Archive for category: F1

Max Verstappen – 9 he deserve the highest mark, thanks to an extraordinary race. Once again, he proved to be a racing bulldog in spite of his mistake on Friday.

Jenson Button – 8 thanks to his struggle, in spite a low-performing McLaren. A sixth place that counts as a victory.

Pascal Wehrlein 8, a point that is worth gold for him and for the little Manor that excluded Sauber from the top ten.

Lewis Hamilton – 8 good at the start. This time he did not any mistakes. I know to be against the tide, but I have not liked the play towards Rosberg, especially because it arrived at the last lap. This time, the luck backed him, and he brought the win home.

Kimi Raikkonen – 7 once again he completed his task without being trenchant. He gained the podium, thanks to the others. He never assaulted Verstappen seriously and when he tried to do so, he found the Dutch driver’s defense.

Romain Grosjean – 6,5 he is not in a winning team, but he took advantage of the occasion, bringing Haas important points for the championship.

Nico Rsberg – 6,5 I know to be against the tide, but in my opinion the fault must be split with Hamilton. Anyway, Nico have to start thinking to the world championship. A second place would have guaranteed him a more important booty in terms of points.

Daniel Ricciardo – 6 he definitely lost in the comparison with his teammate.

Felipe Massa – 6, the race of the Brazilian driver has been uncolored and little trenchant. He is definitely different compared to a year ago.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5 after an amazing qualifying, he lost his way during the race. It is a pity.

Sebastian Vettel – without judgement. He had some problems in the weekend and the tire explosion at race is not his fault. Anyway, a champion with his experience should intervene in team choices.

Baku surprised me in a positive way. This atypical city circuit. The second seasonal race track by length, after Spa-Francorchamps, very fast, with a straight where engines go at full speed for 20”. It also received positive feedbacks by drivers and team principals.
Nico Rosberg – 9 on Saturday, he achieved an excellent pole position, after playing hide and seek with Hamilton putting him under pressure. Impeccable in race. A win that worth him heavy points for the World Championship.
Sebastian Vettel – 8,5 he is fighting with an undoubtedly inferior car than competitors, and I can hardly find out where is the main problem of this SF16-H. Compared with his team-mate, anyway, he manages the best.
Sergio Perez – 8,5 he is optimizing his Force India, darkening Hulkenberg out. Maker of an extraordinary season so far. A podium that becomes heavy points for a team in economic troubles.
Kimi Raikkonen – 8 commissioners used a too heavy hand. Against a Perez like this, I think he would have gained the third place anyway.
Lewis Hamilton – 6 scarcely a passing grade. Too many mistakes in qualifying that affected the race.
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen – 7,5 same grade for both Red Bull drivers, protagonists of different strategies. Once again, the Dutch driver gave us amazing overtaking.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6 he brings to Force India precious points, but lost the comparison with his team-mate.
Felipe Massa – 6 a score  achieved thanks to his experience, not  more.

Formula 1 is getting ready to come in Baku, onto an anomalous circuit, 6000 meters length that make it one of the longest in the World Championship and a straight of over 2 kms where incredible speeds will be reached , more than 340 km/h, to face then hard braking. The old city’s segment is also marked out with a very tight street, 7 meters without any space for mistakes.

These are all the unknowns that lead to a grand prix rich in surprises and to a variety of possible results in which the safety car could work overtime. Doing any predictions is difficult, or impossible, because we have no reference points. Surely, a well-performing car as Mercedes gives an advantage to its drivers who will have to focus mainly on the track. As usual, the attention will focus on Ferrari that comes from a not easy moment, excluding its second place in Montreal. They will have to keep working to get close to Hamilton and Rosberg, paying attention to a growing Red Bull. Matching up to Nico Rosberg in Canada, Verstappen proved all his worth once again. Unfortunately, in this moment, at Ferrari there is only Sebastian Vettel.

The other unknowns are the tires. Even in this case, Mercedes and Ferrari have chosen two different strategies. Pirelli will bring Medium, Soft, and Super Soft tire compounds. Vettel and Raikkonen will have at their disposal 7 sets of SuperSoft, 5 of Soft, and 1 set of Medium, instead Hamilton and Rosberg played a card with 8 sets of SuperSoft.

We are talking about an extremely important Gran Prix because it will close the first third of the season. Mistakes excepted, Mercedes will start as the favourite once again, with a good internal struggle between Rosberg and Hamilton. Nico will have to try to restore his supremacy on Lewis who dominated the stage among the little roads of the princedom. Ferrari, back from two difficult grand prix has used some tokens to develop his Power-Unit and will have to regain its role as a second power in the world championship, a role currently assaulted by a Red Bull in strong growing. Since Montreal is a circuit where aerodynamics and brakes have a key role, Adrian Newey’s creature could reach the spotlight.

Given its geographical position and the lack of mountains, the weather can quickly change. Up to now, the weather forecasts talk about temperatures around 20°C, thus also the tires could make the difference.

At Williams they should pay attention to Force India and Toro Rosso. They will bring some updates that will be analyzed in the post GP, but in this moment the gap between Ferrari and Red Bull is too wide.

A GP rich in unknowns awaits us. Behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are ready to battle. We have just to watch the race starting at 20:00.

 

Early in season, Ferrari presented itself at the start as the main rival of Mercedes, but six GP have been enough to downsize the situation drastically.Starting from the first Australian event, the superiority of the Silver Arrows of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has been clear, just as the hesitation of Maranello.

Anyway, Red Bull has added itself. Backed by an excellent chassis with an extraordinary aerodynamics and by a good power unit, it was able to get back on top at every race up till the win with Max Verstappen in Spain. The coming of the very young Dutchman has contributed to give a boost to Daniel Ricciardo who signs the pole position in Monaco thanks to a perfect lap. Unfortunately, for the second time it was the pit that has ruined his race, delivering the win in Hamilton’s hands.

“Mercedes, independently from some reliability problems and mistakes, proved to be again an unapproachable car. Moreover, when it is vulnerable, Red Bull strategy fails. In Monaco, like in Spain, it is Ricciardo who lost the top of the podium”, Gian Carlo Minardi explains.The Italian-Australian did not spare criticism towards the team. “In some circuits Red Bull exceeds Ferrari thanks to an excellent chassis, in spite of an engine that still leaves some “horses” in Maranello. From the beginning of the season, the SF16-H has not proven to be that perfect weapon to defeat the reigning German World Champions. Many times, we have stressed how the gap is unchanged.The situation for Milton Keynes is the opposite. After a difficult 2015, they are bridging the gap”, the manager from Faenza continues.

The fourth place of Sebastian Vettel in Monaco behind Perez’ Force India, and the third Spanish place are results that begin to become uncomfortable for the German. “A strong irritability shows through the team, especially from Vettel who has also changed his declarations toward the team drastically. The young man paws the ground and starts to feel tight in his positioning. Maurizio Arrivabene, for his part, continues to point Mercedes, but a potential third place in the World Championship would be a defeat”.

Montreal could be an important testbed for both Ferrari and red Bull. “We’ll have the same tire compounds used in Monaco and the weather could affect the choices. Thanks to the long straights, the chassis and the aerodynamics have a central role, as the brake system. Red Bull will try to fill the gap of power with the goodness of Adrian Newey’s design” Minardi ends.

 

We can expect an interesting Monaco Grand Prix due to many factors. From both the point of view of spectators that will experience the most glamour event of the season, and from the technical point of view, expecially after such a dynamic Spanish GP livened up by the accident in Mercedes and by the challenge between Red Bull and Ferrari. Red Bull starts favoured (respect to Ferrari), thanks to his excellent chassis. In spite of a power-unit inferior than that used by Maranello, they prevailed in Spain. Anyway, since they renewed the supply for the next two seasons with Renault, have the chance to work comfortably for 2017. I don’t expect, instead, any surprise in the lead. The real challenge is for the third step of the podium.

Pirelli will launch its new Ultra-Soft tire compound, that could make the difference in a scarcely abrasive circuit.

Mercedes will take 10 Ultra-Soft sets out of 13 while Vettel and Raikkonen will have at their disposal “just” 9. Little differences. In winter testing, the teams had a taste, but on a city circuit something could change.  The other big variable will be the safety cars that can distort what carefully is been devised. It is the shortest race of the year, but the most challenging in all respects. At any time the studied plans may stop working and until the checkered flag nobody is certain of having done 100%.

At Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton has not digested the decision of the management, which is getting tired of his behavior. Interestings solution could open up towards the future.