Archive for category: F1

The final four days of tests at Barcelona have been filed away. Luckily, unlike the previous week, the weather was decidedly milder and this allowed the drivers to cover many more kilometres. The most important fact that hit the eye was the reliability achieved by the teams, with the exception of McLaren, and by the compactness of the group. It looks like being a season with some changes to the grid.

The most important surprise came from Toro Rosso which, leaving aside the timing, covered many kilometres showing that the combination of chassis-Honda motor works. Positive results also came from Renault. Hulkenberg and Sainz put together some interesting performances in preparation for a good leap up the ladder.

The pace of Hamilton and Bottas at the wheel of the Mercedes was impressive as they worked mainly on the Medium mixes. In only one day they ran more than 200 laps and covered the distance for nearly a whole season in the two sessions (4,841km).

According to the indications given by Pirelli we can have an indication of the potential of the cars, even though we still have the unknown factor of the fuel load. The supplier declared that there is a gap between the HyperSoft and the Medium mixes of 2.5” (Medium-Soft 0.8” –> Soft-SuperSoft 0.42” –> SuperSoft-UltraSoft 0.6” –> UltraSoft-HyperSoft 0.7”). On the basis of the 1’17”1 made by Vettel and Raikonnen’s 1’17”2 with the pink mixes. In this play of numbers we must also put Red Bull into strong consideration.

In two weeks time at Melbourne the teams will be forced to uncover their cards and the mosaic of the real differences will be revealed. It will be an intense and very tactical season not only on the tyres, but also on the management of the power units. Some could sacrifice places on the grid by paying the penalties for the use of a higher number of power-units compared to the three units required by the regulations.

We must make separate considerations for McLaren which, despite the mild temperatures, suffered some heating problems which led to the replacement of two power units. The time of 1’17”7 made by Fernando Alonso is a good time, but almost certainly came with a light fuel load and a new motor. There are few happy signals for Williams as well where, for the moment, the two young drivers are not giving the answers that the team expects with Sirotkin putting Stroll under pressure, even if Robert Kubica is showing the best performances of the three. Compared to the last two seasons Force India seems to lag behind, while Sauber has not shown the signs of revival that would have been expected after a disastrous season in 2017.

Gian Carlo Minardi

The tradition has been confirmed. Even this year the Montmelò track circuit will see the debut of the new racing cars that were presented over the last few days (with the exception of Force India). It will begin on Monday 26th with the first of two rounds of collective tests each of four days (from the 26th to March 1st and March 6th to 9th) before leaving for the first grand prix of the season in Australia on the Melbourne street circuit.

The teams and drivers will be called upon to carry out a lot of work whose main aim will be the collection of as much information as possible whether aerodynamic (comparing them with those of the wind tunnel and the simulator), as well as the behaviour of the new Pirelli mixes and testing the reliability of the power-units that have to resist the extra kilometres, equal to seven grands prix per unit (to avoid incurring penalties).

According to the weather forecasts the four days will be conditioned by rain and cold with temperatures between 2 and 6°C. If for the moment the fear of snow seems to have been averted, the work of the Formula 1 teams at Montmelò will be accompanied by a wet track on Tuesday and Wednesday while the forecast is for a sunny day for the final session with temperatures around 10°C.

In the Ferrari camp, Kimi Raikonnen will break the ice for the SF71-H leaving the wheel for Sebastian Vettel on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Finn going back on track on Wednesday. Whereas in Red Bull it will be once more Daniel Ricciardo’s turn to get into the car after the unlucky day of filming at Silverstone which ended with the car going off track. The Australian will be on the track again on Wednesday 28th while Max Verstappen will continue the work on Tuesday and Thursday.

Fernando Alonso will begin McLaren’s programme by taking out the MCL33 with the Renault engine for the first day of tests in Barcelona while Stoffel Vandoome will have to wait the following day to begin getting the measure of the new orange and blue car.

As we wait for Mercedes to officialise the work programme for its drivers, Williams has opted for a real relay with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin (in his debut in F1) swapping places at the wheel of the FW41 by taking to the track for half a day each. In this rotation there will also be space for Robert Kubica who this year will be the test driver. As well as having given the car its first shakedown at Aragon, the Polish driver will take to the track at Barcelona on the afternoons of Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th.

Everyone will be looking at Force India, the true revelation of the last two seasons with successive fourth places. Despite not having yet fixed the date for its presentation, it has officialised the programme for its drivers at Barcelona. In the first four days of tests all the drivers under contract will be involved and the debut will be entrusted to Nikita Mazepin, while the regular drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez will get into the action on the second and third days. Nicholas Latifi will close the programme.

In the course of the four days Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly will alternate at the wheel of the Honda powered STR13 and the New Zealander will get the ball rolling. The official presentation of the new car is set for tomorrow (Monday 26th) right in pit lane a few minutes before the start of the session, even though the team itself gave us a preview during the shakedown at Misano.

After having taken advantage of Thursday and the 100km allowed by the regulations for the filming day, Marcus Ericsson will take the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Sauber C37 for its official debut on Monday. The Swede will also be at the wheel on Wednesday 28th, while on Tuesday and Thursday the work will be carried out by Formula 2 champion and debutant Charles Leclerc. The team from Hinwil will work to try to cancel last year’s disappointing season which ended in last place. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will swap places at the wheel of the Haas with the Frenchman called to get the ball rolling.

All eyes will also be on the Haas Renault R.S.18. After the publication of the images by the team, the Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul has already stated that what has been seen so far does not reflect the real forms of the new racing car, but only its new colour scheme. All we can do is wait for the first laps of the circuit.

If, on the one hand Liberty Media is grappling with some dissent – the latest in order of time the decision to say goodbye to the grid girls which is generating a lot of protests from the enthusiasts – there is also an air of some nervousness within the teams due to the awareness that at Brackley the World Champions are not yet satisfied and that they are sharpening their weapons in view of the new season

Once more the strong point should be the new German Power-Unit which is getting ready to break the 1,000cv barrier, as stated by its Head motor engineer Andy Cowell. With the new regulations (three units available per driver in a long season of 21 grands prix) the PUs will be a vital component for achieving the final results.

“Certainly the teams are working quickly on the new cars, but the news that is coming from Brackley in England makes us think that the new season will be labelled Mercedes. In this new era for F1 the power-unit is a very important component and even more so this season with the new regulations,” was the analysis from Gian Carlo Minardi.

“If the rumours are confirmed on the track Mercedes’ client teams will also have a big benefit, with Force India with an advantage over its direct rivals. They come from two noteworthy seasons, finishing in fourth place, and it can count on a very good pair of young drivers (Perez and Ocon, editor’s note) and on a solid organization. I expect that Williams will be behind after having decided to bet on a pair of very young drivers (Stroll and Sirotkin, editor’s note). Force India could prove to be the surprise package in 2018. Against this, the rumours say that Renault is a little behind schedule” concluded the manager from Faenza.

Maranello is warned. Beware of the “pink panther” of the battle hardened Sergio Peréz and Esteban Ocon.

Two months have passed since the Abu Dhabi grand prix and we must wait for another thirty days before seeing the cars on the track in the first day of collective tests. Before that day there will be the presentation of the Renault (February 20th) which will the trail blazer for the path which Ferrari and Mercedes will follow when they lift the covers on Thursday February 22nd. Is the break too long? We asked Gian Carlo Minardi.

“The break is certainly not too long if we consider a season with 21 grands prix. They are all working hard to prepare every single detail also because we must not forget that the most important challenge is tied to the duration of the power-units which this year will be only three per driver. A ratio of 7 to 1,” emphasized Gian Carlo Minardi,

“The sad part is this silence from the teams which are issuing no press releases and have not organized conferences to keep the enthusiasts up to date. Unfortunately this fashion has been taking hold for some time and I find it absurd, just as it is like tripping yourself up by setting the presentations on the same day.

In all the other sporting realities the teams supply the information and the media world goes on,” continued the manager from Faenza,

“The teams are committed to trying to catch up to the Mercedes which is still the point of reference and Ferrari is called upon to make a leap of quality that will not be easy after five wins last year. To be followed is also the fight in the family between Renault, McLaren and Red Bull which all have the same engines and the unknown factor that is Toro Rosso-Honda. The Japanese come from three disappointing seasons and its problems are tied to the use of fuel and the lubricants.”

The asphalted run-offs of the new circuits are back on the agenda. This time the four times world champion Lewis Hamilton is the one pointing the finger at the new layouts of the circuits confirming what was already said in recent months by Gian Carlo Minardi. It was on the occasion of the USA grand prix and following Verstappen’s penalty that the manager from Faenza stated

“…The asphalted run-offs give the drivers too much peace of mind and this urges them to go over the limits allowed by the circuit and then they incur penalties which raise controversy that does no favours to the image of the world championship. As a matter of fact these incidents do not occur on the historic circuits such as Suzuka, Spa-Francorchamps or Monza where errors or acts of bravado come at a heavy price since they risk finding themselves stuck in the sand”

The 2017 World Champion from Britain is of the same idea.

The Federation has done an incredible job on safety, but the time has come to take a step back and return to the run-offs with grass or gravel. A driver should not be able to cut a corner so easily knowing that he has available a wide strip of asphalt… What I loved about the past was the risk of losing time – or the race- if you left the track. Today you can approach a corner even 5% faster since if you make a mistake you can come back onto the track in any case”

It was precisely the penalty given to Verstappen for his overtaking manoeuvre at Raikonnen’s expense at Austin that Minardi added another analysis.

“It would be vital having the same work group at Race Director Charlie Whiting’s side for the whole season. Objective decisions can only be avoided in this way. During last season,” added the ex constructor, “there were a number of similar incidents which had different evaluations between them and this does not do the sport any good. One solution to bring together the circuits and to avoid them spending more money and to ensure safety could be to impose heavy penalties in the case of cutting corners,” concluded the manager from Faenza.

We are still two months away from the Melbourne Grand Prix (23-25 March) which will start the 2018 Formula 1 season, but between now and then there will be the presentations of the new racing cars and the twelve days of tests to develop the new cars in the light of the first commitments outside Europe which will give us the first taste of the season to come. It will begin in Catalonia with a good eight consecutive days of tests (February 26 – March 1) to then return to the track, again in Barcelona, from March 6 – 9.

On the presentations front, Ferrari will lead the pack with a ceremony booked for Thursday February 22, before leaving for Spain where Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Williams and Haas will take off their covers. Williams also has to resolve the riddle of the driver who will replace Felipe Massa at Lance Stroll’s side with Sergej Sirotkin holding a lead on Robert Kubica.

The work in the factories is proceeding without a break and together with Gian Carlo Minardi we tried to point towards the season to come

“It will be a very important season since we have a number of drivers reaching the end of their contracts that must give their all to be reconfirmed in the team, or to draw the attention of others.”

Last year Ferrari confirmed Kimi Raikonnen for a year, while Red Bull’s contract with Daniel Ricciardo expires at the end of the season, just as Mercedes’ contract with Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ with Romanin Grosjean, Force India’s with Sergio Perez and it is Fernando’s last year with McLaren.

“The motors are still off, but 2018 already looks to be a very animated year, above all in the first part. Raikonnen’s renewal came at a particular moment and, in my opinion, dictated mainly by the need to satisfy Vettel’s requests, but in the final part of the season the Finn was decidedly unstable. To win the constructors’ world title and to try to beat the German dreadnought two stable drivers are needed. For this reason there could be an approach as soon as this season in light of 2019” continued the manager from Faenza.
It will also be Fernando Alonso’s final year with McLaren which, after three troubled years with Honda, will have Renault power-unit but keep an eye at what could also happen with the smaller teams where it is possible to emerge as happened with Minardi. It will be interesting to follow the debut of Charles Leclerc at the wheel of the Sauber”

2018 promises to be a season full of twists and turns and many Team Bosses will be called upon to manage the rivalry between their own drivers to the best of their abilities. If you want to know more, just ask Force India about the extremely heated clashes between Ocon and Perez.