F1 | Haas conferms its drivers. Minardi “A defeat for the Ferrari system”

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As we near the weekend in Hungary, the eleventh round of the Formula 1 world championship that will mark the beginning of the second half of the season, Gene Hass – the owner/founder of the team that debuted last year and bears his name – in an interview released on the official site of the championship confirmed both his drivers. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will once more defend the colours of the American team in 2018.

“If this is the case it would be a defeat for Ferrari. I am still confident that it is a decision made only to keep peace within a team that is doing very well, whose sole objective is gaining just as many points in the second half of the season” was the comment of Gian Carlo Minardi.

After ten grands prix Haas is lying in seventh place in the constructors’ ladder with twenty nine points, the same total it amassed in all of last season.

“If it is otherwise it would be a defeat for the whole Ferrari system that is directed at young drivers and Italian motor sport” was the harsh analysis of the manager from Faenza who declared, “…sad, disheartened and disappointed. With the materialization of this scenario it would be obvious the Ferrari drivers do not enjoy any protection. Ferrari would have no more decision making powers in regards to its clients. I refuse to consider such a scenario.”

F1 | Valtteri Bottas gives a wink to the world title. Minardi “He is making the difference”

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With his win in Austria, the second of the season after the triumph in Russia, Valtteri Bottas has put himself just behind his team mate in the driver’s championship with his tally of 136 points against Lewis Hamilton’s 151. These points are also the fruits of the podiums he occupied with the third places in Australia and Bahrain and the consecutive second places in Canada and Azerbaijan. In the first nine appointments of the world championship he only failed to see the chequered flag in Barcelona.

“I was pleasantly surprised by Bottas’ first part of the season. Faced with Lewis Hamilton’s problems he was always ready,” commented Gian Carlo Minardi, “He is making the difference by giving a vital contribution to the Mercedes team in terms of points for the constructors’ title,” continued the manager from Faenza who at the beginning of the season had not seen Tom Wolff’s choice with a good eye. “I have to step back. Bottas is surely a second driver, but he is putting himself on show by finding himself a short distance from the British champion (editor’s note: fifteen points behind).

He is setting pace with which he is contributing to keeping Mercedes at the top the of constructors’ ladder in front of Ferrari. “He is doing what Kimi Raikonnen is not doing for Ferrari. The team from Maranello has the chance to fight for the constructors’ title, as I already pointed out at the beginning of the season, but he needs the Finn’s contribution. Even Red Bull has failed, closing behind the two drivers from Brackley and thus allowing Mercedes to pull ahead in the ladder. Valtteri is worthily taking advantage of all the opportunities in search of a contract renewal,” concluded the ex owner of the Minardi Team.

F1 | Silverstone, Minardi “It’s a track for Lewis, but Ferrari is a reality. 1989 was the most beautiful moment of emotion”

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In a week’s time the challenge between Mercedes and Ferrari will come alive once more with Red Bull the third inconvenient player. We are coming to the turning point of the season on a track, Silverstone, that traditionally favours Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, but Ferrari is a reality and it came out very well from the Austrian confrontation.

The weather will certainly be an important factor, but we are witnessing an exciting five sided battle on the edge of hundredths of a second between Hamilton-Bottas-Vettel-Raikkonen-Ricciardo, as they showed in the sequence of fastest lap times that they set during the last ten laps at the Red Bull Ring.

Outside the qualifying in which everyone has their secrets (just look at the double overboost set up at Brackley), in the race proper we have a levelling out of the forces in the field, even if the W08 is still the car to beat. If last year Hamilton or Rosberg could afford to start the race back in the grid and still be able to reach the podium, this year the job is harder. In Austria the British driver, springing into action from the fourth row, had to be content with fourth place behind a battle hardened Ricciardo who reached his fifth consecutive podium finish.

Silverstone is a fascinating circuit with an exceptional public which will be sure give Hamilton a lift with its support as he will be called to react to the defeat in Austria by trying to repeat last season’s success. Currently Vettel has a twenty point lead and will try to avenge the 2016 debacle when he did not mange to go beyond ninth place (fifth Kimi Raikonnen). In comparison to a year ago the situation at Maranello is decidedly different and Ferrari will bring a development of the Power Unit to oppose the German battleship which is showing some cracks on the reliability front. It is a very fact track and we will see the umpteenth lowering of times in both qualifying and the race. On the tyre front, Pirelli will bring Medium, Soft and SuperSoft mixes. It is a choice that plays in favour of Mercedes.

Silverstone gave the Minardi Team a number of satisfactions. The most important was surely labelled 1989 when with “Piero” Martini and Luis Perez Sala we won an un-hoped for fifth and sixth places, saving the fate of the team and leaving us in the first ten places of the constructors ladder (essential for the division of the television rights). In those years only the first six placed teams fell within the points zone. It was certainly a great satisfaction, even because in the first lap Piero came into the pits with an overheating engine. In desperation I decided to send him back out on the track. Luckily the overheating had been caused by a bubble that was reabsorbed, thus allowing him to cross the finishing line.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Minardi “Ferrari must think for the future”

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We are only on the eve of the ninth grand prix of the Formula 1 world championship, but inside the factories they are already working on the vehicles for next season. From what I have been able to learn the Ferrari 2018 is truly getting along very well and there is an atmosphere of great optimism around the new project.

I hope that Maranello is also working on the drivers’ front as it would be a folly to continue the collaboration with Kimi Raikonnen. He is surely a nice guy, but his performance has not been constant. He is not a driver worthy of Ferrari and his team mate. In his career he has alternated between good and bad. With McLaren he lost world titles that were achievable and in 2007 he reached the title also thanks to mistakes by his opponents. In my opinion the moment has come for his to turn the page.

Sources from abroad announce the probable flight of flight of Sebastian Vettel (except for victory in the world championship) with destination Brackley, alongside Lewis Hamilton. At this point I would not exclude a return to Ferrari by Fernando Alonso, as long as within the team there are no longer the managers from three years ago with which the Spaniard had differences of opinion, to be accompanied by a second stream driver, or a young driver to grow.

I am a strong supporter of the line taken by Ferrari aimed at enhancing the value of those within the team and this could open the doors for a young driver already within the team structure. Ferrari must look to the future and have the strength to continue working to build a winning cycle. At the present time Mercedes remains the team to beat.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Austria, Minardi “We’re coming out of a ridiculous week”

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The week just past was, to say the least, full of words that burst like soap bubbles at the meeting in Paris which was completely useless as it brought nothing except a reprimand in regards to an action that remains questionable.

During the weekend in Austria Sebastian Vettel will have the eyes of the marshals focussed on him and this could give an advantage to Lewis Hamilton in a possible scuffle with his direct rival. There is certainly tension between the two drivers, even though, considering the tight race for the world title, I never believed in a peaceful coexistence between them. This may be an extra hassle for Mercedes considering that my sources speak of a possible arrival of the German driver at Brackley as soon as 2018.

We will be going to a short circuit (barely 4,318) in which the weather could play an important role, but it is fast enough to give us close performances. Pole position could be decided on the edge of thousandths of a second.

Ferrari must be ready to counter the Mercedes domination, being careful to watch over its shoulders at the host Red Bull which will play at home and will give its all in qualifying to gain the front row and to mess with the fight at the fight at the top since it has opted for 9 sets of Ultrasoft, as opposed to eight for Mercedes and the 7 of Vettel and Raikonnen.

This season’s surprise is Force India which is confirming the fourth place it conquered last season. It was an extraordinary result for a small team which was bothered by no small number of financial problems and also called on to manage a fiery struggle between Perez and Ocon. The Mexican must redeem himself after the negative experience in Canada when he did not heed team orders, above all in view of the driver’s market.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP Azerbaijan, Minardi “Vettel let off. Hamilton did not respect the regulation”

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The episodes of the controversial grand prix at Azerbaijan continue to keep centre stage. The numerous excursions by the safety car contributed to the final result, together with the pit stop strategies and especially the contact between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

“Vettel was surely wrong to react. The images are clear and the stop and go penalty was more than just, in fact the Ferrari driver was also let off. The four times world champion, like the German cannot allow himself to lose his head by committing a clearly unsportsmanlike act,” was the determined analysis of Gian Carlo Minardi.

“Seb should have immediately contacted the team to tell them that Hamilton had not respected the regulations and to then contact Charlie Whiting,” continued the manager from Faenza who explains why the Mercedes driver should also have been punished, “The regulations are clear. Between the safety car and the first car there cannot be a space of more than ten cars. In addition, from the moment that the safety car switches off its lights restarts are not allowed.” Instead, Hamilton on the occasion had willingly and clearly slowed down, going against regulations, as happens on nearly every occasion.”

The manager from Faenza also drew attention to the episode that became decisive in the final result.

“It seemed very strange to me that Vettel’s penalty arrived with such a delay, considering the interruption to the race and at the same time as the technical problem suffered by his principal opponent.”

“Despite its technical superiority Mercedes is not error free and Ferrari must be able to take advantage even of these opportunities and the fourth place at Baku represents a positive result for Vettel who obtained a slight increase of his lead, At the beginning of the race and above all after qualifying it was almost unthinkable imagining of such a result,” concluded the ex constructor.

F1 | Robert Kubica once more drives a F1 car. Minardi “I hope to see him once more as a leading player”

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There are news items that do good for sport and for Formula 1. Robert Kubica has once more taken the wheel of a Formula 1 racing car after more than six years from that terrible February 6th, 2011 when the Pole ran off the road during the Andorra rally and hit a Skoda Fabia.

Robert undertook 115 laps of the Valencia circuit at the wheel of a 2012 Renault E20. At 32 years of age I hope that he will be able to come back to the Circus as a leading player. With obstinacy and sheer hard-headedness he managed to return to the wheel of a racing car with important results.

Formula 1 today needs media personalities and Robert is one of these thanks to his frankness, sincerity and speed. This test was also an excellent promotional move for the entire milieu. As I have stated a number of times Formula 1 must find a point of contact with its fans. It cannot continue keeping itself closed within bunkers called motor-homes.

In order to guarantee a future this sport must earn a generational change even of its enthusiasts and it can be achieved by drafting new drivers and with personalities. The results in terms of the public of the Historic Minardi Day is the confirmation of how big is the desire of the motorsport enthusiasts and F1 fans to touch the cars and to see the cars and protagonists up close by entering the pits to meet the drivers, mechanics and engineers, or even only to observe the cars when they are dismantled for inspection or ready to take to the track.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Canada, Minardi “Mercedes is the faourite, but Ferrari is going strong”

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Formula 1 has come to Gilles Villeneuve’s home. Montreal is a circuit which I consider a watershed due to its characteristics If Ferrari manages to come out of the Montreal round undamaged it can begin thinking big.

It as a Ferrari that in the first two appointments showed that it knows how to adapt to changing conditions, even though Mercedes starts with an advantage, We are talking about a track with fast straights and important braking points and where fuel consumption plays an important role. Hamilton and Bottas will be able to count on their two magic buttons. Unlike what happened in Monte Carlo the long legs will not be a problem.

The race will be run on a track that suffers sudden weather changes in which the safety-car has a high level of intervention. The barriers are close and any error can be paid with a heavy price. Last season’s record will be easily broken. In qualifying the drivers could go below the 1’10” barrier. On the tyre front the two top teams have made slightly different choices with 9 ultrasoft sets for Vettel and Raikonnen against the 8 of Hamilton and Bottas.

After a positive weekend in the Principality which finished with Ricciardo on the podium, Red Bull could return just behind Ferrari and Mercedes. The improvement of the chassis is not supported by Renault’s motor (I sometimes have the impression that the French constructor does not supply the same engine to Renault and Red Bull), even though on some circuits they will be the gauge for this year’s championship.

We expect a weekend and grand prix with very different characteristics from those that we have seen up till now.

A good grand prix to all.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Monte Carlo, Minardi “Excellent Vettel. Decisive strategies”

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It was a Monte Carlo Grand Prix under the sign of Ferrari. After having won the front row in qualifying they also brought home a fantastic, and just as important, double with a view to the world championship. The result will surely build morale, taking them to the top of the two ladders. It was also a weekend where all the records were broken. It was incredible seeing these young men hurtling around the streets of the principality brushing the guardrails

Vettel was fantastic in all the stages of the race and he deserved full marks. In the first sprint he stayed in his team mate’s slipstream, saving his tyres as much as possible, which then made the difference in the crucial moments with masterful laps before his first pit stop and the restart after the safety car following the accident between Button and Wherlein.

It was a grand prix with few overtaking manoeuvres, as per tradition, in which the strategies had an important role. With Max Verstappen’s pit stop Red Bull committed its umpteenth mistake in strategy which also made Mercedes fall into temptation with Bottas who finished the race off the podium and behind Daniel Ricciardo. By staying on the track as long as possible Vettel and Ricciardo had better luck than their respective team mates.

In light of the world championship it was important for Sebastian to win, not only considering Lewis Hamilton’s seventh place but also due to the possible penalties that could come following the substitution of components of the power-unit between now and the end of the season.

Carlos Sainz was very good with his sixth place for Toro Rosso. The Spaniard confirmed that he is just behind the big drivers, lapping with regular times for the entire race. Perez’s impetuousness was a pity because it spoiled Kyvat’s race. As happened in Spain it was interesting following the race on the timing monitors which were marked with many fastest laps.

In two week we will be in Canada, a track which will be a hard test for the braking systems.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Monaco, Minardi “Ferrari is favoured due to its shorter legs but Mercedes has two aces up its sleeve.”

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This weekend Formula 1 will wear its best clothes to take part in the most glamorous appointment of the reason. Despite its peculiarity Monaco is an important appointment in the light of the world championship above all due to the great equilibrium between Ferrari and Mercedes that has emerged in the first part of the season.

The barriers and the guardrails are lurking and it will need only the slightest error to ruin a whole weekend. Qualifying has always played a dominating role in the final result of the race proper and this year will be no different. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton will line up on the grid after two wins with the Ferrari driver leading the drivers’ ladder with 104 points, 6 more than the British driver, but with Mercedes ahead in the constructors’ ladder.

Ferrari could have a slight advantage thanks to its slightly slower pace compared to its direct rival Mercedes, even though indiscretions from overseas (from Germany) after the Spanish Grand Prix speak of a WO8 equipped with two overboosters, as well as the button that guarantees extra power for a lap. Hamilton or Bottas could also have an extra 15” to use in specific occasions, such as the start or during an overtaking manoeuvre (see the overtaking manoeuvre that Vettel suffered at Montmelò).

We must not forget Red Bull. In the first grands prix Verstappen and Ricciardo suffered important gaps (at Barcelona the Australian driver finished in third place more than 75” behind the winner) although in qualifying they manage to defend themselves. In addition, last year Ricciardo managed to place his RB in the front row ahead of Rosberg. Therefore keep an eye on them!

Strategy will play a key role and Pirelli will bring Ultrasoft, Supersoft and Soft mixes. In the Ferrari pits Vettel and Raikonnen opted for 10 “violet” sets (one more than Mercedes), 2 “red” (one less than Mercedes) and one “yellow”. In anticipation of Monte Carlo the sole supplier for the Circus decided to review the pressure of the tyres downwards. The front tyres will go from 19 PSI to 17 PSI while the rear tyres will go from 18 PSI to 16.5 PSI. This is another important aspect for Ferrari which up to now has shown that it knows how to manage the tyres very well with the SF70H.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Spain, Minardi “Ferrari and Mercedes devastating. Finally true overtaking and close duels”

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The Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the F1 world championship, gave us another exciting race on the edge of hundredths of seconds between Ferrari and Mercedes. Strategies and team tactics played an important role in the final result, just as the overtaking manoeuvres and the close duels did, luckily unpunished by the marshals. The battle at the start was very good, as were Sebastian Vettel’s duels with Bottas first and then with Hamilton. The English champion then took the lead with a great display of force as he also took the fastest lap of the race two laps from the finish and thus claimed the pole, race and fastest lap triple.

Barcelona gave us a very reactive Ferrari that knew how to reply very well to the many changes introduced by Mercedes, managing to reduce the gap even more. The car from Maranello is a strong machine and put together very well that reacts to the developments.

The force of these two teams in regards to the other teams is devastating. Third placed Daniel Ricciardo finished 70 seconds behind and all the others were more than a lap from the winners.

It was a pity that the accident immediately knocked out Kimi Raikonnen, thus forcing his Ferrari team mate to fight alone against the two Mercedes that were able to take advantage of team tactics. Ferrari and Mercedes will go to Monte Carlo close on the two ladders where Fernando Alonso will be missing for his home race after having given a show of his enormous talent taking the McLaren-Honda to seventh spot (a near miracle) and improving his performance in the course of the race up to the final lap. I wish him the best of luck for his adventure in the Indianapolis 500, even though I do not agree with it as the race requires specific preparation.

This weekend we saw important signs of change on the part of Liberty Media. The interviews with the drivers in direct contact with the fans were excellent, as well as the quick reaction to the tears of the very young Kimi Raikonnen fan after the driver’s exit when he was brought to meet his idol in the pits. In forty years of activity I had never seen anything like it.

It was a grand prix that gave us important surprises in the back markers such as the precious points brought home by Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso.

We anxiously await the next chapter.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Minardi “Clear victory for Ferrari. Mercedes beaten on the track”

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In his interview by the Minardi.it editorial staff and webTV Gian Carlo Minardi once more underscored the victory by Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari on the Melbourne track in the first race of the 2017 World Championship. He was not sparing in his praise. “It was a clear win for Ferrari. For the first time Mercedes was beaten on the track by another team. Ferrari did everything very well putting under pressure both Lewis Hamilton who constantly asked to change tyres and Mercedes who brought forward the changes by a few laps.”

While one swallow does not a summer make,” continued the manager from Faenza, “And Mercedes remains the car to beat as it showed in the pole position, the gap from last season has narrowed. I see Ferrari favoured by the potential of its drivers. If Kimi Raikonnen becomes once more the driver of the last part of last season then it will have an advantage over the pair of Hamilton-Bottas.”

Words of praise for the debutant Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel of the Sauber, “You could not ask more of the young man. On the first occasion of a grand prix he was ready to show his true worth. He demonstrated that he has his papers in order to become a great driver. Last week in Melbourne was an excellent calling card, “continued Gian Carlo Minardi, “Now he also need a bit of luck.”

If Ferrari and Mercedes showed vital reliability and that they are the top of the class the situation is exactly the opposite for McLaren-Honda “Alonso’s facial expressions and his choice of words say a lot more than his mere words. He is going through the most difficult phase of his career and there are implications we cannot decipher. The Japanese giant cannot continue on this road. There is no two without the third and in the past it has already retired twice from F1. On the other hand, McLaren cannot do without Honda, its technical and financial sponsor. Without Honda it would have great difficulty surviving.”

F1 | Gp Australia. It begins, but without Nico Rosberg and Mr. Ecclestone

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After a very long winter for all the enthusiasts we are at the start of a new Formula One world championship. For the first time in years and due to Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement  Formula 1 will be without its reigning world champion. Also missing will also be Bernie Ecclestone after forty straight years at the helm of the Circus (as a master puppeteer). The stake at play will be in the hands of its new promoter, Liberty Media. It will be interesting seeing what will be the new guidelines.

We are about to reach Australia for the first grand prix after only eight days of testing on the Barcelona track which certainly rewarded Mercedes and Ferrari in regards to reliability and failed some others (see Honda). Beyond the times registered up till now we will only know after qualifying what the gauge of this season will be as in Spain many played with their cards hidden.

Amongst many uncertainties one thing is certain; the 2017 power-unit consumes much more and this will have the engineers scratching their heads. The 105kg fuel limit imposed by FIA would not be enough to finish the race. This increased fuel consumption also comes from the new Pirelli tyres (much wider than those of 2016) which allow for greater grip and faster speed on the bends. From what we have understood the tyres wear out very slowly. Thus we will see only one pit stop. For this first race the teams will have at their disposition the soft, SuperSoft and Ultrasoft mixes.

There is much curiosity about the season. As a fan I would like to see Ferrari very close to the Mercedes (which for me remains the car to beat) with a good contest between the two. Neither would I underestimate Red Bull.

Let us hope we will see a good grand prix and we will be in touch on Sunday after the race.