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

F1 | Gp Singapore, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “A great pole was undone in a few metres”

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It was a grand prix, the first run under the rain in Singapore, that ended after only a few metres from the start with the exit of Vettel, Verstappen and Raikonnen, three of the five protagonists of this year’s world championship.

An extremely negative day for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton almost became a triumph since only the double was lacking thanks to Daniel Ricciardo the cannibal who is always capable of exploiting any chance that presents itself. Red Bull is a car that shows that it is at ease in these twisting tracks.

It was a very grave zero score for both Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in view of the championship even though there are still six races before the end. The pile up was set off by the German who made what could be a fatal mistake and dragging in the blameless Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikonnen, the protagonist of a great start.

In a few metres the work of a fantastic weekend by the men from Ferrari and Vettel himself, the author of an incredible qualifying session, was undone. As I previously emphasized on a number of occasions this is a world championship conditioned by mistakes. The driver who makes the least errors will probably be crowned world champion.

For his part, Lewis Hamilton was skilful in managing the race without taking any futile risks, bringing home a win that was worth its weight in gold.

Carlos Sainz was also very good with the fourth place for Toro Rosso which is the first of the second stream teams. He was the author of a race managed with sheer grit which won important points for Toro Rosso in the struggle with Williams for fifth and sixth places. It was a Williams that played in defence with the young Lance Stroll.

Now we wait and see what the marshals will decide after having heard the three protagonists of the pile up at the start.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Italy, THE POINT by Minardi “After Belgium I expected closer gaps. The race was framed by a fantastic crowd”

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Mercedes totally dominated the Italian Grand Prix, but the number one winner was the public composed of fans and enthusiasts who came in droves and filled the circuit on all three days. Especially on Saturday which was truly long and cold, with a race direction that was not impeccable in its communications. Luckily it finished in the best of fashion with the running of the qualifying session. The public showed its love for F1, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and towards a Ferrari which must still grow up some more.

From the beginning of free practice on Friday it became clear that Mercedes would have been serious and the gaps inflicted on its rivals in today’s race tell us much of the overwhelming power available for Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Frankly, after the results of Spa-Francorchamps I expected a less pronounced gap. The thirty six second gap from the winner suffered by Vettel was a sour note for the continuation of the world championship. Clearly it is not yet over, in fact there are still many races before the end, but today’s double will make Mercedes rejoice twice as much in the light of the rounds that will be less favourable for it.

What worries me is Red Bull’s rebirth supported by a highly encouraging Daniel Ricciardo who stamped the fastest lap of the race. Verstappen’s impetuousness played against the Dutchman who, after an excellent start, could have raced for the podium.

We had the latest disappointment from McLaren (even though there was not much hope for it due to the characteristics of Monza), whereas Williams managed to obtain important points in the light of the world championship ladder as it tries to reach fifth place (at Toro Rosso’s expense) thanks to a great race by the very young Stroll who finished in front of Massa.

Now we can only wait for Singapore. Over the next few days I will describe to you the emotions and the impressions I gathered directly at Monza.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Belgium, THE POINT by Minardi “Hamilton wins but Ferrari answers. Now everyone at Monza”

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Spa-Francorchamps gave us the answer we expected from Ferrari. It was an important second place for the team and for Sebastian Vettel (who just renewed his contract for three years) since he knew how to defend the leadership on an unfriendly track. Not only was a Mercedes double avoided, but Raikonnen finished in front of his countryman despite excessive severity towards him by the marshals.

Hamilton and Vettel, two great world champions, battled on the edge of thousandths of a second as was seen by the Ferrari driver’s fastest lap of the race in the 41st lap which gave him the new track record after the fantastic pole position (the 68th and a record time) by the British driver who equalled Michael Schumacher.

It was a great business card for Ferrari in light of the next grand prix at Monza, which will be the first organized directly by ACI (the Italian Automobile Club) and for which the ticket sales are going really well. At this moment Mercedes’ true ace in the hole is the overboost as we saw, particularly at the start and the restart after the departure of the Safety-car.

If the 10 second Stop and go penalty given to Kimi Raikonnen for not having slowed down under the yellow flag after Max Verstappen’s exit (his car was already at the side of the track) seemed excessive to me, I think the moment has come for FIA to make a decisive and heavy intervention in regards to Ocon and Perez in order to end this contest of wills before someone gets hurt. What we saw on track was much more than a contest between two drivers. Force India is showing us that it does not know how to manage its two drivers.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Hungary, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi "A FERRARI DOUBLE!"

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Everything went “almost” according to the script with sun and Ferrari according to the “we told you so”. There was an all Ferrari front row of the grid after a weekend during which the team from Maranello knew how to make the best of all the new changes made to the track and a good start would have been enough to then carry on. And then, as always, something unexpected happened. A steering wheel was not set properly and Vettel’s race became more complicated. It was a splendid win that confirmed the pace of this world championship that saw Ferrari as the favourite on this track. It was an important double for both world championships with a special mention for Raikonnen’s work acting as a squire for Vettel who was capable of taking his own car to victory despite the hindrance.

The race was interesting technically but less so as a spectacle, as we know overtaking is difficult at the Hungaroring. We must stress the performance by Red Bull who was always on show during the weekend and in the race. Without the penalty for the trifling error at the start which cost Ricciardo exclusion from the race Verstappen could have placed himself in the battle between the two Mercedes drivers and may have caused some problems for Raikonnen.

Worthy of mention were the usual Fernando Alonso brought the McLaren Honda to 6th place showing his indomitable determination and Carlos Sainz who pulled off a good 7th place and a nice collection points for a Toro Rosso that was a little distracted by future plans with rumours that predict a Honda motor.

Finally a mention of the fair play by Mercedes who managed the team games in a very correct way, so much so that they gave up three points for Hamilton that could weigh heavily in the future in terms of the Driver’s title.

The circus is going on holiday and it was essential that Ferrari bring home all the points to face up to the next two races of the restart with the spirit of those who are ready to overturn the predictions that see Mercedes as the favourite on the fast tracks at Spa and Monza. The technical reaction was there and who knows if the weather conditions or differing scenarios could also upset the predictions.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp England, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Mercedes overpowering”

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We must recognize that Mercedes is overpowering, starting on Saturday with Lewis Hamilton’s stupendous pole position and continued on to the double in the race. The team showed once more all its strengths and supremacy in both the motor and the chassis. It was seen particularly in Valtteri Bottas’ come back from ninth position and finishing just behind his team mate.

Ferrari in trouble defended itself, above all with Kimi Raikonnen (in form compared to Vettel) who with a fine move managed to put his SF17H on the front row of the grid. Trying to keep the pace of their rivals the cars in red lacked breath and in the end the ladder was overrun due to a double puncture.

The race at Silverstone was favourable for Mercedes and the predictions were proved totally right even if there were hopes for a less painful “defeat” on the part of the team from Maranello. There was an improvement compared to last year thanks to the Finn’s podium finish. With his seventh place Vettel saw his lead over the British champion practically zeroed as Hamilton brought himself back to a sole point from the Ferrari driver. Ferrari also lost further ground on the constructor’s ladder.

In two weeks we will be in Budapest, a track which could play in Ferrari’s favour, even though faced with such a competitive Mercedes nothing can be taken for granted. Ferrari must be wary of Red Bull which is ready the spoil its plans. Max Verstappen, exempted due to technical problems, is once more the battle hardened warrior while Ricciardo has made himself a protagonist of a great come back finishing in fifth place, just behind the Dutchman.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Austria, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi

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In Austria Mercedes once more gave us proof of its strength and that it is the team to beat. It was the protagonist with two drivers despite the fact that Lewis Hamilton did not manage to make it to the podium, in favour of an excellent Ricciardo. In the final stage Ferrari just missed out of a win with Sebastian Vettel, but it must optimize everything to 101% to try and oppose this Mercedes dominion which every so often shows some “cracks” in its reliability.

It was a grand prix fought on strategies in which the tyres played an important role. From the 50th to the 71st lap the sequence of fastest laps was impressive. Vettel, Ricciardo, Hamilton and Raikonnen lapped with very fast times all within a few thousandths of a second.

From the beginning Bottas made himself the protagonist with a perfect start, determined to stay in the lead and to go through the first curve without damage in which on the other hard Kyvat caused Verstappen and Alonso to pay a high price. It was not an excellent start by Kimi Raikonnen who found himself fighting with Daniel Ricciardo with the Ferrari driver forced to go wide at the first curve and losing some positions.

As was predictable, Red Bull is the gauge for this world championship. It was the fifth straight podium finish this season for Ricciardo. Thanks to his second place “Seb” took his lead over Lewis Hamilton to 20 points. The unfettered Lewis Hamilton tried everything to reach at least the podium despite the blistering of his Pirellis, whereas on the constructors’ front the team from Maranello gave away a few more points. We are not even at the half way point of the world championship and there is plenty of time to recover. In the second part of the season reliability will be decisive, as will be also the penalties for eventual replacement of components of the power unit.

In a week we will be at Silverstone, a circuit that is particularly tough for Ferrari and which last saw Lewis Hamilton’s triumph. On its own turf it will try to make up ground. Ferrari must be careful to take advantage of every opportunity.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Canada, THE POINT by Minardi “Mercedes untouchable, but the result favoured Vettel”

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As we predicted, Montreal confirmed that it was fertile ground for Mercedes which dominated the scene by registering pole position, the race win and Lewis Hamilton’s fastest race lap, as well as the first double for the reason. The British champion put much of his talent into his 65th pole and putting more than six tenths of a second between his car and that of his team mate.

It was a very difficult grand prix to decipher, above all for Ferrari, even though Vettel’s fourth place was surely important in view of the world championship. Despite the debacle, he limited the damage in regards to his direct rival who at Monte Carlo(in a weekend that was just as difficult) who was not able to go further than sixth place. In such a tight championship these results can be vital. It was race that quickly became uphill for the German who was forced to change his rear wing and to play catch up and it seems fighting with a less than perfect underside of the car. As yet unexplained problems slowed Kimi Raikonnen’s race even though at some stages he was not able to maintain a constant race rhythm.

Daniele Ricciardo was very good. As a professional he was once again ready bringing home third place. It was a pity for Verstappen who made a fantastic start. Unfortunately reliability was fatal for him. This result confirms quite well that Red Bull is a team not to be underestimated and which in the second part of the season could be a gauge for the championship.

Force India’s behaviour was inexplicable. Sergio Perez did not heed the team order in favour of his team mate in the moment that he was the faster driver. At driver market time this act will not be favourable for the Mexican who could have aimed for a place in a top team.

Finally there was an unplanned moment also in Formula 1 with Fernando Alonso who showed up amongst the fans in the grandstand. He gave vent to his adrenaline due to his retirement from the race two laps from the chequered flag by greeting the Canadian (American?) public that had sung his praises for the entire weekend. It is not secret that McLaren is looking for a “plan B” on the motor front even though it will not be easy since Honda is also a sponsor.

Gian Carlo Minardi