F1 | Mercedes, Hamilton opposed to share telemetry. Minardi "Absurd Decision"

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 As we await Thursday’s presentation by Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton’s statements hold the lime light. The three times world champion has declared that he is not willing to share his telemetry with new team mate Valtteri Bottas who replaced Nico Rosberg.

I do not agree with this and I find the decision and his attitude absurd. As already happened last year, one of Formula One’s highest paid drivers has put down his employer’s work and decisions which would place him at the peak of the sport. We are talking about a team which put together 51 wins in 59 grands prix. For Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff the priority is the constructor’s title, just as I find it unlikely that the engineers of the two cars do not compare the data gathered on the track. We are faced with a complicated season that will be conditioned by important changes to the regulations. For this very reason the team’s programme must take be more important than any single driver’s.

After Nico Rosberg’s retirement Mercedes was forced to back Hamilton who has been flanked by the Finn with a one year contract (with an option for a secondseason). In other circumstances the case would have been very different.

I never had the chance to work with a star, but within the Minardi team we all worked together to make the best use of and to improve the material available to us. Everything was directed towards the result.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Kart Karol Basz just missed the podim on the 22nd Winter Cup

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It was a bitter sweet weekend for Karol Basz on the track at Lonato, the setting for the 22nd Winter Cup where he just missed out on a place on the podium with his fourth place.

The Kosmic Racing Team’s flag bearer had begun the event by easily a winning a place amongst the top starters thanks to the second and third places in the Qualifying Heats on Friday and closing with a sixth place on the following day.

In the second Super Heat the Polish driver assisted by Minardi Management obtained third spot at a few seconds from victory, and closed the weekend with fifth place in the Final Heats and fourth place in the Final.

“The weekend began well, but in the Final we lacked a little speed. We must work only on the small details because we have begun to show that we can always fight for the top positions and for victory.” Karol Basz

“We have completed a weekend of hard work in which we concentrated on development, even though we lacked that little something to return to domination. Karol showed once more all his professionalism that places him amongst the best drivers at the moment, even from the point of view of preparation of the vehicle. I am sure that together with Kosmic we will be able to return on the highest place of the podium beginning at the next appointments,” was the analysis of his manager Alberto Tonti.

Foto: Alex Vernardis & Loredana LRN / The RaceBox

Pirelli110 | Minardi "Reached important milestones together"

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Torino’s Automobile Museum was the setting for the celebration of Pirelli’s100 years of sporting competition. It debuted with a win in the 1907 Peking-Paris race. I wish to express my sincerest best wishes for this anniversary to the entire Pirelli brand and wish it another 110 years of success. We are talking about a historic supplier. Racing was born with it and the development of tyres has grown with the races. It has been a reciprocal exchange of information and technology.

My first collaboration with Pirelli goes back to the 1973 Formula 3 season when the Minardi Team introduced the slicks designed by its engineer Mario Mezzanotte and his assistant Turchetti. The adventure then continued in Formula 2 where we achieved some fine results such as the win at Misano and Michele Alboreto’s pole position at Pau.

After the first two seasons in Formula 1 (1985 and 1986) clad with Pirellis our roads came back together in 1989 and 1990. Thanks to the clearance by Goodyear we began developing their tyres until the end of 1988. It was an important experience. Taking part in the baptism of fire of the new tyres was extremely important for the Team and gave the drivers great benefits. At Estoril during only one day of time trials Martini tested the fine number of 30 sets of qualifying tyres, at the same time achieving the circuit’s newest fastest time (1:13:100). It was thanks to these tours de force that Pirelli achieved its excellent qualifying times. In 1989 we won a third place on the grid at Adelaide behind Senna and Mansell and in 1990 the front row at Phoenix at Phoenix.

Today we are facing a difficult season in which the tyres will be an important gauge, for better or for worse. We are talking about the most important modification of the 2017 regulations.

F1 | Pub talk

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The covers have not yet come off the racing cars (which begins on February 20th) and we have not gone onto the track for the first preseason testing  (the first session is booked in for February 27th to March 2nd at Montmelo), but with the exception of Mercedes a certain level of nervousness is seeping from the factories.

While everyone at Brackley is sleeping comfortably because they are all ready for February 23rd and look forward to the first test session with confidence due to the results of the simulations and in respect to the construction of the cars to be entrusted to Lewis Hamilton and Vallteri Bottas, at all the other factories there are significant delays, as well as problems in analyzing and comparing data from previous years. The Team from Maranello will reveal Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen’s new weapon on Friday February 24th at Fiorano and from comments by engineers they are already working on the B version to make its debut when the World Championship reaches Europe as they are not satisfied with the results of the wind tunnel testing and the simulations. This all creates tension.

I would be careful about playing the Last Post and dressing in mourning. There are rumours doing the rounds of the pubs and the mobile phones are ringing continuously. We await the results of the first round at Barcelona.

As Nikki Lauda believes, I am convinced that the teams are keepings their cards well covered until the first day of testing to discover the forces at play with the objective of gathering the most information possible to be able to develop and modify the cars in anticipation of the first Grands Prix.

Let’s not forget that we are waiting for FIA’s reply on the interpretation of the regulations and on the plans of the new owners.

F1 | McLaren sheds light on its reorganization. Minardi “I agree with the programme”

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A few days ago I told you about my conclusions on the situation within the McLaren Team after the departure of its C.E.O. Jost Capito and team manager David Redding (who will go to the Williams Team), together with the possible collaboration with BMW on the Formula 1 front with the supply of the next Power-Unit.

Following my considerations I was contacted from inside the Woking Factory who let me know through the words of Race Director Éric Boullier of how the Team’s reorganization is proceeding which left me favourably impressed.

These are Boullier’s words:
Dave Redding had been offered an opportunity with another team and we did not want to get in the way. Let’s not forget that Dave had been with McLaren for 17 years. His place will be taken by Paul James (who had already been the Team’s Chief mechanic).

The position that Paul James left free will be entrusted to Karu (Lammenranta) – the former number one mechanic of Alonso’s car who will be the new Chief mechanic.

Andrea Stella will carry on in his role as the supervisor of the track side engineers and his duties will be expanded to involve the sporting relations between the Team and FIA.

Éric Boullier when on by emphasizing “When we understood that Dave would leave we were able to enlist entirely from within the Team. Over a long period of time we had been encouraging people to study science, engineering, technology and mathematics at local schools and to support apprenticeships and university theses with the aim of introducing better prepared young talents into McLaren.

A programme with which I agree because it coincides with the Minardi mentality, in other words to mature people within the Team and, at the same time, collaborate with Universities to bring better prepared young people into the organization and at the same time encourage loyalty towards the Company. By so doing it is possible to create a hard core to the Team thus creating the conditions for another winning cycle.

With the exit of Ron Dennis, the new General Director Zak Brown, – an expert marketer –will have the task of reorganizing McLaren and in an interview released on the American site Roundandtrack had spoken about the possibility of success in 2017 “I do not believe we will win a Grand Prix this year”. Every reorganization takes time.

I thank the whole staff at the Factory to whom i wish the best of luck for the upcoming presentation of the car (February 24th) and the 2017 racing season.

 

F1, Jost Capito and David Redding leave Woking. Minardi “F1 cannot afford to lose McLaren as well”

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McLaren continues to lose important piece the day of the presentation relentlessly approaches as well as the first official tests on the track at Barcelona. After Ron Dennis’ estrangement at the end of last year C.E.O. Jost Capito and team manager David Redding also left the Woking factory.

These signals are synonymous with the internal collapse of a glorious team, a symbol of Formula 1, which is passing through an important phase of changes of management and ownership. Considering his past Jost Capito could have been an important figure. His departure, together with that of the team manager tells us of moments of tension within the team. Over the last few days we had hinted at the possibility of an agreement between McLaren and BMW on the Circus front as well, but it was denied by the team from Bavaria. A hint of hope had appeared which disappeared just when chaos ruled within the team.

At this moment Formula 1 cannot allow itself to lose a team such as McLaren. It was once an expert puppet master that controlled the strings very well. Now Liberty Media is called to undertake a sensitive task.

2017 is a delicate year for McLaren, but above all for Honda. The winter tests will give us the first answers, even though I do not have much faith in the Japanese constructor.

Kart | Karol Basz amongst the points in Adria in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series

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In the first weekend of the WSK Super Master Series on the track in Andria in a race strongly affected by the weather Karol Basz looked for the best results and finished on the podium, only to be penalized 10” by the stewards for a contact with Novalak ftom Great Britain and finished in sixth place overall.

For Kosmic Racing’s driver from Krakow it was the occasion to gain confidence in the new wets supplied by Bridgestone in anticipation of the next rounds.

As we await the next round of the WSK Super Master Series scheduled for Castelletto di Branduzzo on March 2nd, Karol will return to the track at Lonato for the 22nd edition of the Winter Cup on February 17th and 18th.

 “It was not an easy end of the week beginning under heavy rain and trying to find the best set up for the cart, but it ended on the podium. Unfortunately the stewards then decided to penalize me for a contact during the race. I am happy with the speeds obtained and now I will concentrate on the Winter Cup,” said Karol Basz, the Minardi Management driver.

 “The final penalty concluded a difficult weekend in which Karol was not as fast as usual. He had to fight to find the right set up and the best tyre pressure for the new mixes supplied by Bridgestone,” was the analysis by his Manager Alberto Toni.