Archive for category: F1

It was a double podium finish for Ferrari with the win by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen’s third place which will bring back a bit of peace within the team from Maranello, even though the huge gap enjoyed by Mercedes, especially Lewis Hamilton, since Bottas confirmed he is a good second driver.

Lewis Hamilton was sensational for the whole grand prix by setting a striking pace. This must make everyone think about the future, especially at Ferrari since the gap to be closed is impressive. If he had not been forced to start from pit-lane he would very probably have imposed a gap of eighteen seconds on his rivals.

Raikonnen was able to manage and ease the Englishman’s cavalcade despite having tyres that were more worn and bringing home a precious place on the podium. Ferrari was confirmed that it is the second force of the championship, except for problems of reliability. With this win Vettel has practically assured his place as vice champion.

I heard and read a lot of criticism directed at Hamilton for his mistake in qualifying. In all sincerity I would be more careful because I had the impression that it was the result of some experiment already planned for 2018. I feel that Mercedes wants to use these two grands prix to test some innovative developments. Looking at the incriminated episode in slow motion something did not convince me. It was as if Englishman was surprised by the unexpected behaviour of the rear of his car…

It was a grand prix full of overtaking and run at a fast pace with a good in house struggle between Red Bull’s Verstappen and Ricciardo which confirmed that it is the championship’s third force. I enjoyed watching two old hands, Massa and Alonso, fight for all the 71 laps within the space of two tenths of a second. They were the protagonists of a clean race and a regular fight. Despite a motor with less power compared to Williams’ Mercedes, Nando was constantly able to keep within nine tenths of a second from the Brazilian.

Now we only have to go Abu Dhabi where the curtain will be drawn on this season.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Since its entry into Formula 1 Liberty Media has wanted to leave its mark on the world championship with the aim of bringing back the public and the aficionados with the introduction of changes that created the first break from the previous management. The initiative of bringing the cars and drivers outside the paddock during the race weekends is appreciable, winning over the historic centres of the capitals or the new presentation of each driver that preceded the start of the Austin grand prix.

“Liberty Media is setting a very American stamp on this new era of Formula 1 and is aiming decisively on the choreography as we saw in Austin. Even though these changes will not be decisive for improving the spectacle on the track they have brought a whiff of fresh air on the front of pre starting grid news,” said Gian Carlo Minardi

The latest proposal in order of time concerns a starting grid with a front row composed of three cars so as to increase the chance of a scuffle in the first part of the race. On the technical regulations front, beginning next year each driver will have available a maximum of three power-units for the entire season (against this year’s four units). The declared aim is to limit the costs.

“If on the one hand this is an important step for taking this technology to the cars on the production line, on the other hand it certainly does not bring about a reduction of costs. In fact, it will bring about even more intensive development of the various components that must last seven grands prix with the result of a dizzying increase in costs. If today there are constructors who are finding it difficult to reach the required distance I don’t dare think what could will happen next year,” continued the manager from Faenza who points the finger at the current system of penalties for the substitution of the motor or its principle components.

“I find it absurd that the driver has to pay for a technical problem with incredible penalties that unsettle the fans. When I read penalties of 20-25-30 or even 35 places in a grid composed of twenty drivers I almost want to smile. The first few times I did not want to believe it. The team should be responsible by paying a monetary sanction or losing points on the constructors’ ladder.”

If on one side they want to give longer life to the motors, on the other side Liberty Media wants to eliminate Friday’s free practice in favour of a season of 25 grands prix.

“This is a high number of grands prix as well as a very heavy commitment for those involved (f it is difficult or the smaller teams to organize the turnover of mechanics and engineers) as well as for the spectators. They would be forced to run in specific periods of the year such as holidays and summer. Will such an intense calendar really favour the audience?” emphasized Minardi.

“It is not easy to change the format and to find the right equilibrium. However, I am of the opinion that they must intervene in one specific area. This is the work group around Charles Whiting to avoid the unpleasant episodes that can falsify the result of a race. Just as there is a single race director it would be proper having a single work group of marshals from the beginning to the end of the season. Only this way will it be possible to limit the chance of errors or subjective judgments.”

“In addition, they could install suppressors to avoid drivers exceeding the track limit. A lot of work has been done on the safety of circuits by having asphalted runoffs. This gave increased safety for the drivers. The post race penalties have damaged the image of the sport and unsettle the spectators,” concluded Gian Carlo Minardi on his return from Padua’s Salone Auto e Moto d’Epoca together with ACI and ACI Storico.

The declarations of President Sergio Marchionne made at the Mugello circuit during the Ferrari World Finals concerning the stay of the team in the F1 world championship will certainly be the subject of much discussion, but it must also gives the new owners something to think about.

Formula 1 cannot do without Ferrari, but it is just as true that Ferrari cannot do without the world championship.

The world championship cannot be only a show because Ferrari is an important constructor, just like Mercedes, Renault and McLaren, and as such they have interests tied to the development of technology that can be taken to street cars.

This weekend at Austin will be the start of the final four grands prix the will take us to Abu Dhabi, passing through Mexico and Brazil, for the grand final, thus giving us the new world champion. The Formula 1 Circus arrives in Texas, a demanding circuit with twenty curves and several dropouts, as well as being fertile ground for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes which have triumphed here a fine four times in the last five editions of the race, leaving his direct rival Sebastian Vettel only one win, but he is still winless here in Ferrari’s colours.

After the latest debacles Ferrari is called upon to give signs of resurgence and to show us that it has left behind the troubles and solved the problems of reliability. They will probably be forced to take a step back in the development process that showed an increase in performance but at the same time lost reliability. It will not be a weekend to try to attack the British driver, but to defend second spot in both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles from Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull.

Williams in the sights

The challenge in the rear is taking off with four teams grouped within barely twenty four points. Opening the parade is Williams in fifth place which is defending itself powerfully from the assaults from Toro Rosso, Haas and Renault. At the moment the team lead by Franz Tost is the team in most difficulty as it has to deal with the new political relationship with Honda that wanted Gasly to try and win the Super Formula title in Japan which forced the team to put Kvyat on his return at the side of the rookie Hartley while Renault will be able to put its trust in the ex “torero” Carlos Sainz to win the points it lacks to leave eighth place. Amongst the “minor” teams only Force India will be able to sleep peacefully from here until November 26th thanks to its exceptional championship in which it manage to assert itself for the second straight year as the fourth force of the world championship.

Vettel meets the young drivers

During the training stage at Fiorano between the drivers chosen by the FDA and the Federal School in preparation for the Supercorso ACI Sport that begins in November Sebastian Vettel made a surprise visit and spent time with the lads. The work and the union between the Federation and Ferrari aimed at the growth of the young drivers beginning from kart continue. This weekend at Monza the curtain will be drawn on the Italian Formula 4 championship with the Italian Lorenzo Colombo committed to defending third spot

Gian Carlo Minardi

It’s already time for the Japan Grand Prix, a vital appointment for Sebastian Vettel after the last two weekends marked by negative episodes. There will not be another final trial, even though it is pointless crying over spilt milk.

Regardless of what happened at Sepang and Singapore and despite the strong declarations by Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne, which I do not share since we are faced with a young team that must work one step at a time to build a winning cycle, they must look forward and at Suzuka the German driver will have to rip points away from Lewis Hamilton. It is certainly a hard task. Ferrari is called to confront five finals.

There is certainly bitterness for the lost chance because, looking at last week’s race and his race times, Vettel could have won the 25 points bringing himself 10 points closer to the British driver.

We are coming to a historic circuit which is fast and demanding where any error could carry a heavy price since the runoffs are reduced. Despite Hamilton’s statements I do not yet see Red Bull on a par with Ferrari and above all Mercedes but the aerodynamics could overcome any lack by the Renault power unit and it could put itself once more between the two pretenders to the title. The eight points taken away from the British champion by Verstappen are vital lifeblood for Seb. In addition, Mercedes’ difficulties could be a weapon for Arrivabene’s men, even though the temperatures in Japan will be very different from those in Malaysia and Singapore.

For his part Vettel could show that he is a world champion who is able to avoid being affected by negative episodes by quickly finding once more his peace of mind. In recent times I have seen a driver lacking tranquillity, also in his declarations, and the contact with Stroll in the victory lap was a blazing example.

We expect an interesting weekend and hope to witness again a race full of emotions.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Everything went according to the script. It was an open secret over the last few weeks and at Singapore came the shower of official releases which completed the mosaic, launching a 2018 season which will be rich with new developments in the technical field.

After three rather disastrous seasons the wedding between McLaren and Honda came to an end (more than 200 penalties inflicted on the grid) with the English team ready to embrace the next three seasons (beginning in 2018) with the Renault engines freed by Toro Rosso. In order not to abandon the Circus, the Japanese colossus in turn had recently reactivated its contacts with the team from Faenza and today announced a three year agreement.

“These were positive moves for Formula 1. On the one side the arrival of Renault at Woking could bring McLaren to the upper reachees of the ladder pointing towards becoming the third-fourth force in the world championship beginning already in 2018”

“Despite Honda’s obvious difficulties the three year agreement with Toro Rosso is very important as it brings an important guarantee to the team. A second string team will be able to count on the technical and financial support of an official house.

“In recent seasons Toro Rosso changed many suppliers, slowing down the planning and development of the racing car. I personally experienced this situation. To find yourself in September, or worse still in November, without an agreement is destabilizing for the team. I hope that the Japanese find the right road” was the analysis of Gian Carlo Minardi, interviewed at the microphones of www.minardi.it after the official communiqués that came from Singapore.

There was also news from the drivers’ front. After three seasons the Spaniard Carlos Sainz will say goodbye to Italy’s Romagna region to move to Enstone taking Jolyon Palmer’s place at Nico Hulkenberg’s side. Despite the indiscretions that spoke of a turnover beginning this year (from Sepang) the Spaniard will transfer to the Renault team only beginning at the Australian Grand Prix and remaining under contract with Red Bull, thus surely forming a very interesting pair with the German.

“Renault must keep out of this tricky situation. An official house cannot find itself struggling for the seventh/eighth place caught in the middle of client teams. The first step is working on the pair of drivers. There will surely be other moves. Today some of the most important pieces of the 2018 puzzle were put in place.

The excellent work by Giovanazzi for the Haas team must be emphasized, closing within a few tenths of a second from Grosjean as he undertook the practice aimed for the grand prix” concluded the manager from Faenza.

The weekend at Monza legitimized Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton also taking the lead of the drivers’ ladder at Sebastian Vettel’s expense when he could not do better than third place, suffering a further blow with the 36 second gap from the winner. Amongst the protagonists of the Monza paddock on the weekend was also Gian Carlo Minardi who gave us an exclusive interview.

Gian Carlo, after Monza has Ferrari’s hopes for a world title dried up?

Mercedes came here after two perfect weekends, backed by an important technical advantage. At Monza I did not expect Ferrari to suffer such a big gap. It can only respond to the rivals with serenity and the will of the whole team to find once more those tenths of a second to test and worry Hamilton and Bottas. It also requires a Kimi Raikonnen that does not drive off and on. In qualifying under the rain he managed to stay in front of Vettel but then lost himself in the race. The overtaking manoeuvre inflected on him by Daniel Ricciardo was disheartening. He did not even try to defend himself. Certainly the scales have swung heavily towards Mercedes, but nothing is lost. There are still many races in front of us beginning in Singapore. However, the people at Maranello also look over their shoulders at Red Bull.

Saturday at the Italian Grand Prix was the opportunity to also talk about the current freezing of the setups.

What we witnessed Saturday during the qualifying under the rain was something that should never happen. This episode was the result of a regulation that is useless, to say little, since it does not give us a greater spectacle. In fact, it did the exact opposite as we all saw with the more than two hour delay and brought no financial relief to the teams (always a current theme in F1). There are tyres for the rain; there must be the chance to modify the setup according to the climatic conditions. At Monza the situation was exaggerated as the qualifying could not begin until the track was absolutely dry. I must congratulate the public that patiently waited the proper running of the event.

Another hot theme is the penalties to the drivers for changes of components tied to the power-unit

This is another regulation that must be eliminated or modified. Reading that a driver was penalized 35 positions (when it goes well) in a grid made up of 20 cars makes me laugh. It is ridiculous that a driver has to pay a technical mistake. He would already be annoyed because he could not finish the qualifying and then be forced to start the race practically at the back of the grid. If they really want to keep this regulation then the team should pay with the reduction of points in the constructors’’ ladder or with a fine. The system must be totally reviewed because it falsifies the forces in the field and the results. At Monza, without the penalty to Red Bull we would have seen a very different result and other colours on the podium. I will also say another thing: Mercedes, with the technical advantage it has, can allow itself to change the power-unit, start at the back and arrive in any case on the podium. It does not seem very sporting to me.

We saw a great hug between you and Fernando Alonso

We saw each other Saturday at the end of the free practice when he had just set the seventh fastest time. We joked on how he managed to set that time. I saw him very calm despite the troubles he is passing through. It is always a pleasure catching up eith him, even though unfortunately we could not stay together long due to his many commitments.

Did you meet the new owners?

I had the pleasure to meet and get to know Chase Carey, a very expansive person who expressed appreciation for my work with the Automobile Club on the occasion of the parade. There is much that can be improved, but it was a wonderful experience, just as they need to update some of the structures at hte Monza circuit. I touched the changes made by Liberty Media, such as the new boardwalk at the entrance to the circuit that allows the fans to meet the drivers who participate.

AT Monza there was also a part of the Minardi Team with F1 experience

It was a weekend full of emotions. I was pleased to see many friends such as Jean Todt, the President of the Federation, Jean Alesi and Ermete Amadesi, the father of the Leoni brothers of the CEA who at Monza celebrated their 50th birthday, together with many others with whom we discussed F1. In addition, it was the chance to have a small get together with Paul Stoddart, Patrick Freisacher and Zsolt Baumgartner – who drove the two-seaters guests drove in – and Gabriele Tredozi, my former engineer.