F1 | GP CHINA, THE POINT GIAN CARLO MINARDI “NORRIS AND ALONSO TO BE APPLAUDED”

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Max Verstappen won again, but an excellent Lando Norris slipped in between the two Red Bulls. After having taken pole position of the Sprint race, thwarted by the first metres of the race, he was impeccable in the grand prix confirming that McLaren is on the rise and ready to “annoy” Ferrari.

Precisely Ferrari had to settle for fourth and fifth place, the fruit of hard qualifying, which confirmed the difficulty of the Hard tyres, paying a gap of almost half a second from the direct rivals from Woking. Major updates are needed to try and oppose McLaren’s attack and to try and get closer to Red Bull. The infighting between Leclerc and Sainz certainly made people talk, especially during the Sprint race. It was a fair tussle, it will certainly not be the first nor the last, but they will have to try to manage better next time, and above all talk about it within the team.

Verstappen continues to make the difference in Red Bull putting almost 20 seconds between him and his teammate, despite two safety cars. He only missed out on the fastest lap. It was set by an excellent Alonso (1’37″810), seventh across the line and the protagonist of a race, running constantly on the attack. Aware of the limits of his Aston Martin, he played the card of an extra pitstop, covering the final part of the race with a new set of Medium tyres, climbing up to behind Russell, sixth with the Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton also climbed back with a Mercedes showing some signs of growth. Starting from the rear (18th) he finished the race in ninth place, ahead of an excellent Nico Hulkenberg who gave Haas a precious point in view of the constructors’ world championship.

Perez, third across the line, was slowed by the second double stint of the second safety car caused by Stroll’s collision with Ricciardo. Racing Bulls finished the weekend with zero points, also following Tsunoda’s retirement caused by Kevin Magnussen.

There were also signs of recovery from Alpine after a disastrous start of the season with Ocon eleventh across the line. The points box is still empty, but we are beginning to see the fruits of the first developments of the A524.

Gian Carlo Minardi

WEC, 6H IMOLA | GIAN CARLO MINARDI “LET ALL OUR PASSION BE HEARD”

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This weekend will also see the second round of the FIA WEC, which will stop in Italy at Imola’s Circuit.

For the first time the World Endurance Championship makes a stop in Imola, fifty years after the Mille Chilometri (Thousand kilometres) of Imola race. We are satisfied with advance sales, despite the current uncertain weather. It is important to show the organizers of the World Championship is of interest to the Italian public. We are talking about a calendar of eight rounds and many nations aspire to host it. It is an honour for us.

We are talking about a starting grid of the highest level, made up of 14 car manufacturers, 18e LMGT3 and 19 Hypercars, and the spectacle will certainly not be lacking, starting from Friday. Let us not forget that with the ticket you can go all around the circuit to see the cars in action in all the sectors of the track. In 6 hours of racing (start at 1.00pm) there will be fun to be had.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Imola.

Gian Carlo Minardi

GIAN CARLO MINARDI “WEEKEND BETWEEN WEC IN IMOLA and F1 IN CHINA”

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Formula 1 returns to Shanghai after an absence of five years. It practically starts from scratch.

This is why I find myself in line with the drivers who are complaining – Verstappen first and foremost – about the decision to schedule the Sprint race (scheduled for 5.00am on Saturday) precisely in China, with barely an hour of free practice available before the qualifying for the Sprint (starting from 9.30 Friday)

Compared to the last edition we have completely different cars, tyre with 18” rims and asphalt subject to precision grinding, shot peening and sealing to eliminate the unevenness that has developed over time. A further unknown factor. In addition, some drivers do not know it at all.

On the compounds front, Pirelli has brought the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft compounds). In particular, the front left tyre will be particularly stressed on a track that has two very long straights and significant braking.

Red Bull remains the car to beat, but there could be some variables in the rear. This year there is a clear divide between the top five teams (Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin) and the rest of the grid. One person under special observation in Racing Bulls will certainly be Daniel Ricciardo. He must try to come out of his anonymity, to safeguard his past, and above all to help the team to keep sixth place. Tsunoda alone (excellent in this start of the season) is not enough.

As is normal when we move towards the end of a cycle, we are faced with many negotiations behind the scenes, especially with an eye to 2026, which interests the drivers and especially the technicians and the engineers.

WEC. In addition to Formula 1, this weekend will also see the second round of the FIA WEC, which will stop in Italy at Imola’s Circuit.

For the first time the World Endurance Championship makes a stop in Imola, fifty years after the Mille Chilometri (Thousand kilometres) of Imola race. We are satisfied with advance sales, despite the current uncertain weather. It is important to show the organizers of the World Championship is of interest to the Italian public. We are talking about a calendar of eight rounds and many nations aspire to host it. It is an honour for us.

We are talking about a starting grid of the highest level, made up of 14 car manufacturers, including the LMGT3 and Hypercars, and the spectacle will certainly not be lacking, starting from Friday. Let us not forget that with the ticket you can go all around the circuit to see the cars in action in all the sectors of the track. In 6 hours of racing (start at 1.00pm) there will be fun to be had.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Imola.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP JAPAN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “A TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL RACE. INCREDIBLE THE GROWTH IN PERFORMANCE IN BARELY SIX MONTHS”

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We have left the first fifth of the championship behind and the forces in the field are emerging. Red Bull confirmed it is in command, and unapproachable at the present time. Behind it, Ferrari consolidates second place ahead of McLaren and Mercedes which, at the present time is the “big” most in difficulty at the moment.

They must certainly roll up their sleeves because even today both Russell and Hamilton suffered. Compared to the seven times world champion, Russell manages to make better use of his car. However, it must be considered that the most important developmental steps will be introduced by the Teams only from Imola. It will be interesting following the weekend at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit starting from Friday.

After the debacle in Melbourne, Verstappen and Red Bull came back ahead of everyone, showing all their worth (even if it was never in doubt). In the 51st lap Verstappen also set the fastest lap of the race,

However, a consideration must be made.

Last year the Japanese GP was held in the month of September as the sixteenth round of the world championship. Barely six months later it is incredible to see the developments and the improvements made by all the teams:

In addition to having made the fourth pole of the season, he improved his time by almost seven tenths of a second compared to 2023 (1.28.197 against 1.28.877);

Carlos Sainz (fourth in qualifying) went from his best time in 2023 of 1.29.850 (Charles Leclerc had set 1.29.542) to 1.28.672.

Therefore, Ferrari improves in both qualifying and above all in the long run, managing to halve the gap, even if it is still not enough to worry the leader. Precisely Leclerc built his comeback by managing the tyres very well covering 27 laps with the “yellows” before passing onto the hard “whites”. He went well beyond the window indicated at the start by Pirelli. Once again Sainz demonstrated his quality: with the same car, he is second to none.

We are watching a demanding world championship in which the slightest slip is enough to end up in the rear. On a major track such as Suzuka we saw qualifying with eight cars enclosed within 7 tenths of a second (between Perez – second – and Leclerc eighth there were barely 532 thousandths of a second) and a very technical and tactical race certainly conditioned by the red flag.

In the final laps of the GP Oscar Piastri and George Russell made themselves the protagonists of a fight for seventh position (which ended with the advantage of the Mercedes driver) with Russell finishing in the sights of the marshals. The British driver was certainly aggressive in a point of the track where two cars do not pass, but he was right to try and it was correct not proceeding with a penalty.

Having said goodbye to Japan, the next round will be in China, Shanghai on April 21st, which returns to the calendar after 5 years and hosting the first Spraint-race. The last appearance dates back to 2019.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | JAPANESE GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “A TOUGH TRACK ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF RAIN”

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The Formula world championship arrives in Japan and the Suzuka track that is as historic as it is demanding, especially in the case of rain. Due to both the lateral forces and the braking the tyres are put to the test and Pirelli has brought the same compounds used in Bahrein (C1-C2-C3).

I do not expect a lot of changes by the teams which they say have been scheduled for the Imola Grand Prix (17-17 May). Probably Alpine will be the exception since it must try to come out of its anonymity.

Sadly, I have heard that there is still a lot of nervousness that has little to do with sport. As happened two weeks ago in Melbourne, let the track do the talking. After the retirement in Australia Red Bull and Verstappen will try to take quick revenge on their direct rivals Ferrari which will have to watch out for the McLaren duo. Mercedes is now in more difficulty. The predictions would be upset in the case of rain. In that case the driver could make the difference.

After the positive result in Australia Racing Bull must defend sixth place from Haas’ attacks.

Unlike what he had said, Toto Wollf arrived in Japan. Probably the nervousness of others compels him to being more present on the track.

In addition to Alpine, the start of the season has given us a Williams in difficulty, and clearly late with the spare parts so that they were unable to build the third car. It really is a shame seeing these problems, especially when they are linked to such a renowned name and team.

Gian Carlo Minardi