F1 |Gp Austria, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “It was the weekend of mistakes”

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The weekend in Austria was the festival of mistakes by the teams. It began Saturday with Ferrari’s people at the wall who did not advise their driver that Sainz was arriving and today with Mercedes that did not call Hamilton into the pits under the VSC after Bottas’ retirement.

I think the marshals used a heavy hand with Vettel since Sainz had in any case reached Q3 but in all probability they did not want to set a precedent. Hamilton’s retirement at the 54th lap patched up the strategy. Despite an important technical advantage Mercedes confirmed the reliability problems of its gearbox. It was a race full of retirements caused by the very tight rhythm. We have come into a very heated month of July which from now until the end will give us another three grands prix. It will be interesting to see who will be the best at managing this tour-de-force.

Formula 1 is once more going back to the maximum competition with a large gap between the three top teams and the rest of the group. We witnessed an order of arrival that rewarded the teams in pairs with 2 Ferraris, 2 Haas, 2 Force Indias and two Saubers with the only exceptions the winner Max Verstappen with the sole Red Bull and Fernando Alonso who finished in eight place after starting in pit lane.

It was a result that surely rewarded Ferrari with an outcome that was almost unexpected. Kimi Raikonnen deserved to finish in second place having tried until the end to attack the Dutch driver, by setting fast lap times and therefore it was correct for the people at the barrier to maintain the positions of the two drivers. For the third time in as many grands prix the head of the ladder changed with Vettel in command once more.

In seven days we will be back on the track for the tenth round of the world championship at the British circuit of Silverstone which, on paper, will favour Mercedes, even if Vettel and Ferrari will come to the appointment with its morale high.

We are waiting to see what will happen.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp France, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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With Hamilton’s win and Vettel’s fourth place there is once more the 14 point gap between the two drivers that existed before the Canadian Grand Prix. In France the situation was turned upside down once more, this time in favour of the British driver. This is the confirmation that we are faced with a championship that will be uncertain until the end and where mistakes will make the difference. This time it was the Ferrari driver’s turn to make one.

Vettel started very well trying to attack Bottas immediately at the first curve, however they collided. It is not a matter of being caught up in the heat, above all when you run on a track where, as we saw, it is possible to overtake. It was a grand prix with a number of overtaking manoeuvres and between the number two drivers Kimi Raikonnen was not caught unprepared. In addition to overtaking a number of cars he also gained a good podium in front of Red Bull which, with Verstappen, was the protagonist of a great grand prix close behind the winner.

On paper the Paul Ricard was a race in favour of Mercedes and Hamilton’s times confirmed this, especially in light of the times set from the 23rd to the 26th laps.

It was once again a decidedly positive weekend for Leclerc who “gave” Alfa Romeo Sauber a vital point on the occasion of the Milanese carmaker’s 108th anniversary, showing that he is now ready to make a leap in quality. The moods are decidedly different at Williams and McLaren that are paying a heavy price of assessment and organization. Williams’ situation is inexplicable as, despite counting upon a fantastic Mercedes motor, it is not going through the development and growth that had been hinted at in recent years. It is surely not being helped by its two drivers. It is certainly clear that McLaren’s problems are to be found within and the prediction made by Alonso lets us understand that they are well aware of their limits. They are two of the most famous teams in the history of F1 and it is very sad to witness this involution.

We now start a very intense and hot month of July with four appointments (Austria, England, Germany and Hungary) within five weeks in which there will be no time to breathe and at its end we will have a very significant picture.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Canadian Gp, THE POINT of Gian Carlo Minardi

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Ferrari gained its third win for the season and regained command of the world championship ladder with Sebastian Vettel who made the best of the whole weekend by setting pole position and the win. Ferrari did not start in the best of fashions but it managed to overturn the situation between Friday and Saturday with a lot of hard work by the German, as well as by his technicians. Kimi Raikonnen disappointed by finishing the race behind both the Mercedes and both the Red Bulls.

Lewis Hamilton was also off his game after having suffered, particularly in qualifying and, subsequently also in the race by finishing only in fifth place. On the other hand the race was positive for Valtteri Bottas’ and Red Bull’s two drivers. Despite running the race in defence, Daniel Riccardo finished in fourth place just behind a strong Verstappen. They will be the deciding factors in a very balanced struggle between Mercedes and Ferrari.

As happened in recent races, Pirelli too did not meet expectations since the mixes did not show the differences in performance that were expected. A number of different strategies were expected but they did not then occur. In two weeks F1 will be back in France at the Paul Ricard Circuit and Pirelli will bring the mixes with the tread reduced by 0.4mm which made their debut in Spain.

Fernando Alonso “celebrated” his 300th grand prix with a retirement, even though he will be able to make a quick come back in a week’s time at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Spaniard’s future is drawing further away from F1 and could go the way of endurance or Indy races. Le Mans is a very coveted objective for all drivers who boast one or more world championships and for Alonso it would be another good objective, even if this year’s edition is poorer due to the loss of a number of top players. In any case, I wish him the best of luck and I will surely follow him in this new challenge.

We file away a grand prix that was poor in emotions, even if it is a normal enough situation when we witness a technical levelling such as we have this year with Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull very close to each other. On the other hand, just behind them there is no lack of competition as today’s ladder shows with Hulkenberg and Sainz’s Renaults, Ocon’s Force India and Leclerc’s Sauber just behind Ferrari’s Finnish driver.

The next appointment will be in France in two weeks.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Monte Carlo, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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With his win in Monte Carlo Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo caught up with Hamilton and Vettel with two wins each and the difference in points is only due to the different placings. This opens up an extremely interesting championship with Red Bull becoming the needle of the scales in the struggle between Mercedes and Ferrari.

It will be interesting to see how the team will now behave considering that Max Verstappen is now out of the running. His mistake a few minutes from the end the Free Practice 3 was unforgivable and he compromised his whole weekend. After three seasons I find that mistake unacceptable and those in Red Bull should intervene, also because Ricciardo’s future is drawing increasingly away from Milton Keyes and ever closer to Maranello. Should the farewell materialize, Marko and Horner will have to solve a not so minor problem on the driver’s front, to which must be added the unknown factor of the supplier of the power-unit. They still have an option in Carlos Sainz jr who is currently committed to the Renault Team, but for the first time they may be forced to opt for a driver from outside their orbit.

We saw an extremely technical and competitive grand prix with five cars in the space of six seconds. With these numbers, on a track such as Monte Carlo, it is practically impossible to see overtaking at the top. Ricciardo achieved a win with authority and determination despite the problems with his car and with Vettel and Hamilton catching up behind him.

I am increasingly puzzled by these tyres. The difference lap times with the HyperSoft, UltraSoft and SuperSoft was practically nil.

In two weeks we will be back on track at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Spanish GP, THE POINT of Gian Carlo Minardi

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominate the Spanish Grand Prix with Valtteri Bottas who completed an excellent performance in second place in front of Red Bull’s Verstappen.

We had already understood from the beginning of qualifying that we faced a weekend that would not be easy for Ferrari and the result of the race and lap times were the proof. I do not believe Ferrari made a mistake in its tactics by calling in Sebastian Vettel in the 42nd lap as he already had tyre problems.

The fourth place leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, even though they leave Barcelona with some points. Kimi Raikonnen’s retirement was a pity. It was a grand prix chasing Lewis Hamilton who lapped with important times which left a gap of 20” between him and his team mate, to which must be added another 6” to find Verstappen and 7” to Vettel. Bravo for the Dutchman who, despite the contact when he overtook Sirotkin and the damage to the rear spoiler, managed to bring home third place at the expense of the Ferrari driver who mounted fresher tyres.

This weekend Pirelli opted for the newer mixes with a 4mm lower tread which we will find once more at another two grands prix, one of which is Silverstone. Honestly, I do not understand this technical alternation that destabilizes the progressive development of the cars since a lower tread also affects the other aerodynamic parametres.

It will be interesting to see if, in the next few rounds (Monte Carlo, Canada and France) in which the traditional tread will make a comeback, the gaps between cars will be confirmed. What is certain is that in the race Mercedes confirmed the supremacy it put on show in qualifying and the winter tests.

Behind the top three teams Magnusson, Sainz, Alonso (who came back from his first WEC win on the Spa track), Perez and Leclerc won important points. In two weeks Monte Carlo will host the F1 Circus and Ferrari must try to take back the ground it lost here in Spain.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp China, THE POINT by Minardi “Verstappen the championship’s inconsiderate referee”

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The design of the grand prix changed with the entry of the safety car after the accident between the two Toro Rosso cars caused by Gasly’s great mistake. Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull achieved a strong win as well as putting up the race’s fastest lap thanks to great intuition and perfect execution of the two consecutive pit stops by the mechanics.

They were also helped by luck because both Ricciardo and Verstappen were in the right place at the right time. When the safety car took to the track Mercedes and Ferrari had already crossed the line and they had no chance to enter pit lane.

In any case, this result will give Homer’s men something to think about since they are letting escape (with one foot already in Italy) a driver who was the author of a great error free race, unlike his companion.

With an impetuous act Verstappen managed to ruin not only what good had been done up till then in his Shanghai weekend, but he was also the inconsiderate referee of the world championship who heavily conditioned Sebastian Vettel’s performance and result. The Ferrari driver managed only in part to limit the damage. I found the 10” penalty inflicted by the Dutchman’s commissars light, after they compared the contact with the Gasly-Hartley episode (with the Frenchman receiving the same penalty). It was a pity that Verstappen ruined the race for the championship leader. The commissars should use a heavy fist with repeat offenders and evaluate not only the gravity of the act, but also the consequences of the incident.

After the first three grands prix the championship is becoming increasingly interesting with five drivers within a handful of points and a fascinating battle between three teams with Red Bull growing, Ferrari with both cars on the front row of the grid for the second consecutive time and Mercedes still without a win.

We also saw an intense grand prix in the rear with an overtaking manoeuvre in the limit by Alonso at the expense of a Vettel in difficulty with the car. A race within the race which ended with three different drivers of as many teams on the podium (Ricciardo-Bottas-Raikonnen). The Finn sacrifices himself for the team by delaying his stop and then defended the result with a strong race which finished on the podium.

In two weeks we will be in Azerbaijan, a very insidious circuit which last year was the stage for the contact between Vettel and Hamilton during the period with the safety car that ignited the rivalry between the two. Between the two litigants Ricciardo emerged as the winner in front of Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Bahrain, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Vettel’s and Ferrari’s fantastic win”

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It was a weekend in search of perfection, maturity and safety which gave us a winning Ferrari beginning with qualifying and ended with Vettel in front of Bottas and Hamilton. It was an exciting grand prix with the last eight heart pounding laps in which Sebastian Vettel showed us that he is a four times world champion, as Lewis Hamilton showed in Australia when he put up an incredible lap in qualifying.

Ferrari’s German driver crowned his 200th GP in the best way possible by taking his 47th win. The men from Maranello did not make a single mistake in strategy by setting the race on the direct rival, Lewis Hamilton, since the world championship will be a fight between the two. The accident in the box with Kimi Raikonnen was a pity which put a partial damper on the celebrations, but these things are part of this sport. I extend my best wishes to the mechanic for a speedy recovery.

This race must give those who disparage this Formula 1 something to think about because on a true track we saw good overtaking manoeuvres and the final ladder for the race which had twenty cars within 3” and a gap of barely 6 tenths of a second between first and second placed cars. Even though Red Bull was missing, Ferrari and Mercedes knew how to entertain by keeping us in suspense until the last lap.

The extraordinary fourth place by the Toro Rosso-Honda partnership was the result of a fantastic qualifying session by Gasly, who was also the author of a race start worthy of a champion and who exploited to the max the car and strategy by putting together a series of fast laps between the 37th and 47th laps to give himself a safety margin in the case of an attack by Magnussen.

With these premises I am anxious to watch the next 19 grands prix and in only a week the engines will be turned on again in China.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Australia, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Weekend under the sign of two World Champions”

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The 2018 Formula 1 World Championship began under the sign of two great World Champions, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton who shared the win and pole position respectively. The result was certainly a tight fit for the Englishman who had to “surrender” to Ferrari which was very good in its strategy and supported by Sebastian who showed that he is a winning driver in times of need.

Valtteri Bottas’ mistake in qualifying had a negative effect on Mercedes’ strategy when found itself outnumbered by the two Ferraris, but it will be a championship which will also be played on mistakes and in which the contribution of all its main players will be essential. Despite the three DRS areas, Melbourne confirmed that it is a difficult track for overtaking and the Finn was unable to regain positions despite the potential of his W09.

The gap between Ferrari and Mercedes seen in qualifying (0.664 of a second) came down during the race, even though there were still four tenths of a second between Hamilton and Vettel’s best times. It was a very technical race run at a very high rhythm (14 cars on full laps with only Hartley’s Toro Rosso lapped) with Red Bull which made the fastest lap with Daniel Ricciardo who finished in fourth place behind Kimi Raikonnen despite the (excessive) penalty given him by the race marshals on the starting grid. It was a false start by Max Verstappen who should examine admit his blame after the errors he made as this is already his third season.

McLaren promoted

Alonso placed his McLaren-Renault in fifth place between Ricciardo and Verstappen’s Red Bulls with Vandoorne who finished the weekend in ninth place. The team from Woking needs these results in order to look for new sponsors which could breathe new life into the team and from which there are few comforting signs. From what we learn it seems that McLaren-Automotive is up for sale. BMW seems to be interested.

Disaster Haas

It was a decidedly bad day for Haas after the positive results in qualifying and the first part of the race. Two important results were wiped out in just as many mistakes. In any case, it is still the car to watch as it was able to take a great leap forward compared to last year.

So ends the first grand prix. In two weeks the second act will take place in Bahrain.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Abu Dhabi, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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I want to begin with a cold, strict analysis about Ferrari which in any case managed to worry the German fortress during the season by scoring five wins and second place in both the drivers’ title with Sebastian Vettel and in the constructors’ titles, laying the foundation for trying to become again a winning team, even though, in the light of the results in Abu Dhabi, it will not be easy against this Mercedes.

Mercedes managed to put away another exciting season with Valtteri Bottas’ win and the double, building up a twenty second lead from the first of the, Sebastian Vettel, which equals an average advantage of 0.35 of a second per lap, which even reached 0.8 of a second at Kim Raikonnen’s expense (more than 5 tenths of a second behind his team mate and fourth place at the finish). It would be interesting to understand why Vettel’s performance seesawed during the race.

These numbers should make Ferrari think about two things: on the technical/mechanical side and also on the drivers in considering 2018 and a winter which are both expected to be intense, hot and very short since there are only twenty weeks before the next preseason trials. We also hope to see an Italian driver on the grid.

We saw a grand prix that was certainly not spectacular (except for the scuffle between in the back lots between two ex teammates, Alonso and Massa and also between Stroll and Grosjean). We saw the last verdict on Renault’s inevitable jump in the ladder into sixth place at Toro Rosso’s expense which in turn was able to defend itself from a lacklustre Haas.

Red Bull too has a lot of work to do between now and February considering the more than 40 second gap from Verstappen (fifth at the finish) in regards to Mercedes’ Finn driver.

For all the other teams and constructors these will be intense months due to the increase to the number of grands prix (from this year’s 20 to 21) and the decrease in the number of Power-Units available for each driver (three). Now most of the Principal Teams are accusing the regulation that they themselves approved. I wonder, where were they or what were they thinking when they considered these changes? Only Mercedes can look to the near future with some calm. Meanwhile, at the end of the grand prix Liberty Media presented F1’s new logo…

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Mexico, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Well done Verstappen” Hamilton champion

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With the win in Mexico Max Verstappen capped an almost perfect weekend in which the only thing missing was pole position which slipped his grasp thanks to an equally fantastic Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull’s Dutch driver was the protagonist of a great start which was also helped by his own recklessness and by being free of pressure. In fact, compared respect to Hamilton and Vettel he had nothing to lose and then he conquered first place arrogantly by then setting the pace,

It is a world championship that reflects the forces in the field with Red Bull in full-growth and Renault working very well in light of 2018.The initial contact was a normal racing incident, even though it deprived the race of its two top players. Bravo Vettel who managed to climb back to the base of the podium although sadly it was not enough for him to keep open the title race which finished in the hands of Lewis Hamilton for the fourth time. The two zero pointers weighed heavily on the title.

Even the driver’s title has been assigned, but the next two grands prix will be very interesting, above all with an eye to 2018 and, considering that they now have nothing to lose, I am convinced that Mercedes will finally squeeze its car and power-units. The two drivers will be free to fight and we will be able to see their real potential.

A dull race finished well for Mercedes and Ferrari’s second drivers. The podium is always a positive result, but the gap by Bottas and Raikonnen in regards to Verstappen was too wide. Only the problems that hindered their respective teammates gave them the chance to be in those positions. This much is certain.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP USA, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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If the conferral of the driver’s title has only been delayed, House Mercedes began celebrating its victory in the Constructors’ title. We give them our warmest congratulations. In Austin Lewis Hamilton once again dominated the race from start to finish. The difference in performance between the two cars is important and we saw it both in qualifying and after a few laps with the overtaking manoeuvre suffered by Vettel who had been the author of a great start.
Following the debacles in the latest races Ferrari found a compromise between performance and reliability. It had most probably sacrificed some of the latest developments, especially those linked to the power-unit, thus conceding another advantage to its rivals. Even though mathematics still gives Sebastian Vettel a chance the world driver’s title can be considered closed. Ferrari must think about 2018 while the German driver has to try and bring home the title of vice-champion at the expense of Bottas who seems to be in difficulty in the final part of the season as the chronometer shows.
The grand prix gave us some tussles and overtaking manoeuvres, as well as the initial novelty of the very American setting. Max Verstappen’s comeback was fantastic and it showed us how much he has grown in Red Bull. It was a pity that a questionable regulation denied him a well deserved place on the podium. It will be important to see how FIA will behave in front of the heavy comments that the young Verstappen directed at the marshals. Unfortunately there is a regulation and as such it must be respected. We see this type of infraction daily in Formula 4 and I believe that the world championship must set the good example.
With the wide track and asphalted runoffs Verstappen was the victim of a modern circuit. Coincidentally this does not happen on the historic tracks since the risk would be to get stuck in the sand. I have long believed that it is wrong to have a different work group for each grand prix since it is difficult to achieve the same measure of judgment when evaluating episodes. This risk is that the judgment will be subjective rather than objective. Just as there is a single race director in the person of Charlie Whiting, it would be correct that his work group always be the same from the beginning of the world championship. It does not seem something so impossible and difficult to apply
Renault’s winning move with the “purchase” of Sainz must also be underlined. He has already brought home important points, and thus halved the gap from his ex team, Toro Rosso which had to settle for a single point, closing the weekend behind Felipe Mass’s Williams which reinforced fifth place in the constructors’ title.
Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Japan GP, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Ferrari paid the steps towards development”

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Waking up this morning was not a happy experience for our friends who are Ferrari fans. They expected a quick comeback and instead came Sebastian Vettel’s second retirement in three races. The Suzuka retirement was possibly more painful because it was a sort of last stand to try and keep open the world championship and to contest Lewis Hamilton who is racing to save his Mercedes on consideration of the final races.

Ferrari is paying, with its reliability, the great steps forward in the development of the power-unit and aerodynamics. Ferrari has shown that it is competitive, even if it does concede some tenths of second in qualifying to its direct rivals, but it does have a say in setting the rhythm of the race. Instead, the team that profited was Red Bull who filed away another two podiums by closing the race by placing second and third in front of Valtteri Bottas and is getting ready to go on the charge for second place in the constructors’ title at the expense of the team from Maranello which ended the weekend with an advantage of only ten points after the fifth place by Kimi Raikonnen who committed some errors. The Finn paid the price for the team startegy and for the penalty of five positions for the change of gearbox. He delayed the pit stop to slow Verstappen and in fact removed him from the struggle for the podium. Obviously his role is that of second driver.

There are still four races remaining and the mathematics still do not condemn Arrivabene’s men, but it would take a real catastrophe to stop the triumphant march of the British champion and the German battleship. Ferrari must keep working to quickly resolve the problems of reliability that are assailing the SF70H, by exploiting the final races in consideration of the lack of tests, above all with an eye to 2018.

A word of praise for Force India which continues to surprise by bringing two cars into the points zone and in front of its direct rivals confirming its fourth place in the constructors’ title. On the other hand Carlos Sainz will replace Renault’s Palmer beside Hulkenberg in two weeks time at Austin with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso. It is probably a move dictated by the commercial agreements between the two parties, but I do not agree with this move at this time of the season with Toro Rosso committed to defending sixth place as it tries to go on the charge against Williams.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Malaysia, THE POINT by Minardi “An opportunity lost for Ferrari"

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In its final appearance in the Formula 1 World Championship calendar the Sepang Circuit gave as one of the most exciting weekends of the season with important duels at both the head and the base of the ladder, as well as with Sebastian Vettel’s comeback after being forced to start at the back of the grid following problems in qualifying. After nineteen editions Malaysia says goodbye to the Circus, even though I hope to see it again in the near future.

Ferrari’s dark weekend ended with fourth place. It was a result that was decidedly tight for the men from Maranello in light of the times made by Vettel and his perfect race, including the fastest lap. It was really a pity because in two races Ferrari had shown it was a true presence and saw its great competiveness annulled by problems of reliability and mistakes by the drivers. Singapore and Sepang would have been important results in the fight for the title. The comeback on Ricciardo in the last part of the race caused increased tyre wear and thus denied him the final surge. Ferrari paid a very heavy price here in Sepang and now the German driver is called upon to make a difficult, but not impossible, comeback. There is also some bitterness for the problem that affected Kimi Raikonnen.

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton came out of the weekend in a stronger position despite a victory that slipped away in favour of a Verstappen and a Red Bull that are confirming themselves as the true gauge of the championship. The Dutchman’s overtaking manoeuvre at the expense of the British champion was truly excellent.

This world championship is proving to be one conditioned by errors.

Gian Carlo Minardi