Gp Spain | THE POINT by GIAN CARLO MINARDI “It was the grand prix of truth”

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We are facing an incredible monopoly that will be hard to stop. This was the fifth double labelled Mercedes in as many grands prix but what should worry us most of all above all was race pace set by Hamilton and Bottas that highlighted, especially after the re-entry of the safety car.

It should have been the grand prix of truth. This winter we deluded ourselves but the truth is very different, with 8 tenths of a second in qualifying and the race they did everything they wanted to do. Despite the development of Ferrari’s engine the fourth and fifth places by Vettel and Leclerc were difficult results to digest since Verstappen also came into it with his Red Bull.

For a year now the Dutchman has made no mistakes and has become a serious pretender for scoring the points and important results which are essential for his team’s place in the constructors’ ladder.

In two weeks time we will go to Montecarlo, a round in which the chassis is fundamental and to which we must add a Honda engine that is growing. Despite everything, it will be hard even for them to stop Mercedes’ supremacy which leaves little for any justification.

Luckily the cars in the back entertained us with a fight for essential points for the “second division” championship with Magnussen, Sainz, Kvyat and Grosjean who completed the top ten behind Gasly.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Gp Cina |THE POINT by MINARDI “The forces in the field took shape”

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This was the second double and the second win in as many races. In Shanghai Lewis Hamilton put his signature on the 1,000th GP ahead of Bottas and Vettel’s Ferrari. Mercedes put on show a superior pace of at least 3-4 tenths of a second better than its direct rivals, even if it showed it can manage the race at its leisure.

The forces in the field took shape in this grand prix, with Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas and Renault, and with some outsiders that changed from time to time, such as Raikonnen with the Alfa Romeo and/or Toro Rosso that celebrated its 250th GP with Albon’s tenth place by exploiting the debacle of others (such as Renault’s problems with reliability)-

Ferrari said goodbye to Shanghai with Vettel’s third place and Leclerc in fifth, with the driver from Monaco hurt by a strategy that was surely not the best and gave Verstappen an advantage. We saw minimal differences in times between the two drivers with Leclerc who made up for a small error in qualifying with a positive start even if he was forced to give up a place to his team mate.

Talking about strange strategies, the one adopted for Giovinazzi was inexplicable. I hope, after having seen the problem that he once again suffered in qualifying, that the team wanted to carry out developments tests in the light of the next rounds. This was a pity because Antonio’s race rhythm was good once again and equal to Raikonnen’s.

This was a positive weekend for Albon in which he entered the points zone after starting from pit lane. The driver will continue to grow during the season and who put a good pace on show. He only lacks a little experience.

I am waiting for you all at Imola in two weeks, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th, to talk about F1 during the Historic Minardi Day and to experience a weekend under the banner of Motorsport and passion.

Gian Carlo Minardi

GP Australia | THE POINT by MINARDI “The difference Mercedes-Ferrari dictated by the engine”

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In order to analyze the Melbourne grand prix we need to take a step back to Q1 in qualifying where we had 16 drivers within 1” – that confirms the closing up towards the top ranks in the performance of the teams in which a small mistake is enough to be cut out – the difference from top to bottom of the group grew to a second and a half in Q2 up to 2” in Q3 with a gap of 7 tenths of a second between Hamilton’s Mercedes and Vettel’s Ferrari.

In my opinion the advantage is to be found mainly in the engine and the capacity to manage the power as Bottas showed in the record lap (1’25”580) in the second last lap in which he managed to increase his race pace by 1” with great ease taking away Vettel’s fastest lap (1ì26”2). Ferrari stopped at 1’26’9 with Leclerc.

We witnessed a very tight race that was won by Valtteri Bottas who was the lead actor with his best race. The Finn was unbeatable, especially in the middle part in which he set the fastest lap six times between the 31st and 42nd laps with a race pace clearly superior to the competition between 1’26”7 and 1’27”2.

Ferrari will need to analyze this negative result that was dictated not so much with the fourth and fifth places of Vettel and Leclerc but especially by the considerable gap inflicted during the race, Sebastian and Charles crossed the finishing line with a delay of 57” and 58” from Bottas. This is an enormity if we think of the results of the Barcelona tests. Vettel complained a lot about the tyres and I am honestly amazed by the choice of the teams to bring only one set of Hard tyres which showed that they were the best mix for the race as we saw with the Ferrari number 16 during its comeback.

This was an excellent result for Verstappen with the Red Bull Honda who took a very important podium finish (the first for the Japanese since its return to F1). The Dutchman set a rhythm, especially in the final part that Ferrari found hard to match. A round of applause also for Kvyat who celebrated his return to the world championship with tenth place in front of Gasly’s Red Bull and to Kimi Raikonnen with an excellent eighth place with Alfa Romeo Racing. Antonio Giovinazzi paid the price for an imperfect qualifying when he missed the cut for Q3, as well as a less than excellent race strategy by the team. With a parity of tyres however his rhythm was not far from that of Kimi.

We now anxiously wait for the Bahrain Grand Prix (March 31st)

Gian Carlo Minardi

THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi "An emotional weekend"

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Another season is filed away and above all a weekend in which I personally experienced a number of emotional moments, beginning with the party for Fernando Alonso on Saturday evening with two world champions of the calibre of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who “escorted” Fernando Alonso. Independently of the number of titles, Nando was a great champion.

The extraordinary image contains all the beauty of this sport that continues to surprise and give me unique emotions. Despite the duels on the track between these young men and great champions there is great respect. Fernando Alonso experienced a weekend he will never forget, praised by all. It is a pity that nobody wanted to give him a car for 2019. It am sure today was not goodbye but a see you later.

The season went into the record books with Lewis Hamilton’s and Mercedes’ latest titles that show that once again they have no rivals. Bottas was subdued, finishing the season just behind Kimi Raikkonen on the driver’s ladder (third place behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel).

Next year Ferrari will be called upon to take another step in its development to oppose Mercedes’ domination as happened in the first half of the season in which it even took the lead in the World Championship. Sadly, it paid the price of a negative second half in which Kimi Raikkonen was not missing but Sebastian Vettel.

With the first day of collective tests on Tuesday the curtain will rise on the 2019 season which will give us a starting grid with many changes, one of which is Leclerc in red, hoping that he will be the right partner to give Vettel a boost.

A positive season also closes for the colours of the ACI Team Italia. The flagbearers Puccini, Fuoco and Ghiotto put themselves on display at Abu Dhabi in GP3 and Formula 2 respectively. These results must be a source of pride.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Mexico, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “This result must make Ferrari think”

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Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton who won his fifth World Championship in Mexico. The extraordinary result came in Mercedes’ hardest weekend that saw a perfect Max Verstappen win in front of the Ferraris of Vettel and Raikonnen (a pity about Daniel Ricciardo). It was a decidedly important result for the “red cars” that let it keep the Constructors’ title open, even if personally I think that the comeback is very complicated, if not impossible.

The race, tight and not easy as can be seen by the gap between the drivers in which the tyres were once again the protagonists, must make the men from Maranello think, especially about the too many errors made during the season, which is coming to an end with a few too many regrets. Well done Vettel who, after the race, praised his rival on a Sunday in which he managed to interrupt his negative period.

Amongst the second rank teams Renault consolidated fourth place, an important result in light of the future, and with Sauber that leaped over Toro Rosso to take eighth place thanks to the seventh and ninth places claimed by Leclerc and Ericsson. The duel will continue in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp United States, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Unacceptable mistakes by Vettel. Verstappen the next World Champion”

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At Austin we witnessed another excellent grand prix, ruined by the latest mistake (the second of the weekend) by Sebastian Vettel. Nine mistakes in eighteen grands prix is an unacceptable average for a driver that wants to win his fifth world championship.

Ferrari’s German driver was certainly the great absentee in a great fight for final victory between three drivers belonging to three different teams that saw Kimi Raikonnen return to success.

The Finn was very good and built this success right from qualifying, without making the slightest error, as has been happening to him for a number of races in this part. Anyway, Ferrari won an important result, placing its cars between the two Mercedes and showing important competitiveness that should make Vettel think even more.

It was a stupendous race by Max Verstappen, a future world champion, who kept at bay the five times world champion who did not hold anything back to try and close the game in Texas with a double cross on Red Bull’s Dutch driver who defended second place superlatively.

In a week’s time we will be back on track in Mexico and there is little time to recharge the batteries, above all for a team (Ferrari) that must again find calm and trust in its lead driver, who is surely not achieving the results expected of him.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Japan, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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This was another favourable weekend for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton who is heading towards his fifth world championship. The weekend was unfavourable for Ferrari (that finished behind Red Bull) from which emerged the nervousness of the drivers, as well as from within the team. I certainly cannot share the Team principal’s declarations.

It was a race conditioned by two minor collisions with Verstappen in which both Raikonnen and Vettel suffered some damage but I would not use this as an excuse for justifying a lacklustre performance since in any case Vettel managed to set the grand prix’s the fastest time on the very last lap.

Once again there was no uniformity in penalties since I do not consider the episode between the German and the Dutch drivers as a simple minor race collision. The Ferrari driver was already inside by more than a car’s length and Verstappen could easily have widened out after what happened with Raikonnen (once again not incisive) for which he had already received a 5” penalty (maybe too few as well). More uniformity is needed, regardless of the driver’s name.

Mercedes put away Suzuka with another one-two finish. It again showed that it can manage every situation in the best way possible and to be able to dictate the race. There are four more races until the end and only the mathematics does not allow the team to celebrate yet another triumphant season.

Red Bull lost an opportunity, especially after the very good performance in qualifying that was annulled by a mistake in race strategy. The duel with Sauber for eighth place is still alive, while Haas and Racing Point Force India have made up points respectively on Renault (only one point with Sainz) and McLaren.

The GP’s best driver? Surely Lewis Hamilton who was perfect in every occasion.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP Russia, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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It was a very tight grand prix when Mercedes had to resort to all the possible strategies in order to beat a good Ferrari which can only regret giving 2-3 tenths of a second to its direct rivals. Once again Bottas sacrificed himself for his team mate (but I do not condemn the act) even though we saw the essence of the weekend in the fifteenth lap when Hamilton overtook Vettel.

Toto Wolff’s team found once more found the policy of the best times and Ferrari must regret its mistakes (in strategy and drivers) when the circumstances favourable.

Bottas was the weekend’s best driver and was perfect in both qualifying and the race when he managed to keep Hamilton’s rhythm. It was the perfect race for young Leclerc who finished in seventh place with the Sauber, just behind the two Red Bull drivers and so gave the team important points in the direct duel with Toro Rosso. The driver from Monaco set fantastic times, especial between the 34th and 42nd laps. Max Verstappen was very good in taking full advantage of his tyres by covering more than 40 laps. Pirelli should give us some explanations since these tyres are performing very differently from the expectations and the technical desires at the start of the season.

In a week’s time we will be back for a new duel between Vettel and Hamilton on the track of a circuit with a historic flavour like Suzuka.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Italy THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Hamilton extraordinary. Ferrari, how many mistakes”

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In the light of the results in free practice and especially in qualifying the result of the race clearly disadvantages Ferrari that leaves Monza only with second place.

Unfortunately we saw the Festival of mistakes: Sebastian Vettel stumbled with the fifth mistake in the season barely thirty seconds after the green light, the people on the wall called Raikonnen into the pits too early and gave Hamilton the chance to run eight more laps, but I believe something was not working perfectly in the Finn’s car and he paid for this with excessive blistering of the right rear wheel, possibly due to an imperfect mix of the set or by a set up that was not the best.

We are witnessing an exciting struggle between two great constructors that is very tight even in the verbal exchanges and the strategies. Bottas’ message was clear when he slowed Raikonnen to favour Hamilton’s come back. Games are part of F1 and they show how important it is to have two drivers in play. This must give Ferrari something to think about for the near future.

Monza gave us a tight grand prix run on the edge of hundredths of a second where Hamilton did not make the slightest mistake. He came close bringing home the maximum result. He was perfect in every circumstance: at the start, when he overtook Vettel and in the final charge on the Finn. We waited an instant before lunging on Raikonnen which was backed up by his team’s strategy as well. Faced with such a driver it will be very hard for Vettel to close the gap with only seven grands prix still to be run.

The Grand Prix’s best driver? Surely Hamilton. He did not make the slightest mistake and always raced on the attack, keeping his rival under pressure. Bottas’ small assist is something that happens.

I must congratulate all the public because it answered in the best way possible and by filling the terraces showed how important this round is for Italians. These were three exciting days. We will now wait and see what will happen in Singapore.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari wins with Vettel. THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Now everybody at Monza”

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A perfect Ferrari won at Spa-Francorchamps. At this time the car is achieving positive results and has shown that in dry conditions it is superior compared to Mercedes as we saw right from the start when Vettel masterfully overtook Hamilton. The situation is reversed on a wet track when car and driver are inferior to pairing of Hamilton-Mercedes.

It was without a shadow of doubt a great, very tight grand prix run at heart pounding pace on the edge of tenths of seconds, as we saw above all between the 15th and 20th laps between the two pretenders to the throne.

It was a pity about Kimi Raikonnen who was cut off by a contact at the first curve. He too would probably have fought for a place on the podium. The result was a morale boost for all the team and brings a breath of fresh air in view of the last part of the season and the arrival of the Circus at Monza. Vettel nibbled away seven precious points from Hamilton. After the gifts in the previous grands prix (see Germany) he must continuously finish in front of his British rival.

It was an excellent race by Max Verstappen which excited the public and many of his fans came to support him. I would like to see this scenario at Monza as well. All the fans are needed to help Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel in this pursuit. Sadly the lack of an Italian driver on the starting grid is felt but at this time the market has been unleashed and the next few days will be crucial. There are still many unknown factors, above all in the second division teams, where I hope Mercedes will find a place for Ocon after the arrival of the new owner who gave life back to Racing Point Force India. We still need to understand what will happen in Williams to Stroll and McLaren (Vandoorne) and Sauber. In short there are still many pieces to be placed, as well as deciding Raikonnen’s future. Sincerely in Ferrari I would choose a younger line to place to support Vettel. We will wait and see.

Meanwhile I am very happy for Racing Point Force India that began its adventure with fifth and sixth place with Perez and Ocon behind Bottas. On the other hand there was an important mistake by Nico Hulkenberg who set off the pile-up at the start. He came decidedly long into the first chicane (he had two gears more than the other drivers who were ahead of him). Luckily the new safety systems avoided the worst but we must stop and think for a minute that at Monza the first chicane is after a kilometre from the start and they get there at very much higher speeds.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Monza.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Hungary, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Ferrari must regret two mistakes”

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Lewis Hamilton closed the tour-de-force of 4 grands prix in five weeks with another very important win that brings his advantage over his direct rival Sebastian Vettel to 24 points. Hamilton is the driver in the best shape at the wheel of the best car supported also by the most valid squire, Valtteri Bottas who was certainly the protagonist of a great race when he thrashed Vettel, even if he then ruined everything in the final laps when he touched the Ferrari driver and then also Ricciardo. Bottas clearly had problems with his tyres and now we will wait and see what the marshals decide.

Ferrari says goodbye to Budapest with second and third place and more points than expected, even if they must regret the two mistakes in the pit stops that cost Vettel and Raikonnen precious seconds that would surely have allowed them to come back onto the track in front of Mercedes’ Finn driver.

It was a great race by Ricciardo. On this occasion Red Bull did not live up to expectations and also suffered problems of reliability that forces Verstappen to retire. The Australian was very good as he managed in any case to finish at the foot of the podium after the order to Bottas gave him back the position.

It was a very good result also for Toro Rosso reaching sixth place with Gasly and for McLaren that finished in eighth place with Fernando Alonso. I am sorry to see Force India in difficulty as the team had achieved incredible results in the last two years.

Now we have to wait three weeks for the world championship to start once more at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. However, this Mercedes is now scary, especially in view of two such very fast tracks.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Germany, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “A very serious mistake by Vettel”

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A few laps from the finishing line Sebastian Vettel threw away a win and a very important result in light of the world championship. In 11 grands prix this is already the fourth mistake made by the German and this must give Ferrari something to think about. They must be proud of the work in the factory but they have to ponder on how their drivers work. Compared to Mercedes Ferrari came out defeated.
The race confirmed that this is a season in which mistakes will play a crucial role and, once again, the the leadership changed with Hamilton taking the lead with a gap of 17 points from Vettel. He took off from fourteenth place and played the leading role with a sensational comeback that ended with a win in front of his team mate and also after setting the fastest lap time during the final stage. It was an impressive show of force by Mercedes with Toto Wolff taking back the reins of the team.
All weekend Ferrari showed that it has a truly great car but it was not enough. In seven days we will be back on the track in Budapest which will conclude the tour-de-force and usher in the summer break. It will be a good opportunity for Vettel to be on the prowl for redemption and we hope that this episode will not have repercussions on the rest of the season. On this occasion I wish Sergio Marchionne all the best for a quick recovery and to the new president John Elkann.
It was certainly a race that became exciting only with the arrival of the rain with some teams that tried to make a master stroke with strategies that did not pay off such as Red Bull and Sauber. It was choice that cost important points, especially for Sauber’s Leclerc. We anxiously await the race in Hungary.
Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Great Britain, Ferrari wins with Vettel. THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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Ferrari that wins so well on a track such as that of Silverstone, which on paper should have been unfavourable, says a lot about the path to the world championship and can only be a good sign in view of the next two rounds in Germany and Hungary.

We saw an absolutely fantastic weekend and race that was run to the sound of battle until the last lap. Ferrari showed that it is decidedly worthy of the situation with excellent work by the drivers, mechanics and the people at the wall. Qualifying was also stupendous with records and a minimal gap (44 thousandths of a second) between two world champions who shared the front row.

Lewis Hamilton will surely be very angry even though he made a great climb back to second place in any case, limiting the damage. I surely do not share his behaviour because a World Champion such as he must respect the rules and must know how to deal with any negative situation even from the media point of view.

Kimi Raikonnen took all the blame for colliding with the British driver even if I do not share this manner of assigning penalties with decisions far removed between one episode and another and too subjective. The Finnish driver made a mistake and he was rightly penalized but in other occasions the penalties were much lighter. Excluding the mistake in the first lap the Finn became a leading player with a solid race that finished in third place ahead of Bottas.

Ferrari leaves Silverstone after having consolidated its leadership in both ladders, with the twenty point advantage over Mercedes in the Constructors’ championship and with Vettel holding scoring an eight point lead over Hamilton.

We prepare for the second part of the tour-de-force in two weeks time with another two grands prix (Germany and Hungary) in successive weeks before the summer break.

Gian Carlo Minardi