F1 |GP RUSSIA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THE PENALTIES FOR HAMILTON WERE CORRECT”

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The regulations must be studied and I am surprised that at these two mistakes by a six times world champion like Lewis Hamilton. After the penalties I saw him disheartened, even if he tried to set the fastest lap but this time Bottas did not want to give him a thing.

His bad day certainly favoured the Finn and Verstappen, as well as having given us spectators a finish that had not yet already been defined.
The grand prix slipped by without too much excitement, on a track that is decidedly anonymous and does not exalt the quality of the drivers.

Effectively there was no driver in particular who put himself on show. Certainly Valtteri Bottas made himself the protagonist of a perfect Sunday during which he did nothing wrong followed by a good Max Verstappen.
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t was also a good race by Sergio Perez who shows with results on the track that he deserves to stay in F1 despite being badly dumped by the team.

It was a difficult weekend Ferrari as well. I do not find it correct to be satisfied with Leclerc’s sixth place. The small updates introduced at Sochi were useful but the road is still long.

In two weeks we will arrive in another historic track like Nurburgring before touching two tracks which are new to this Formula 1, Portimao and Imola.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GIAN CARLO MINARDI “WE ARE EXPERIENCING A CAPTIVATING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP”

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After the three Grands Prix on national territory comes the news that Stefano Dominical is ready to fill once again the role of the new CEO of Formula 1 in the place of Chase Carey. Italy is proving to be able to play the leading role in the Motorsport world championship.

Since he is a man who has lived and breathed the Circus’ air, Domenicali will know how to relaunch Formula 1 and this could open the doors to new constructors. He has already shown he is a skilled manager. We are facing a new era where, as yet, the 2021 calendars have not yet been made public. This says a lot about the uncertainties and the problems being faced.
The World Championship has arrived in Sochi, entering the final part of the season. Last Year Ferrari took the pole with Leclerc and Vettel third. I do not believe it is possible to think of a similar result, also because at Maranello they are working quietly with the aim of using the tokens with 2021 in mind.

Amongst the many difficulties dictated by the health emergency we are experiencing a captivating world championship with a major compaction of the performances. With the exclusion of the huge gap between Mercedes and the second row, the gap from the second to the eighth has closed significantly. We have seen a number of surprises, including Alpha Tauri’s win and also McLaren’s recovery. There is always applause for Mercedes’ work which in recent years has managed to keep its domination

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | TUSCAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “I DO NOT LIKE THIS F1”

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I do not like this F1 because it wants to favour the spectacle, even to the detriment of safety as we saw on the occasion of the first restart at the re-entry of the safety-car. There have been modifications to the regulations without having tried them beforehand, causing accidents and chaos. In this circumstance the drivers have no fault.

Mugello passed the test and showed how the drivers are no longer used to racing on historic circuits with the gravel immediately after the curbs. Twelve cars crossing the finish line had not been seen for a long while and certainly they do not tell the real forces at play correctly, even if I am pleased at Albon’s third place with Red Bull. Good also Renault with Daniel Ricciardo.

Once again Mercedes toyed with its rivals. They were immediately able to gain a two second advantage at every restart which they then managed, lap after lap. They have unique strength, as shown also by the fastest lap set by Hamilton at the very end.

Ferrari’s agony continued, finishing in the points zone thanks to the many retirements. Otherwise both Leclerc and Vettel would have remained outside the top-10. Compared to the other teams it is not carrying out updates. Most probably they want use all the developments allowed at one go to remedy a project that was completely wrong. Therefore the ordeal will still continue.

However, F1 must not do “go back to square one” as this is not good. They cannot continue changing the regulations which, amongst the other things, also destabilizes the reading of the race.

Formula 1 will now stop for two weeks before moving to Russia.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP TUSCANY, MINARDI “RED BULL READY TO DELIVER”

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We just left behind a Grand Prix that we will remember for a long time, heated and made unpredictable by a mistake by Mercedes that was more unique than rare. It was a lurch that does not belong to its DNA but can happen.

They gave us a second thrilling race. Congratulations once again to Alpha Tauri and Gasly for both the deserved win and the excellent strategy. Carlos Sainz was very good as well, even if he must recriminate the imperfect start that cost him those 3-4 seconds which were fatal under the chequered flag.

McLaren returned to the podium and this must be an inspiration for Ferrari. After the glorious years they fell into a black hole but they have found the right path again. Ferrari is following the same path but the next change of regulations is on its side.

We are coming to the Grand Prix of Tuscany on the demanding Mugello circuit that is full of ups and down and built inside a basin that will not make life easy for the drivers who will be called to a great physical effort and for the tyres due to the very abrasive asphalt. This is why Pirelli has brought the hardest compounds, C1-C2 and C3.

The last time reference was Barrichello with 1:18.7. The simulations say that this could even go under the barrier of 1.14. Given the characteristics of the track Red Bull could emerge, even if the car of reference is still Mercedes, even without the party mode.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | ITALIAN GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “A CRAZY RACE BUT A DESERVED WIN FOR ALPHA TAURI”

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After Monza 2008… Monza 2020 – Excellent Pierre Gasly and all the Alpha Tauri team that guessed the right moment to carry out the pit stop. The grand prix was certainly as anomalous as it was fantastic after it was shaken up by the red flag when Magnussen went off the track.

I honestly thought this was an excessive decision since it did not seem to me that the Haas was in such a dangerous position but the marshals “invented” something that livened up a GP that had the final result practically already written. The mistake by Mercedes and then by Alfa Romeo with Giovinazzi completely overturned the pace and the race’s final result.

It was an incandescent finish with a nice comeback by Sainz who crossed the finish line second behind the Frenchman. It was an incredible result that rewarded his work. It was also a great result for Honda that most probably used two different strategies: very conservative with Red Bull and more aggressive with Alpha Tauri. Such a great difference in performance could not be explained otherwise.

The new regulations could have penalized the two Mercedes but in the end everybody suffered except those directly involved, as Hamilton showed in his incredible comeback from last place to seventh at the finish with a race pace 2” faster than all the others.

It was a black day for both Ferrari that also has to deal with reliability problems and Red Bull. Very good McLaren with both Norris and Sainz. It would have been a deserved win. This must make the people in Ferrari think. McLaren is the confirmation that you can come out of the abyss and climb back up the ladder quickly.

In a week we will go to Mugello, a new track on a weekend that could be conditioned by the rain.

Gian Carlo Minardi