F1 | Gp USA, MINARDI “The challenge is open between Mercedes-Ferrari-Red Bull. Waiting for Thursday’s press conference”

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21.10.2018- Race,

Formula 1 comes to Austin from Mexico City for the third round of the world championship. We are coming from an interesting grand prix that saw four drivers cross the finishing line within 6” with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Sebastian Vettel, team mate Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc who was the unfortunate protagonist of a particularly slow pit stop that cost him the podium.
Max Verstappen was missing from the fight, having paid dearly for his mistake in qualifying. I expect an equally tight duel along the 15.5 km between the three top teams with Mercedes leading the group together with the British champion who is preparing to celebrate his sixth personal world championship title.

It is not enough to have the best car to win but it needs the highest perfection under every aspect. The slightest imperfection is paid for dearly. We are facing an exciting end of season that can only be a good omen for 2020.

After a first part of the season that was not easy Ferrari defended itself, especially with the pole positions and it let us see that it is in the running, even if there was no lack of problems with reliability and some mistakes in strategy. Last year after Lewis Hamilton’s pole it was ex Ferrari driver Raikonnen who brought home the win. The Finn is passing through an uneasy period with Alfa Romeo, even if he was not helped by the team that was the protagonist of too many mistakes, especially concerning Giovinazzi. The eighth position that they currently occupy in the ladder reflects their potential but here in Austin they could come back into the points zone.

This is not an easy time even for Toro Rosso that was overtaken by their direct rivals Racing Point. Gasly saved the weekend in Mexico with an excellent performance bringing the team two points with Kvyat demoted to eleventh place after the penalty for the collision with Hulkenberg in the last lap.

Last weekend the tyres were the protagonists with Verstappen running practically the full race having changed tyres in the first lap after the collision with Bottas. Pirelli will also bring to Austin the hards (c2), mediums (c3) and softs (c4) with only Leclerc (of the top drivers) with 9 red sets, one more than Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel and Verstappen. Four sets of yellows for Bottas and Verstappen and two whites for Hamilton and Vettel.

As we await the the practice session we also await Thursday’s press conference where we will find out the guidelines for the 2021 season.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Mexico, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “The best driver won. An incredible mistake by Verstappen in qualifying”

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It was the correct order of finishing that rewarded an excellent Lewis Hamilton and a perfect Mercedes that scored its 100th win and confirmed that it is the car to beat. They managed to perfectly exploit all the track conditions led by a great driver.

The result was not so obvious in the long run on Friday. After Saturday’s front row with both red cars Lewis Hamilton won today, even if the party for his sixth world title has been postponed. It was a good performance by Ferrari that was helped by the foolishness and the incredible mistake by Max Verstappen during qualifying.

Despite a pit stop in the first lap and having run the whole race with the hard tyres he also set excellent times up to the finish, finishing in sixth place behind his team mate. The mistake at the start is the result of what happened in qualifying. Today he would surely have been in the struggle for the win together with Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Leclerc. The driver from Monaco unfortunately paid the mistake in the pit stop. Those 3.7” seconds were fatal for him in the struggle for the podium. When you do a pit stop more the risks and/or the mistakes grow, just as happened during his second stop.

A great grand prix that was fought with many tactical consequences has been filed away. Four machines within barely 6” after 71 laps represents a nice visiting card for this Formula 1 even if the tyres truly last too long and especially as there is not much difference between one mix and another.

Now we go to Austin where we will be able to see another god fight with Mercedes still the car of reference.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Mexico, Lewis Hamilton fears Ferrari. MINARDI “All pre-race tactics”

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We have entered the week that brings us to the Mexico Grand Prix, the fourth last round of the world championship. Despite the declarations by Lewis Hamilton who sees Ferrari as the clear favourite, especially in the two long straights, I believe that both he and Mercedes remain the favourites and that the British driver will peacefully celebrate his sixth world championship.

The struggle for the title of vice champion is to be watched carefully with Bottas (274 points) in front of the two Ferrari drivers with Leclerc on 221 points in front of Vettel (212) who is tied with Verstappen. As has already happened in Japan, Mercedes could favour also favour the Finn driver to help him consolidate his position.

Even if they come from some subdued grands prix, they will have to watch their backs from Red Bull, the winner of the last two editions. The two straights are no help at time for the Honda engine but the chassis will know how to reduce the gap in the driven part.

On the tyre front, the three top teams have opted for different choices with 7 sets of Softs for Mercedes and Ferrari, against the 9 of Verstappen-Albon. Bottas will have at his disposal 4 Medium C3s, while Hamilton, Vettel and Leclerc five sets each with 3 for Red Bull. Two sets of the C2 Hard for the Finn driver against only 1 for his direct rivals.

It will be an interesting grand prix, both for the struggle at the top and also the various tirades that have exploded in recent weeks. The power of the Ferrari engine continues to cause discussion. I sincerely do not understand why these controversies have blown up so strongly in this part of the season. Until now nothing had come out and every clarification is important for the future but also from what we have learnt the project’s idea would not be forbidden. Racing Point’s protest against Renault has also dominated conversation and if confirmed could put into serious doubt the team’s permanence in the world championship.

As we wait to see what the GP in Mexico City will give us, I will be waiting for you on Friday morning at the Auto e moto d’epoca Fiera (Vintage Car and Motorcycle Fair) in Padua at the ACI stand where we will present the programme and the news of the 5th edition of the Historic Minardi Day scheduled from Friday April 24th to Sunday April 26th in Imola that this tear will host the ACI Storico (Historic) Festival.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | MINARDI “Hamilton? The best today”

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At Suzuka Mercedes put its hands on its sixth consecutive constructors’’ title, equalling Ferrari’s record, but in Mexico City Lewis Hamilton could once again wear the champion’s crown and so take another step towards Michael Schumacher’s record.

“The numbers talk for Lewis Hamilton. In Mexico he will be able to celebrate his sixth world title. This year too he left nothing to chance, even if he did make some mistakes, as did the team,” commented Gian Carlo Minardi on Pit Talk’s microphones.

“He certainly has the best car. In Suzuka he also proved his technical worth, as he showed with his times.”

“In the 46th lap he broke all the records with 1.30.9, while in the 49th lap, despite the new tyres, Leclerc did not go under 1.31.611. We’re talking of a difference of 6-7 tenths of a second.

“Today, Hamilton for me is the best of the lot. In the moments that count he always made the difference, just as Mercedes is the car to beat. They have been flying towards 2020 for some time and they know this well in Maranello. This year they equalled Ferrari’s record and the people in Brackley want to break it”

Gian Carlo Minardi highlighted how tight the duel between Mercedes and Ferrari is in this final part of the season. “They have to be absolutely perfect in order to beat them as happened in Spa, Monza and Singapore. In Japan we had a Ferrari with two faces. In qualifying it was perfect, putting together an unexpected 1-2 with perfect laps by Vettel and Leclerc. In the race on the other hand, it was all wiped out with a wrong start by Vettel and a mistake at the first bend of a 53 lap GP by Charles.

“In the race the German held off an unrestrained Hamilton. Could he have done more with a better start? We can’t know, even if it would have been difficult. Ferrari has made significant progress but there are still dark holes,” concluded the manager from Faenza.

13.10.2019- Podium, 2nd place Sebastian Vettel (GER) Scuderia Ferrari SF90

F1 | Gp Japan, THE POINT by Gian Carlo MINARDI “Leclerc’s penalty was correct. Mercedes was better than Ferrari”

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(updated at 14.34) In a matter of hours the Japanese Grand Prix concentrated all the beauty of this Formula 1 into full grandstands, a splendid battle fought on the edge of thousandths of seconds between Mercedes and Ferrari that unexpectedly managed to take pole position with Vettel and all the front row, as well as good overtaking and struggles. For Ferrari this was the fifth consecutive pole and the eighth for the season.

Unfortunately the masterpiece was wiped out by a mistake by both drivers, something that had not happened for some time. Vettel stalled at the start, staying however within the tolerance of the sensor and thus avoiding a penalty by the marshals, while Leclerc was let off in the scuffle with Verstappen that led to the Dutchman going off track. After the end of the race the marshals made the right decision to inflict a 15” penalty on the driver from Monaco which slid him down to seventh place. Vettel’s second place saved the weekend, also thanks to a risky strategy by the people on the wall, with the German driver managing to stay ahead of the charging Hamilton and giving us a good duel.

With Bottas’ win and Hamilton’s third place, Mercedes equalled Ferrari’s record by winning its sixth consecutive Constructors’ title, while the British driver is a step away from his isxth title that he could already celebrate in Mexico. He confirmed that he is a true team man. He was exemplary and Mercedes confirmed it is better than Ferrari.

Today’s result showed how much Ferrari and Mercedes are war machines where the slightest mistake truly makes the difference between a great result and a placing. This should make us think about the near future. It is not enough to develop the car well but it must be absolutely perfect, drivers included.

It was also a good result for Albon and Sainz who finished the grand prix with all the laps to bring home important points for their respective teams.

The post grand prix twists and turns have not yet finished as a strong dispute arose between Racing Point and Renault with Lawrence Stroll’s team that presented a technical protest that, due to its complexity, will be analyzed over the next few days.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Japan, MINARDI “Vettel/Leclerc? The stopwatch must be the referee”

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GP Giappone F1 1992

The Formula 1 World Championship Circus arrives in Japan for the seventeenth round on the Suzuki circuit, one of the world’s most beautiful tracks. This is an Old School track with many pitfalls and with no paved escape route where every mistake is punished.

This is a demanding track for both the cars and the drivers. We are coming from five years of domination by Mercedes and it will not be easy for the rivals to interrupt this positive streak, even if in the latest rounds Ferrari managed to overturn the predictions, in the hope that the team has resolved the reliability problems that conditioned the result in Russia with Sebastian Vettel’s withdrawal when he was in command.

The unknown factor is the cyclone approaching for Friday and Saturday, while the race should be dry. On the tyre front Pirelli has brought the hardest mixes, with Mercedes more conservative compared to its direct rivals. If the majority of drivers has opted for 1 set of C1s (White Hard), Hamilton and Bottas have chosen 4 mixes of C2 (Yellow Medium) against the 3 of Ferrari and Red Bull with 8 C4s (Red Soft) against the 8 of Vettel-Leclerc and Verstappen-Albon.

In recent days the internal struggle between Vettel and Leclerc has held sway. Binotto will surely know how to manage it for the best, even if it is positive for a team that aims to win. We have come into the final phase of the season with only 5 GPs to be fought that could decide the future team structure. Leclerc is young, 22 and in his first season with a top team and he has a future as a champion in front of him, while Vettel must find once more the serenity to come back and exploit his abilities to the full. I am convinced that the true referee should be the stopwatch and to leave the drivers free to fight, always in the best interest of the team.

Staying on the young drivers’ front, Mercedes and Toto Wolff have made a good move, bringing back into the negotiations Lando Norris who brought the supply of the German power-unit to McLaren. This is a nice move for both, a little less for Renault that at the moment is without client teams should it continue in 2021, even if I have my reservations.

Gian Carlo Minardi