F1 | GP ABU DHABI, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “COMPETITIVENESS IS GROWING. A GOOD SIGN LOOKING TO 2024”

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 26: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 performs donuts on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

We have come to the end of this very long season with another win for Max Verstappen (the 19th in 22 GPs) who “left” only two races for Sergio Perez and one for Carlos Sainz. The Dutchman took home the race’s fastest lap, and also set the record for the number of laps in the lead in a season (1,000).

Red Bul’s supremacy has been incredible. The sum of all the points taken by Mercedes and Ferrari does not reach the 860 points of Verstappen-Perez.

Until the final lap Mercedes and Ferrari fought for the title of vice-champion with Charles Leclerc (second) who tried everything. He really could not do more than that. Unfortunately, Sainz, whose weekend was affected by Friday’s mistake, was missing.

We saw a race without the entry of the safety-car which drew up the forces in the field this season. The gap of barely 17” between Verstappen and Leclerc could let us hope well for next season and can be read positively. Behind him there were three constructors enclosed within a gap of a few seconds. We know with certainty that some time ago Red Bull stopped the development of the car to concentrate on the new “weapon” which the rumours say is another step forward compared to the “RB19”… Faced with this rumour, but above all with the best organized team with the best technician, it is almost impossible to make forecasts.

Certainly, behind them we have a great turnover of performances with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin setting themselves up as the world championship’s second force. In the end, Mercedes prevailed over Ferrari, with McLaren finishing ahead of Aston Martin.

We are quickly approaching 2024 which will see an even more demanding calendar with 24 GPs. It will begin as soon as Tuesday with the end of season tests in which the teams will take to the track a first-string driver beside a young driver. We have already had a first taste during the first session of free practice with the teams which put up ten young drivers with interesting results.

It will be a long winter not only for the teams, but also for the Federation and Liberty Media which must review some regulations to avoid these continual changes, as well as carefully analysing the penalties, some very dubious, such as the last one given to Perez.

Gian Carlo Minardi
@credit F1.com

F1 | GP LAS VEGAS, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “EXAM PASSED. GP FULL OF OVERTAKING AND DUELS”

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Forty-one years later Las Vegas once again hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix on a totally new circuit in both location and layout. A track that lived up to expectations by giving us an exciting race full of overtaking and duels in which the drivers certainly did not hold back.

An eventful initial phase: Verstappen (starting second next to poleman Leclerc) came wide receiving a 5” second penalty; Fernando Alonso spun and struck Lewis Hamilton forcing him to both a pit-stop and a nice comeback.

As it was easy to predict, the safety-car made the difference, especially on the second entrance during the 26th lap with some drivers having already made their stop. One of these was precisely Charles Leclerc who crossed the finish line with the tyres worn more having covered 5 laps more than Verstappen and Perez. The two Red Bull drivers had made their pit-stops precisely in the regime of the SC.

It was a last lap to be applauded by Leclerc who “snatched” second place from Sergio Perez also setting his best performance. It was a result that meant a lot for the driver from Monte Carlo, and also for Ferrari which reduced the gap from Mercedes to only four points. Ferrari completed the weekend with sixth place for Carlos Sainz, he too the author of a nice comeback after a penalty that I did not find very correct, starting from twelfth place on the grid after having finished qualifying behind his team-mate.

Once again, the track, in conditions with little grip and very fast, Ferrari managed to defend a fantastic pole position and second place behind the elusive Verstappen who scored his eighteenth win in twenty-one starts. For the first time, in addition to the title Red Bull placed both drivers in first and second place in the driver’s title.

It was an excellent race also by Esteban Ocon, fourth across the finish line, he too “victim” of the manhole cover and protagonist of a nice comeback from seventeenth place on the grid. From nineteenth place on the grid to tenth place for Oscar Piastri who was penalized by the tyre change. After two stints with the “whites” he had to mount the yellows in the final laps losing a few positions (partially recovered).

Nice comebacks also by Fernando Alonso (9°) and Lewis Hamilton (seventh) despite the initial pit-stop, with the Aston Martin taking 5° place with Lance Stroll.

The Las Vegas Circuit exceeded all expectations, despite an uphill start with problems during free practice which certainly conditioned the weekend of Sainz and Ocon. As always, in the case of new developments, the evaluations will be made at the end of the event. If, on the one hand, the show can be questionable (this is subjective), the circuit demonstrated that it is valid, giving us a lot of overtaking, duels and braking.

We are heading to Abu Dhabi with a hard-fought fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place and between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz tied on 400 points each for fourth place. It is also an open battle between McLaren and Aston Martin for fourth place. The team led by Mike Krack reduced the gap to sixteen points.

Gian Carlo Minardi

@credit F1.com

F1 | GP LAS VEGAS, MINARDI “I APPROACH THIS ROUND WITH A LOT OF CURIOSITY. A TRACK FULL OF PITFALLS”

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Formula 1 returns to Las Vegas after forty-one years. This time it is not to race on a circuit set up in Caesar’s Palace’s carpark but in a real city circuit with all the pitfalls a street circuit of this type hides connected to the runoffs and the entry of the safety car onto the track.

Added to this is the unknown factor of the weather given the forecast for very low temperatures which will affect the performance of the tyres and the strategies. We are talking of a grand prix that is 310km long, a track of more than six kilometres (6,201m) with a 2km long straight.

Formula 1 returns to the capital of Nevada, a city that is alive 24 hours a day. I am certainly curious to follow and observe how the whole weekend will develop. Everything is new and therefore unpredictable. Among other things, to reconcile the various time differences, the race will be run Saturday evening (7.00am Sunday morning Italian time).

There are still two rounds on the calendar, many points to be awarded and important positions at stake in both sporting and economic terms.

We have Ferrari which must make up 20 points on Mercedes and intense duels between McLaren and Aston Martin and Alpha Tauri and Williams for seventh place.

I will approach this weekend with a lot of curiosity to then make the evaluations calmly, but the main aspect remains the sporting one.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BRAZIL, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “INTERLAGOS ONE OF THE BEST WEEKENDS. ALONSO EXTRAORDINARY”

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© Copyright: Batchelor / XPB Images

Interlagos and Brazil gave us one of the most exciting weekends of the whole season, starting from qualifying with a Q1 that saw 20 drivers enclosed within a second, an exciting sprint-race full of overtaking and a grand prix that did not disappoint with all the drivers very close in times. Luckily the rain, (which came only in the five minutes of qualifying, although very intense) did not overturn the plans, and above all the hierarchies and the rankings.

The usual Verstappen won, but once again Mercedes demonstrated that it is in the right direction, taking not only second place with Lando Norris, but also taking home the fastest lap of the race. Norris crossed the finish line with a gap of only 8 seconds. Certainly, an important and positive result which shows their progressive growth. Step by step, they are getting closer to Red Bull.

A decidedly important sign in light of the future. Without the difficulties at the start of the season they would have been in the middle of the fight for second place in the world championship. As of today, they are the real second force of the world championship.

It was a very nice duel for third and fourth place between Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez, finishing with the Spanish driver’s Aston Martin barely 53 three thousandths ahead. We saw all the experience and skill of Fernando who had found the precise point to recharge his batteries, in this way he managed to keep a safe distance from his direct rival. After a few grands prix in difficulty, here Aston Martin managed to get to the heart of the matter, as the Lance Stroll’s return to the points zone showed.

Ferrari must understand what happened to Charles Leclerc during the warmup lap, but Carlos Sainz’s sixth place can be seen in a positive light considering that they managed to reduce slightly the gap from Mercedes to twenty points. Mercedes was not able to go beyond eighth place with Lewis Hamilton, suffering from Russell’s retirement. There are still two grands prix left, with a little bit of luck and skill, Ferrari can aspire to achieve its personal result.

With ninth place Yuki Tsunoda brought the gap from Williams to seven points. Again, a positive result for Alpha Tauri that after Singapore has confirmed it is in constant growth.  Too bad for what happened to Ricciardo who was hit by the tyre lost by Magnussen which damaged his rear wing. Despite the lap difference, he managed not only to reduce the gap. but to come back to thirteenth place thanks to a high pace. He could have fought for Stroll’s position. Even for them there are positive signs while awaiting the last two rounds.

Now we wait with trepidation to know and see the event and track in Las Vegas.

Gian Carlo Minardi

 

F1 | GP BRAZIL, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FOUR GRANDS PRIX IN FIVE WEEKS ARE TOO MANY, NOT ONLY FOR THE TEAMS”

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The Grand Prix of Brazil, the 21st round of the world championship, third last of the 2023 season and third of the four rounds in the Americas scheduled in these five weeks. Certainly a real tour de force for the participants, but also for the spectators. On the weekend the schedule also changes as it hosts the sixth and last sprint race. At the moment we have a lot of quantity, but quality has probably been lost.

I believe it really is too intense as a programme and I hope that the necessary evaluations will be made at the end of the season, on both the “short race” and the number of GPs.

Formula 1 has arrived in Interlagos, a particular circuit that is run anticlockwise (one of the few), and one of the shortest of the season with its length of little more than 4 kilometres, which stresses the tyres with nine left hand bends and five right hand to which is added the very rough asphalt. The choice should fall on two stops, but the weather, which in this period quickly changes from dry to wet, could also influence the strategy.

Many teams, one of them Ferrari, will find it hard to finish the season without incurring new penalties. Therefore, they must decide when to change the components, opting for the most favourable track for a possible comeback. Interlagos might just be a choice, unlike the layout of Las Vegas.

The fight for the support positions has been rekindled, between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place among the constructors and between McLaren (in great shape) and Aston Martin for fourth place. At this time Aston Martin is the team in most difficulty, both in terms of the performance of the car and on the driver front, since it is fighting with only one driver, given Stroll’s difficulties.

In Mexico, in particular, we saw an Alpha Tauri in great shape which recovered a number of points on the ladder, catching up with Alfa Romeo and taking itself to only ten points from Williams. At this moment the points lost by Tsunoda weigh heavily, but there is still time to recover. Considering the start of the season, reaching seventh place would be a very important result.

Gian Carlo Minardi