying on Saturday 12th (9.00 and 9.25 am), which will determine the starting grid of the two rounds of the race (28’ + 1 Lap), starting on Saturday at 3.35 pm and Sunday at 5.10 pm. In the middle, starting at 9.00 am, the sprint race (18’ + 1 Lap).

British GP – THE POINT… by Gian Carlo Minardi

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We started the weekend with the wrong strategies at Ferrari’s and Williams’, but then the ninth round of the Formula 1 World Championship turned out to be the best race of the season so far, with plenty of duels and with Bottas – uncontrollable from the very first steps –that conquered the second podium of the season and of his career.

It has been a high-voltage race, with two World Champions, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, ready to perform duels of other times. With the initial ingenuity (resulting in a 5’’ penalty at the pit-stop), Alonso compromised one or two positions for the final results. Perhaps he could have stayed with Button and Ricciardo. The errors on Saturday and Sunday are a sign of the strong tension at Ferrari. Silverstone has been characterized also by the incident of Kimi Raikkonen – that has irreparably compromised the Sunday of Felipe Massa – and by the consequent stop of more than 40 minutes, that however represents a great achievement for safety. It was estimated that the violent impact caused a deceleration of 40G… Fortunately the Finnish driver got away only with a few bruises.

At Mercedes’, the bad luck struck this time Nico Rosberg, thus denying him the satisfaction of putting his signature on the fourth race of the season, in favor of his team-mate that, with this success, is only 4 points far from the top of the ranking. Reliability confirms to be the only Achilles’ heel of the W05, although the technical advantage is so high that the fights remain always “within the family”.

As we announced, with the hard tyres McLaren is reborn, especially with Jenson Button who gives his team an important fourth place. The English driver, on his home track, was able to give something more, proving to be at ease with these compounds.

With any specific technical problem, the two Toro Rosso confirm to be top-ten cars and also at Silverstone Kvyat and Vergne enter in the score-zone with the ninth and tenth place.

British GP – PREVIEW

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Formula 1 is back in the circuit that wrote the history of motorsport, on a track with a “choreography” and a sports culture that is difficult to find elsewhere. We arrive at Silverstone at a particular time of the season, with an exciting duel going on between Nico and Lewis at Mercedes’.

Rosberg will try to defend himself from a good driver that has always been strong and that can count on the support of his home crowd. We expect again a direct fight, important in the view of the World Championship, with very fast actors, such as Williams and the other cars pushed by the German PU, which will certainly not stand and watch. On the other hand, it’s a difficult moment for Ferrari and Renault, which is experiencing hard days, as we can read also in the various specialized weekly magazines. As we already mentioned in the recent weeks, problems and discussions are on the agenda and something might happen.

The extra variable can be represented, as often happens, by the weather that has historically influenced the final result. On the front of tyres, Pirelli leaves momentarily aside the Soft and Supersoft, relying on Medium and Hard that could change the values hitherto expressed. There might be a return of McLaren, which has always been at ease with Hard. In the last races they have shown signs of awakening with Magnussen, while Button is “entered in the viewfinder” and could be “sacrificed” in view of 2015.

It promises to be a hot summer on the front of riders. At Red Bull’s we have a Sebastian Vettel ready to be dumped, also because of the many young drivers who push to have a chance, such as Kvyat and Sainz J. For a company that lives on marketing, the passing of the baton it’s understandable. Vettel has given all he could give, making his team walking on clouds. We might expect movements at Mercedes’ too, where Hamilton is not happy with his situation. Moreover, we must not forget that Toto Wolf is a shareholder of Williams and manager of Bottas. Therefore, I would not wonder about a possible pair Bottas-Rosberg. The Finnish driver is proving good speed and technical characteristics. As said at McLaren’s, Honda wants a top driver alongside Magnussen. Therefore Button-Vettel-Hamilton-Bottas could really “fire” the market. We expect several “games” between motor homes.

For the Minardi Team, Silverstone is an historical circuit that evokes wonderful memories such as the 5th and 6th are scored by Martini-Sala. Thanks to that fantastic result, we were able to re-enter into the Constructors’ top ten. In those years, being in the top-six was like entering today among the top three of the ranking. An unforgettable result in the history and life of Minardi.

In a few days we’ll be in England, on the Silverstone track, which represents the history of this sport.

Minardi back on the track

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Last weekend, during the Zandwoort Festival, some Minardis came back on track, in front of a public of 40,000 fans and F1 enthusiasts. The collector Frits van Eed brought back on the track, along with former Minardi driver Verstappen and Jan Lammers, six open-wheel cars of the team based in Faenza, completely restored with the original liveries .

Among the guests, Gian Carlo Minardi couldn’t certainly miss the event: “It has been a long day absolutely thrilling, fascinating and exciting. Watching these cars – that stayed stopped for about 20 years – running on the track again is something beyond words. I have to congratulate Frits for his passion for the world of Formula 1 and for the colors of the Minardi Team. Consider that in his museum there are more than 60 cars, of which 11 (out of 22 built) Minardi”, Gian Carlo Minardi comments. “I am really pleased because it all happened on the occasion of Zandwoort Festival, this year dedicated to Italian products, and Frits has chosen to bring my cars on track, despite he also owns three Ferraris, plus lots of Williams, McLaren s and other cars that you cannot see around anymore. I also saw the Minardi M187-Motori Moderni running on the track, perhaps the most beautiful car”.

Do not miss the video on Minardi-TV with the Minardis in action on the track!

F.4 – A weekend of apprenticeship for Joao Vieira in Imola

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It was a bitter-sweet weekend for Joao Vieira in Imola, where the second round of the Italian F.4 Championship powered by Abarth took place.

The Brazilian driver of Antonelli Motorsport was back at the wheel of the #28 Tatuus at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit, willing to improve the result of the inaugural race in Adria, but he left the challenging track empty-handed. The premises to score another useful result were all in place, given what he had done in free practice and qualifying, managing to bring his car in the upper side of ranking. Unfortunately, the lack of experience with the car and with the 4.936 meters of the track have left him out of the score-zone, giving him, however, the chance to drive more miles.

“Imola was a weekend of apprenticeship. It’s a really challenging track. Some corners do not forgive the slightest mistake. For me it was the first time, having tried it only once in the simulator. We are only at the second appointment and I have accumulated miles and experience that will definitely be useful already at Mugello, in fifteen days”, Joao Vieira comments. “Now I will continue training at the Driver Program Center”.

“It’s has been a weekend of bas luck for Joao, even if the premises were good. He committed several mistakes, because of his inexperience, but I’m sure that he will hold them for the next round at Mugello, a very technical track that suits his driving style. I just regret that he missed a good result both in race-2, when he drove faster than in qualifying, and in race-3”, the manager Giovanni Minardi analyzes.

Austrian GP – Drivers' Scorecard

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The eighth round is archived, with the new double scored by Mercedes; however, the most important piece of news is the podium of Williams.

Circuit – 10 The highest vote is deserved by the circuit and the organizers, that were able to attract the public of special occasions through a series of promotional events.

Nico Rosberg – 9 Determined and serene in the management of the race. Impeccable.

Fernando Alonso – 9 His best race. He fought with great determination for over 300km, despite a car which is not very competitive. Together with Ricciardo and Raikkonen, he tried to counteract the supremacy of the Mercedes power-unit.

Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa, Williams – 8.5 For what they showed both in qualifying and in the race. Thanks also to the German power-unit, their cars are difficult to overtake.

Sergio Perez – 8 Despite the penalty, he has been able to come back and to score points with his Force India, keeping the fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Daniel Ricciardo – 8 He couldn’t do more than this. He’s one of the few drivers who managed to bring a non-Mercedes powered car among the many German power-units. His car has several problems, which are evident mostly with his team-mate.

Lewis Hamilton – 7 At the moment is exactly the opposite of his team-mate. Too nervous. I remain convinced that the error in qualifying is not his fault.

Daniil Kvyat – 6.5 Excellent performance, despite the fact this was  a new track for him. He was able to show his qualities again. Unfortunately, he was “betrayed” by his Toro Rosso.

Kimi Raikkonen – 5 He’s still struggling with the F14-T, such as Jenson Button is doing with his McLaren. Perhaps the use of harder compounds will give a help to the British driver.

Problems have emerged again at Renault’s, certainly leading to new internal meetings. The problem at Renault’s, however, will not have an easy solution.

F.4 – Joao Vieira preparing the second round at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit of Imola

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After the positive debut in the Italian F.4 Championship powered by Abarth, marked by the first points scored at the Adria International Raceway, for Joao Vieira it’s now time for the second round scheduled next weekend at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit.

Waiting for the first green lights of Imola, the 16-year-old Brazilian driver came back at the wheel of Tatuus F4 T014 of Antonelli Motorsport Team at Mugello, signing his debut on the Tuscan track that will host the third weekend of this new series, strongly supported by FIA. For Joao it was an opportunity to get acquainted with the demanding layout of the international track owned by Ferrari, characterized by important slope changes and very fast and blind corners, such ad the “two Angry” (in Italian, “Le due arrabbiate”).

A positive start, that saw Joao firmly occupying the top positions and scoring important time results, with steady improvements at each session. “It has been a very fruitful day and I was positively surprised by the fast adaptation of Joao to the track, considering that he had never seen the circuit before. With the used compounds he was the fastest and only a technical problem denied him the opportunity to sign the best performance with a new set”, the manager Giovanni Minardi comments.

In preparation of the second round, the 16 year-old driver native of Gurupi moved to the headquarters of the Mestrino based Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre for a session in the simulator. “I’ve had the opportunity to study the track and trajectories. In this way I will have the opportunity to work easily once on the circuit”, Joao Vieira comments. “With regard to the Mugello track, I liked it straight away. A very technical track with fast and difficult corners. The work with the team was focused on the weekend of race”, the Minardi Management’s driver continues. The head, however, is already in Imola. “After scoring points in Adria, the goal is the podium. On the simulator I started studying the track and the ‘Acque Minerali’ and ‘Rivazza’ are the two most demanding corners”, the Brazilian concludes.

The curtains on the weekend at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola will be risen on Friday 27th June with three free practice sessions, in preparation for Saturday’s qualifying (28th June, 11.10 am and 12.00 am), which will determine the starting grid of the two rounds of competition (28’ + 1 Lap), beginning on Saturday at 5.30 pm and Sunday at 4.50 pm. In between, starting at 10.50 am, the sprint race (18’ + 1 Lap).