F1 | Gp Russia, THE POINT by GIAN CARLO MINARDI “ Was Leclerc fslowed by excessive consumption?”

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28.09.2019- Qualifying celebration, Pole Position Charles Leclerc (MON) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 and 2nd place Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes returned to success, interrupting a run of positive results by Ferrari that in any case said goodbye to Sochi with pole position and Leclerc’s third place behind Bottas. In the light of these results, from now to the end of the season Ferrari must wager on the driver from Monaco to try and take away second place from Mercedes’ Finnish driver.

This result was the child of events that are part of motorsport, even if we must congratulate Hamilton for his excellent management of the race. He drove like a champion. Up to the moment of his retirement Vettel was making up for his performance in qualifying where he finished with the third time, dictating the pace thanks to an authoritative start and a clean charge compared to his teammate.

It was a pity that the order from Ferrari’s people on the wall to park the car came in an especially unfavourable part of the track that forced the stewards to call in the Virtual Safety car, condemning in fact the driver from Monaco who had made his pit step, betting on an aggressive strategy to aim for a win with the Softs..

On the other hand, I was surprised that Leclerc did not attack Bottas. Unlike the previous grands prix where, without the DRS, he managed fight his way back on his rivals. In this circumstance the Ferrari driver could not get closer despite a gap of less than a minute. Twice he asked in vain for more power from the people on the barrier. This could have been due to excessive fuel consumption, something that is not new to the red cars.

Behind Mercedes and Ferrari were the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Albon with the two McLarens in the points (sixth Sainz and eighth Norris) that extended their lead on the direct rivals of Renault (tenth with Hulkenberg). In this period there was the announcement of the agreement between McLaren and Mercedes for the supply of the engines starting in 2021. This makes me think that Renault could say goodbye to the Circus at the end of 2020.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Russia, MINARDI “Mercedes is the car to beat”

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We are on the eve of the Russian Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship. We come from consecutive three wins by Ferrari that were enhanced by its first double of the season, achieved on the hostile Singapore track that brought some valuable tranquillity in the Racing Department of Maranello.

We come to a circuit that is not easy and characterized by a fast section that favours the SF90 with a very slow final section that should make Mercedes and Red Bull smile. I prefer using the conditional in light of the result on the Marina Bay Circuit.

Despite the fourth and fifth placings by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas last week, I am still convinced that the car to beat is still the Mercedes. Last year they dominated far and wide, “playing” with the rivals, but this year nothing is written yet.

The climatic conditions can make the difference since the teams will find temperatures lower than Singapore. On the tyre front, Mercedes and Ferrari have opted for different strategies with 8 sets of the Softs the world champions against the 9 for Ferrari and Verstappen. Two sets of Hards for Bottas against one for Hamilton, Vettel, Leclerc and Verstappen, with 4 Mediums for Hamilton against the three of his main rivals.

We are the end of September and there are thirty days to go to the day to end the work of defining the 2021 regulations, there is no uniformity of view from the teams. This is not minor obstacle considering that a unanimous vote is needed. I am still convinced that the definition of Constructor is to be defended to prevent the creation of clones which would lead to the creation of a huge gap between teams. It would be a major financial damage for the image of Formula 1. I have always fought for this, with Frank Williams as an ally.

One final consideration before saying goodbye. In recent days there has been much talk about the drivers’ market and Haas’ move amazed us. They talk about continuity, but sincerely this is incomprehensible in consideration of the current performance of the two drivers. I am convinced they gave everything they could. It would have been opportune to confirm one and to bring fresh air into the team. With the current situation Hulkenberg risks being left out. His name has been linked with Alfa Romeo but I am convinced that Antonio Giovinazzi deserves to be confirmed. He certainly has made some mistakes but the team too has not been exempt from Kamikaze decisions with highly questionable strategies.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Driver standings after Singapore GP

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With the second place in Singapore Charles Leclerc went behind Valtteri Bottas with a gap of 31 points and equal to Max Verstappen. Red Bull’s Dutch driver keeps fourth place by 6 points, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, while Lewis Hamilton continues to lead the ladder with 296 points.

F1 | Constructor Standings after Singapore GP

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With the double in Singapore by Vettel and Leclerc, Ferrari consolidated second place in the constructor’s ladders (394 points) and reduced the gap from Mercedes (527 point) to 133 points and increased the extended the gap from Red Bull in third place with 289 points.

With Lando Norris’ seventh place in Marina Bay McLaren confirms that it is the fourth force of the world championship with 89 points, ahead of Renault (67), Toro Rosso (55) and Racing Point (46).

F1 | Gp Singapore, THE POINT by Gian Carlo MINARDI “Ferrari is reborn. Well done Giovinazzi”

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Singapore gave us a weekend characterized by a number of surprises, starting with Leclerc’s pole position, followed by Ferrari’s double with Vettel’s’ first win this season and Mercedes off the podium after finishing in fourth and fifth position behind Verstappen.

This was a weekend that will give morale to both the drivers and to Ferrari that has been resurrected after being in free fall. After the wins in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza that was the moment of truth and the answers were there. All the new developments worked perfectly, reducing the gap with its direct rivals after managing to bring in the best result possible on a track that should not have favourable to them.

It was a win that allowed them to bring home the third straight win and to continue the race for second place in the constructors’ title and also reopened the challenge with Valtteri Bottas for vice-champion. This was a very tight race with three safety cars and ended on the limit of two hours.

We are getting ready for a growing and interesting end of season. Leclerc would surely have wanted to win after Saturday’s fantastic lap but it is right that he is at the team’s disposal. The people on Ferrari’s wall had a great job, even if the strategy was to the German’s advantage. This was an understandable operation in light of the near future.

Congratulations to Antonio Giovinazzi who, after Monza once again was in the points zone, despite the team doing practically everything to damage him. Luckily the three safety cars gave him the chance to partially remedy the strategy. For the first time we saw him also in the lead in the grand prix, helped by the game of strategies.

In a week’s time we will be back on track with the Moscow Grand Prix where last year Mercedes scored a double with Hamilton and Bottas in front of Vettel and Raikonnen. Will Ferrari manage to give its fans another win?

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Qualification Race, MINARDI “There are other solutions”

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Today there is only one solution that could become reality as soon as next season, even if only in part-time mode.

We are talking about the Qualification Race, one of the topics discussed in Geneva in the offices of the International Federation that found particular support between the parties. This would be a mini-race of 100 kilometres to be run on the Saturday, the result of which would decide the starting grid of the Grand Prix. The desire would be (the conditional is compulsory since it is only a proposal) to invert the ladder of the diver’s World Championship for the starting grid of the Qualification Race. Therefore, as of today Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas would start form the back row with George Russell in pole position.

“We have adopted the Qualifying Race in our TCR DSG Endurance Italian Championship as well, with a 10” sprint race that is valid for the starting grid of the endurance race. It is very spectacular to watch but I do not know how much it can be applied to the context of Formula since there are problems to be dealt with, starting with the wear of the clutch and transmission as we will have two starts,” was the analysis of Gian Carlo Minardi, interviewed by Minardi.it.

“If they truly want to change, I would take a step back to 2005 when the driver had only one fast lap available to make his best time, taking to the track in inverted order across the finish line of the previous race,” proposed the manager from Faenza, “Doing it in this way would give the driver and the team the maximum visibility and it would prevent traffic problems or playing with the slipstream.

“Time is running out and 20121 is upon us. We are almost at the end of September and the teams have not yet agreed on the new technical regulations. We are approaching the end game and Singapore could be the setting for major meetings,” he finished.

F1 | Gp Italy, THE POINT by Gian Carlo MINARDI “Leclerc is the first driver”

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It was a double win for Charles Leclerc who for 53 laps, with great cool-headedness and determination, held off the assaults first by Hamilton and then by Bottas in the final part, leading the two Mercedes drivers to commit come mistakes.

Even in his slips he showed that he knows the rules of the game very well, especially during Lewis Hamilton’s assault during breaking. He was absolutely fantastic from the 32nd to the 42nd laps in which he constantly set his best lap.

We are surely faced with a talent and a World Champion of the near future whose potential was not discovered only in these recent two weeks in which he won two grands prix because his curriculum vitae talks for him. In the lower categories he won everything there was to win. Praise must be given to the FDA which, together with the Federal School, is carrying out a solid programme.

It is undeniable that we are faced with a first driver and they must review their strategies in Ferrari. With this win he overshadowed and put into difficulty Vettel who was the protagonist not of one but of two mistakes that were as serious as they were unexplainable.

Bravo to Antonio Giovinazzi. With a solid race that finished in ninth place and in the points zone, he made up for the mistake he made in Belgium by running the laps with constant results on the clock.

Next stop Singapore which is a track that will be more complicated for Ferrari and could bring a smile back to Red Bull that can look forward with confidence after the solid comeback by Verstappen who started last on the grid and finished in eighth place and the good race by Albon.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Italy, MINARDI “One swallow does not make a summer, but…”

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One swallow does not make a summer but Leclerc’s win at Spa-Francorchamps only a week ago represents a nice breath of fresh air for both the world championship and Ferrari that broke its fast of wins.

We come to Monza, a track with low down force that on paper should favour Vettel and Leclerc, even if the tyres are an unknown factor. Leclerc was suffering during the final laps in Belgium and Hamilton was making up ground finishing only 9 tenths of a second behind him. In that part of the race all the team did excellent work, on both the strategy front and the order to Vettel who promptly made himself available.

We are talking about a very fast track that is also very demanding on the engine front with a total of 53 laps. Once more the strategies will be essential, as already happened last year with Hamilton who brought home the win.

It could be a more demanding weekend for Red Bull that is forced to pay the penalty of Verstappen starting from the back of the grid. But the arrival of Albon has strengthened the team’s forces on the field, as the fifth place showed. Considering that Mercedes and Hamilton are unreachable, Ferrari must consolidate second place in the constructors’ championship by trying to keep a safe distance from Red Bull.

This is also an important appointment for Antonio Giovinazzi. At Spa he made a protagonist with a solid performance, unfortunately wiped out by the mistake. In both Formula 2 and Formula ACI-CSAI Abarth he made himself a protagonist with important wins, which shows how much confidence this track gives him. We hope that he can put all his experience to good use.

I wish you a good grand prix and I look forward to seeing you all at Monza.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Belgium, THE POINT by Gian Carlo MINARDI “Extraordinary job by Ferrari”

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Ferrari broke its fast and won its first grand prix for the season by dominating the stage in Belgium on the demanding Spa-Francorchamps track thanks to a super performance by Charles Leclerc.

The driver from Monaco drew the perfect weekend with pole position and the win to become the youngest driver to triumph at the wheel of a Ferrari and to win the Belgian Grand Prix, taking the record away from Michael Schumacher.

The win was also the result of an extraordinary strategy by Ferrari’s people on the wall who guessed all the moves and managed to hold back the final come back by Lewis Hamilton. At this time we saw Ferrari’s problems that they managed to stem on a very track. We hope that this win could be a good omen in light of the Italian Grand Prix scheduled for only a week’s time. Remaining on the Italian colours, I am sorry for Antonio Giovinazzi who, only two laps from the chequered flag, wiped out the excellent work and lost precious points for both him and the team.

A great weekend ended that was just a tragic due to the premature death of Hubert, a young man who, having attended at our championships, I had the chance to see directly in action on the track. Unfortunately, these episodes remind us how dangerous and also unpredictable our sport is. We must continue to work on safety, even if it will be impossible to eliminate the risks.

Gian Carlo Minardi