THE (POSSIBLE) CONDITIONS FOR MERCEDES NOT TO PROCEED

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The controversies tied to the episodes of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which ended Max Verstappen winning his first world title at Lewis Hamilton’s expense continues to hold centre stage, especially in Mercedes.

After having seen its protests presented to the race stewards concerning the final laps on the Yas Marina track knocked back the team from Brackley has 96 hours to formally lodge an appeal with the International Automobile Federation.

Rumours from Germany speak of a possible abandonment of this action that would put Verstappen’s title sub-judice, as well as causing damage to the image of Formula 1 and Liberty Media.

“Mercedes has until Thursday to lodge an appeal to FIA after having presented an intention to proceed. After a very eventful meeting it may also be evaluating the possibility of not proceeding, provided there is a review of the regulations, as well as a change in the top management of Formula 1 and the Federation,” commented Gian Carlo Minardi.

“There is a lot of unrest and from the news that comes from beyond the borders there is strong desire to have clarifications on the regulations. It is clear there must be uniformity of views by the judges is needed, an aspect that has been lacking on a number of occasions this year. I am certainly in favour of giving greater freedom to the drivers, as long there is uniformity for all the season,” concluded the manager from Faenza.

F1 | GP ABU DHABI, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO “THE TRACK GAVE THE FINAL VERDICT. CORRECT RESULT”

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Max Verstappen World Champion. This is the verdict the Abu Dhabi circuit gave us. A result that came in the final lap of the last grand prix of an exciting season. I find the final result correct without taking anything away from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes that in any case can celebrate the eighth consecutive Constructors’ title.

We have seen one of the best seasons of recent years. The only sour note is the lack of uniformity in the decisions by the marshals. Today the race director was again one of the protagonists, especially in the first lap with Verstappen’s wonderful braking move and the subsequent manoeuvre by Hamilton who drove with a lot of skill. When certain decisions are taken it must be remembered that we are faced with circuits with wide escape routes but on a historic track Lewis would have ended his race early. Having said this I am definitely in favour of giving the drivers more freedom as long as there is uniformity in the whole season.

When it seemed that all was lost for Verstappen Latifi’s accident and the entry of the safety car reshuffled the cards. I believe that Nicholas’s mistake was caused by a puncture or a structural failure following the previous contact with Schumacher’s Haas. His rear got away from him.

At that point Red Bull played all in by recalling its driver into the pits to mount the red compounds. It was an operation that was not carried out by Mercedes. The driver did the rest with another nice overtake.

Both Red Bull and Mercedes gave us an incredible duel that lasted twenty grands prix and both would have deserved the crown and I find the “division” of the drivers’ and constructors’ titles to be correct.

With today’s third place Carlos Sainz ends his first season in Ferrari at fifth place overall, ahead of Charles Leclerc. A result that does not surprise me. With equal compounds the Spaniard made better use of the tyres. Now it is up to Ferrari to give these two young men a car capable of achieving major results since together they are able to fight for the constructors’ title.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SAUDI ARABIA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MARSHALS NOT UP TO THE TASK. HAMILTON AND VERSTAPPEN CUT EACH OTHER TO PIECES”

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Both Hamilton and Verstappen want to take this title home at any cost and, to achieve their objective, they are willing to race at the limits of performance and the regulations. During the fifty laps they literally cut each other to pieces. They definitely have an edge over the others. They spared no efforts leaving the third placed Valtteri Bottas more than twenty four seconds behind.

For a good fifteen times Hamilton improved his fastest lap with Verstappen who was not to be undone answering his opponent’s every thrust. Verstappen’s start after the second red flag was a real masterpiece to be shown to all the young drivers entering into this world. He tried everything to take back the race lead.

Both Lewis and Max are showing and giving us the best part of Formula 1 and beyond the controversy we must let them drive and fight. Behind them there are two great teams and two top Team Principals who did not hold back cutting remarks and low blows. The tension is sky high and it is absolutely clear.

The conduct of the race was weak and the director and marshals decidedly lost control. I have not yet understood the first red flag that subsequently conditioned the whole grand prix. The Federation is slacking and what happened in recent weekends should be evaluated.

While I am writing here the final ladder is still sub-judice since there are a number of inconsistencies to be evaluated, including Hamilton’s collision with Verstappen. The fact is that in a week’s time they will race in Abu Dhabi, the twenty second grand prix, with Verstappen and Hamilton paired up.

Amongst the others, I would highlight the good performance by Antonio Giovinazzi who brought home two points, as well as the good struggle between Ocon and Bottas that ended with the Finn ahead in a photo finish. Unfortunately, in Alpha Tauri Gasly is left alone in the struggle with the direct rivals.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | HEADING TO JEDDAH, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “HONDA READY TO REPLACE THE PU. WILLIAMS, AN EXQUISITE PERSON WITH WHOM I SHARED MANY BATTLES”

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Formula 1 has arrived in Saudi Arabia to give life to its first Formula 1 grand prix in history.

27 bends enclosed in 6.174km with an average close to 250 km/h. These are crazy numbers that include many different pitfalls in which it will be easy to make mistakes. Trying not to hit a wall will be the challenge within the challenge. The safety-car will be called upon to work overtime.

Another great unknown factor is represented by the very new asphalt with Pirelli having brought the C2 – C3 – C4 compounds, as well as reliability. The throttle will stay open to the full for 79% of the time.

On paper the Jeddah track could smile at Mercedes which will mount the PU already used in Brazil to try to gamble for everything by taking the deciding of the title to Abu Dhabi. In these hours Red-Bull Honda is deciding whether or not to opt for the change of power unit with the Japanese inclined for this option, by virtue of the high speeds and the possibility of recovering positions.

I do not expect the title to be awarded as this Sunday.

It will be the first weekend without Sir Frank Williams who passed away on Sunday afternoon. He was an exceptional person who knew how to get up again after every adversity. Despite the success he achieved in titles (both drivers and constructors) won during his extraordinary career he remained an exquisite person who was ready to help and support the small teams. I had the luck of having had him as a companion in many “battles”. There was mutual esteem between us.

Gian Carlo Minard