The point about drivers' market

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After Sauber’ s announcement to retain Gutierrez to partner the new-entry Adrian Sutil, we can say that the puzzle for the 2014 drivers’ line-up is almost done. Only Marussia (who announced to retain Bianchi a long time ago) and Caterham still have to get their drivers’ line-up completed.

But, let’s take stock of the F1 drivers’ line-up before having a Christmas break:
RED BULL: Sebastian Vettel / Daniel Ricciardo
MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton / Nico Rosberg
FERRARI: Fernando Alonso / Kimi Raikkonen
LOTUS: Romain Grosjean / Pastor Maldonado
MCLAREN: Jenson Button / Kevin Magnussen
FORCE INDIA: Nico Hulkenberg / Sergio Perez
SAUBER: Esteban Gutierrez / Adrian Sutil
TORO ROSSO: Jean – Eric Vergne / Daniil Kvyat
WILLIAMS: Valtteri Bottas / Felipe Massa
MARUSSIA: Jules Bianchi / ?
CATERHAM: ? / ?

So, many changes next season, only Mercedes has retained both its racing drivers. A brand new racing pair for Force India, instead. The Indian Team will take part in the 2014 F1 season with two very skilled young drivers such as Nico Hulkenberg (former Sauber team driver) and Sergio Perez (former McLaren team driver).

Two new drivers make their debut into F1: Kevin Magnussen, who will replace the Mexican driver at McLaren, and Daniil Kvyat who will replace the new Red Bull racing driver Daniel Racciardo at Toro Rosso. Kimi Raikkonen will re-join Ferrari to replace Massa who will join Williams to partner the twice – world Champion Alonso. Sauber hired a very experienced Sutil to partner the retained Gutierrez.

Double points and permanent race numbers in 2014

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FIA continues to announce new regulation changes for the 2014 F.1 season. After the several technical regulation changes that have been brought about are causing some troubles to teams and engine manufacturers, the F.1 Strategy Group – which is made up of FIA, FOM and six teams – together with the Formula one Commission, have approved to bring about other important changes to the regulation. Those changes will be effective immediately and they’ll be controversial, for sure.

Double drivers’ and constructors’ points will be awarded at the last race: the goal is to make the Championship less boring and predicted. Starting from next season, at the Abu Dhabi GP, the winner will be awarded 50 points. Other points: 36 points to the driver who finishes 2nd, 24 points to the fourth place, 20 to the fifth, 16 to the sixth, 12 to the seventh, 8 to the eighth, 4 points to the ninth, 2 to the tenth. “That way, it takes only one race to ruin all the work done throughout the season. Scoring zero points at Abu Dhabi would mean losing the Championship. I would simply consider it as a show where luck plays the main role, rather than a way to make the last event more engaging. Reliability, luck, mistakes…Too many factors can come into play to define a F.1 World Champion. We have to see this item also from the point of view of small teams. A double-point-finish for a team – maybe due to rivals’ misfortune rather than to the team’s merit – could ruin a rival’s whole season, during which several good positions were achieved.”

Permanent race numbers will be allocated to drivers: number 1 will be reserved for the current world champion, other drivers will be asked to choose their race number, between 2 and 99 “I like this decision. That way drivers can be identified not only with the helmet, but also with a race number.” What happen if a driver temporarily gets out of the Championship and gets back into it in late season?

A 5-sec. penalty: this 5-sec. penalty could be added to the final race time “Pay attention to who impose these penalties. If these penalties won’t be imposed by the same people, who always use the same parameters, these penalties could become very dangerous instruments to distort the final result. During the 2013 season, too strict penalties were imposed, that went to the detriment of a correct sense of competitiveness.”

The minimal weight doesn’t change: the request to boost the weight’s limit – car and driver – from 690 kilos to 700 kilos wasn’t approved: “I don’t understand why some teams didn’t allow that. That could discriminate some drivers. It seems to me we’re going back to the ‘80s and ’90s, when cars’ design was based on small and lightweight drivers. If we consider the large number of extra parts cars will be equipped with next season, that could be a right way to avoid to reduce the space available for the driver”.

Rumors has it that the Budgets Cup will be introduced in 2015, but this is another story….

F.1 is arranging the 2014 season…but there are still many unknown things (maybe too many)

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Despite three places were assigned – Maldonado joined Lotus Team alongside Grosjean and Hulkenberg joined Force India – the 2013-2014 drivers’ market still looks like a messy bundle. Nowadays there are still six places to be assigned: 1 Force India; 2 Marussia; 2 Caterham; 2 Sauber.

Some recent rumors about a possible merger between Marussia and Sauber, two teams which are currently navigating dangerous waters (like some other F.1 teams such as Lotus), make next season’s grid even more incomprehensible. Even if it’s not easy to achieve, the merger between the Banbury-based team and the Hinwil-based team is not impossible to be achieved, since both teams signed an agreement with Ferrari for what concerning the new 1.6 turbo engines’ supply for next season. In the case this merger is achieved, the drivers’ market will undergo a significant slowdown, as F.1 will lack two seats. If we consider that Jules Bianchi has already signed a contract with Marussia-Ferrari for the next season (the French driver whose manager is Nicholas Todt, is a member of the FDA), the seats available will drop to 4 and 2 of them are very attractive (Force India and Sauber). We don’t have to forget that Max Chilton, a driver who can bring the team a considerable financial support, would remain “unemployed”. Apart from him, another important driver such as Sergio Perez, who is supported by Slim – the world’s richest man – hasn’t signed any contract yet.

As we already know, we’ll see some new expansive changes next season, such as the new turbo engine and all the drawbacks that come with that. So, it is important to hire a gained-long-standing experience driver, who can give engineers the right technical instructions. All the above-mentioned, along with the fact that no testing sessions will be made, make it hard for new drivers to get into F.1. So, team managers will look for a right balance between technical skills and financial support. Hulkenberg is a classic example of a driver who doesn’t enjoy a great financial support, but, thanks to his several point finishes, he makes the team earn money coming from TV rights.

 As we said above, the 2014 will be the year zero for a F.1 which is experiencing a delicate moment. It will be the year zero because many changes will be introduced: brand new chassis, turbo engine, new KERS systems, a max.100 kilos-gas-load…….Everything will have to be put together and time is too short. I’ve heard that some teams haven’t received any instructions yet about the engine unit’s dimensions and the dimensions of external parts, so even the chassis is still to be defined.

Next season will be very nervous. The team who will start the season off on the right foot, will win the Championship. The Brawn GP Team set a trend.

Brazilian GP – THE POINT

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The end of the 2013 F.1 season is marked by FIA’s poor figure. I think the decision taken by FIA with regards to Felipe Massa is simply stupid and I also think that it’s time even for the Federation to take some measures to rejuvenate its board. An exciting and hard-fought GP, during which exciting passes were made, was ruined by some decisions taken by external people who change their way of judging each time, so they don’t ensure a homogeneous judge. Furthermore, I think that Hamilton was imposed a penalty to try to rebalance the forces deployed. It was a bad double mistake.

Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull who won everything. Seb set a new record, as he took 9 consecutive wins and 13 wins overall. He took as many wins as Michael Schumacher, even if the German driver reached this goal in a 16-event-Championship, not in a 19-event-Championship. Mercedes finished second in the constructors’ championship, ahead of Ferrari. It was a great result for the German team; this result make Alonso’s second place in the drivers’ championship even more important, if we consider the technical disparities between the two teams. The Spaniard confirmed to be the best driver ever. If Felipe hadn’t been imposed a penalty, the second place would have been within the Scuderia’s reach, however the Brazilian driver’s missed points throughout the season, weighted on the final result. Now it’s time to analyze problems and find a solution quickly, as time is really short, especially if we consider all the changes that will be introduced next year.

The end of the 2013 season marks also the end of the 8-cylinder-aspired engine and many drivers are about to move to other teams or to change their lives, just like Felipe Massa and Mark Webber. The Australian driver ended the season with the second place and the third overall, after making his debut in the F.1 Championship in 2002 alongside the Minardi Team. He scored two points on his debut race. Few drivers can boast this record. Mark leaves the World Championship as a protagonist. It’s really a pleasure for me to see that three drivers who started their F.1 career in Faenza, finished in the top 3, two of them, Fernando and Mark, made their debut in the Championship alongside the Minardi Team.

Mind is set on the 2014 season, during which some changes will be made with regards to regulations. Those changes could make some teams come up again and bring some new things relating to engine, we still don’t know about. The Renault engine failure with regards to Lotus has to make us think: if a team ends its season with an engine failure, having eight tested engines per driver at its disposal, I can’t imagine what will happen next season, when each team will have only five brand-new engine units per driver at its disposal.  I think that too rash steps were taken. Furthermore, if we consider that these changes will increase costs, we can say that the picture is complete. This is one of the reasons why some second-tier teams haven’t completed their line-up yet. Most of them are looking for the best technical and economic solution. It is true that FIA has to “live” side by side with car companies and the future of car racing will consist in the turbo engine, the kers and the hybrid, but we have also to consider that many teams are now undergoing a critical economic situation.

USA GP – THE POINT

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In the USA Grand Prix, which is the last but one F.1 event of the 2013 season, we saw a great fight between Webber, Hamilton and Alonso and, above all, we saw Lotus and Grosjean delivering an excellent race.

Except the two Red Bull, or, at least RB#1, which demonstrated to be very competitive, as usual, Romain also delivered a great race, demonstrating to be a very skilled driver, finishing only 6’’ behind the World Champion. He finished between the Championship’s two most competitive cars. He definitely deserves a score of 9/10 for taking an excellent start and handling a good race. He tried to “bother” Sebastian Vettel by setting the fastest lap during the race, but he was beaten by the German driver in the following lap. The French driver can be a guarantee for his team, which demonstrated to recover in this end to the season, despite the unlucky decision to replace Kimi with Kovalainen. Probably Valsecchi would have deserved an opportunity for the job he did inside the team. Worse than that…even if the Finnish driver was excused in the post-race because of some technical issues.

Lewis Hamilton did a great job. The Englishman put up a fight against Alonso, who, maybe, overexploited his tyres. Ferrari had a hard week end, but the Italian team got a good position thanks to the Spaniard’s 5th place finish.  Massa’s American week end was not so good. I hope that something didn’t work, even if the Brazilian driver suffered a lot throughout the week end. Despite Nando’s excellent race, during which he fought teeth and nail, a 29s gap from the race winner is too much. Fernando tried to “limit the damage” to Mercedes, which finished in the points zone with both is cars. The final challenge for the second place in the constructors championship will move to Brazil, to Felipe’s homeland, where the GP will be raced in one week. Given Lotus’s great condition, the Italian team cannot be quiet.

The dismissed Sergio Perez delivered a great race. His excellent performances demonstrated once again that he didn’t deserve to be dismissed. He’s only 22 and he’s developing. Maybe different choices would have been taken with a view to the 2015 season (McLaren-Honda). It seems to me that Jenson Button has passed his peak (he scored one point with difficulty).

Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber finished in the points zone again. Gutierrez would have deserved to finish in the points zone, too, but unfortunately he was imposed a penalty in qualifying. I was surprised by Bottas. Williams took some choices which date back to the 2012 season. Those choices paid off. Valtteri is proving to deserve to be a F.1 driver.

GP Abu Dhabi – THE POINT

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The supremacy showed by Red Bull in the GP of Abu Dhabi was once again disarming. A 32’’ gap between two teammates is something uncommon and incredible. Despite Mark Webber drove an excellent race, his teammate Sebastian Vettel had a half- a- minute advantage over the Australian. The German driver keeps on doing whatever he wants, he just has to stop for a coffe…..I think it’s the first time in the F.1 history that the time-gap between two chief drivers is so huge. In 2010 Mark Webber would have deserved to win the world title he lost in Abu Dhabi for the German benefit.

To be honest, I’m astonished by this supremacy which should be taken into great consideration also with regards to the 2014 season. If the other teams don’t manage to get a way out of that, they won’t close the gap with the Austrian team.

At the Yas Marina Circuit we saw brilliant strategies. Ferrari’s Alonso managed to get the most of his car’s potential. After a difficult Saturday, the Spaniard finished 5th, closing the gap with Massa, Hamilton and Di Resta. He constantly set the fastest lap throughout the last 8 laps. Massa also drove a very good race, but Mercedes was even more performing. The German team has now an 11-point lead over the Maranello-based team, thanks to Rosberg’s 3rd place and Hamilton’s 7th place. Once again Nico caused problems for his team mate. There are still 2 races on the calendar and many points are still up for grabs, so the fight to get the second place in the constructors’ championship is still open. Thanks to the last result, the Spaniard has almost secured the second place in the drivers’championship. He was helped by Kimi Raikkonen’s abandon. The Finn experienced a nervous week end, but, since he’s a professional, I expect him to complete the season. The team won’t sort out all the outstanding matter towards him, but it will try to find some other way out. So I think it will be difficult for Valsecchi to replace Raikkonen. Force India achieved an important result; the Indian team finished 6th between Ferrari and Mercedes. No doubt they deserve the position they hold in the championship and their drivers are very good at getting the most of tyres. Perez drove a good race; once again the Mexican driver finished ahead of Button. Is Alonso’s overtaking over Vergne under inquiry? I think that it’s very important to have the same driver among race commissioners, so that a unique way of thinking is ensured. This week end Martin Donnelly, a former driver who took part in the F.1 championship in 1989 and 1990, played the role of race commissioner. The world of car racing has changed so much over the last years, so I think a “fresh” driver is needed, a person who can understand the different situations. My philosophy is to let things go and be strict towards dangerous situations. Alonso’s overtaking was magnificent. Vergne didn’t expect the Spaniard to attack him on his way out of the pit lane. Huòkenberg’s episode is different. Because of an unsafe release, he had to serve a drive-through penalty.

I want to praise Sebastian Vettel again, not only for his victory, but also for the show he made in front of the audience. I hope he won’t get a penalty again.

In 15 days, at the Austin Circuit, we’ll see Ferrari and Mercedes fighting for the second place again.

Indian GP- THE POINT

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What else we can say…The supremacy displayed during the Indian GP is almost embarrassing and it’s even hard to comment. Once again Vettel was able to do what he wanted to. Now that the two world titles are appointed (drivers and constructors championship), Ferrari will have a thrilling end to the season. The Italian team will have to fight hard to try to get the second place. According to Rosberg and Hamilton’s performances the Italian team cannot sleep tight. The second place is within their reach, for sure, as three races are yet to be run (Abu Dhabi, Austin, Sao Paulo) and many scores are still up for grabs.

With regards to Webber and Alonso, we can say that misfortune sees very well. Once again the Red Bull’s Australian driver was forced to retire. The Australian could have fought to get high positions, while the Spaniard was involved in a car collision at the beginning, which dropped him to the 17th place. If we analyze times, we can notice that the Italian team lost a great chance to score points for the World Championship.

Except for the extra-terrestrial Seb., Grosjean’s performances were also noteworthy. The Frenchman managed tyres very well and Raikkonen did his utmost to try to turn the starting grid order upside down and managed to set the best lap time after pitting. McLaren finished fifth with Perez who finished ahead of Hamilton. It was a good racing week end for Felipe Massa who got the most of his F138, staying ahead of Lewis but he was overtaken by Nico. It’s a good omen to see Massa being so aggressive and lively despite the end of the relationship with the Maranello-based team. The Italian team will try to close the 4-point-gap with Mercedes. Toro Rosso managed to score only one point (thanks to Ricciardo’s tenth place). The Faenza-based team wasn’t able to take advantage of Sauber’s unfavorable week end.

It was further confirmed that most of the second-tier teams’ performance level is almost the same. The second-tier teams’ championship was good. That is alarming, especially if we consider that there is a short time between the Championship’s last event (November 24th) and the beginning of the next F.1 season. I think it’s such a short time to try to close such a huge gap. According to rumors, Newey seems to be ready to shake the cars building philosophy. Despite a radical technical upgrade, the Austrian team is still the one rivals will have to try to beat.

In six days drivers will be behind the wheel of their single-seaters again. Vettel is determined not to give rivals anything. The challenge for the second place will light up the F.1 championship again.

Japanese GP- THE POINT

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There’s no contest. Another success for Sebastian Vettel (nine GP won out of 15, 5 of which were won in sequence) and Red Bull which, thanks to Webber’s second place, scored a double-declutch. It’s an overwhelming and embarrassing supremacy. Once again they played the game of the “cat with the mouse”. Vettel seemed to have the control operated until he was sure not to have the car damaged as a consequence of a collision with Hamilton’s car. Then, he put into the seventh gear, took over rivals and won another race, even if this time, the time gap with the other drivers was a little more “human”. The German driver has now a 90-point lead over Alonso.

Webber took the first pole of the season, so he hoped to get on the top step of the podium, but he was handicapped by the strategy. Lotus is making miracles in this final stage of the season, so the English team deserves to be praised. Despite the team’s budget is not as high as top teams’, the team’s car is very competitive. Grosjean is improving his performances race after race. He took an excellent start and got a podium finish, defending his position. Raikkonen’s fifth place finish ended a racing week end which was positive for the Enstone-based team, which not only consolidates its fourth place in the constructors’ championship, but also gets closer and closer to Mercedes’s third place. Two episodes marked the Stuttgart-based racing team’s Japanese GP. At the kick-off, Vettel clipped Hamilton’s right-rear tyre, causing a puncture. The Englishman dropped down to the bottom of the standing until he had to retire. Rosberg’s race was affected by a pit-stop mistake, because of which he only managed to finish 9th.

Ferrari was in a spot throughout the week end; the Italian team delivered fluctuating performances during the race. Alonso and Massa tried to score as many points as possible, taking advantage of the Mercedes’s failure to consolidate their second place in the drivers and constructors championship. I noticed a little bit of annoyance in the Italian team, so this is not of help. I hope the Maranello-based team will make technical upgrades for the 2014 season, during the winter. That will maybe help the team to cheer up. Sauber is showing unexpected performances. Gutierrez’s first point finish is a good omen for the future. Suzuka is a favorable track for the C32 and the team was good at taking advantage of the opportunity at the detriment of Toro Rosso and got the seventh place in the constructors’ championship. Next circuits will be the test bench for them. In this final stage of the season, Toro Rosso is slacking off. The Faenza-based team’s position seemed to be solid until a short time ago, while now they have to make an extraordinary comeback, considering the prize up for grabs.

McLaren’s fifth place in the constructors’ championship is almost certain; we can say that the team’s season is almost finished. Mind is set not only on the 2014 season, which can be considered as a transition year, but, above all, on the 2015 racing season, the year Honda will officially return to competition.


 
 
 
Gp Giappone
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull/Renault 53 1:26’49.301
2 Mark Webber Red Bull/Renault 53
3 Romain Grosjean Lotus/Renault 53
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 53
5 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus/Renault 53
6 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 53
7 E.Gutiérrez Sauber/Ferrari 53
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 53
9 Jenson Button McLaren/Mercedes 53
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari 53
11 Paul Di Resta Force India/Mercedes 53
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso/Ferrari 52 1 Giro
13 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso/Ferrari 52 1 Giro
14 Adrian Sutil Force India/Mercedes 52 1 Giro
15 Sergio Pérez McLaren/Mercedes 52 1 Giro
16 Pastor Maldonado Williams/Renault 52 1 Giro
17 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Renault 52 1 Giro
18 Charles Pic Caterham/Renault 52 1 Giro
19 Max Chilton Marussia/Cosworth 52 1 Giro

Singapore GP – THE POINT

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Sorry for the delay but, despite a comfortable and quick journey back to Italy, I landed yesterday in the morning, so I didn’t have time to talk about the GP immediately after the race. Before analyzing the Singapore GP, I’d like to talk about my experience in Singapore. It’s been fabulous to live a one-of-a-kind experience, which is completely different from any other F.1 racing week ends both for the night background and for the Paddock opening hours. The circuit opens at 3pm and closes at late night, so race enthusiasts have the time to visit the city, which is full of modern buildings. Me too, I had the chance to live that city as a tourist. What is more, it’s an honor for Italian people to see an Italian company (DZ Engineering) taking over the management of the whole track lighting system, all the audiovisual and safety control equipment. It’s a huge circuit, even bigger than the Montecarlo’s.

As far as the race is concerned, I had the chance to see cars and drivers in action from two different perspectives.  In particular, I had the chance to appreciate all drivers in action on the first hairpin after the finish line, especially Alonso’s amazing start. It was a breathtaking manoeuvre. He analyzed the video of the past season and arbitrarily planned to do that manoeuvre. He managed to do that the best way. We don’t have to forget that he Spaniard was able to do that with a 180 kg- gas- load on board…..It was also very impressive to see how easily Sebastian Vettel tackled that stretch of the track; it was like he still had room for improvement. Unless something unordinary happens (which is unlikely), the situation won’t easily change. Beyond his predominance from the technical point of view, I would like to applaud Vettel also because he is always able to handle his Red Bull the best way, unlike Webber (even if I think he’s a fast driver).

Despite an unlucky Saturday for Ferrari, Alonso and Massa scored some points which placed the Italian team ahead of Mercedes. Once again the Spaniard didn’t resign himself to the Red Bull’s predominance, displaying all his determination until the end. Felipe delivered a good performance; the Brazilian scored important points for the team. It was his first race after his official departure from the Italian team. Despite the strategy he carried out was different, he managed to recover. It’s a great result…Kimi Raikkonen drove an excellent race; despite he had a backache, he was author of a great recovery, confirming Ferrari’s excellent choice.

Once again Nico Rosberg gave troubles to his teammate. I liked his way of driving very much and his performance level was higher than Hamilton’s throughout the week end. Mercedes goes on delivering good performances in qualifying; for what concerning the race, the fact the team has two drivers of the same level, is an added value in terms of points. That should make us think about Ferrari’s choice, even because Mercedes will be a very competitive rival next year.

McLaren improved its performance level a little bit, but this is an unlucky season for the English team. The two drivers’ confirmation for the next season is a symptom of continuity, the project will gain substance starting from 2015, which is the year Honda will become the official engine supplier.

Hulkenberg and Sutil close the top 10. Despite Sauber’s encouraging results over the last races, I don’t think the Austrian team will bother the Toro Rosso’s seventh place as, except for some unordinary event to happen, the two teams’ gap is 12 points and each GP only one or two points are made available (9th and 10th place). What is more, the Faenza-based team proved to be very competitive in qualifying, even if a mistake made by Ricciardo during the race frustrated all the work done until that moment.

Italian GP – THE POINT

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Vettel-Alonso-Webber. I like that podium so much because the three drivers who finished on that have the place where their career into F.1 started in common: Faenza. Alonso and Webber made their first steps into F.1 alongside the Minardi Team, while Vettel made his debut alongside Toro Rosso, sealing his first win in 2008 at Monza. It is clear that in Faenza the atmosphere you can breathe, brings  not only the history linked to the world of pottery and its famous museum with itself, but also the technology and good fortune linked to the world of Motorsport.

We saw a very performing Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel is more and more determined to become the World Champion, even if Alonso demonstrated to be the best driver once again. Singapore is the crucial point for Ferrari’s final part to the season to be decided. Seven events are yet to be run and many points are still up for grabs and we know how easy it is to make mistakes or have a moment of weakness. It won’t be easy for the Maranello team to challenge Red Bull, considering that the Austrian team usually makes consistent upgrades, but the men “in red” will have to stay focused and try to get the most of their potential, just as they did on Sunday. With regards to the strategy, Fernando’s race was flawless. Massa ran a great race but he didn’t manage to bother Webber after his pit stop. The Brazilian’s fourth place was not due to tyre change in my opinion, since the time gap between him and the Australian was only 4 tenths….In the last races Massa’s contribution to get the second place in the constructors’ championship to the detriment of Mercedes has been very important, however his engagement as a Ferrari’s driver is still a pending matter. I think this week will be the decisive one.

I would like to give credit to Toro Rosso, as its two cars qualified in the top 10 and to Ricciardo as he finished seventh (4 Ferrari engines in the top 10 is a very important result). I would give credit to Sauber and Hulkenberg, as well. The German driver drove a flawless race on Saturday afternoon and got an unexpected third place. On Sunday he finished fifth ahead of Mercedes, Lotus and McLaren, demonstrating his car is very competitive. I hope this result will help the team to overcome a difficult situation.

The challenge Raikkonen – Hamilton was very interesting. The Lotus’s Finn, after a collision on the first lap, ran several fast laps thanks to which he got the top positions before pitting. If he hadn’t pitted one more time, he could have bothered Hulkenberg. Lewis Hamilton showed what he’s made of by overtaking Kimi and Button in the last laps; he bothered Grosjean (he finished eighth).

 In a couple of weeks the circus will fly to Singapore, which represents the last chance for rivals to challenge a very performing Vettel, who is supported by a team which doesn’t give anything to rivals.

Belgian GP – THE POINT

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The Belgian GP was very strained. Three world champions scored a podium finish and Fernando Alonso delivered excellent performances. That is the Alonso everyone is willing to see, the one who speaks with actions and gets results instead of speaking with a microphone. He has to demonstrate all his talent through results, even if his main rival, Red Bull, is an unbeatable team. The Spaniard was excellent in the first laps, as he was able to exploit all his car’s potential and got a good result, which was unexpected until Saturday night. He managed to make it up for the mistakes made by him and the technicians during qualifying.

Even if the slue round hadn’t happened on Saturday, his final result would not have changed, but that episode made us have more fun. His second place was a very good result, since he is now ahead of Hamilton. Unfortunately the gap with Vettel is still so far to be reduced, but 8 GP are yet to be raced, so anything can happen. Vettel outdistanced the Spaniard by 17 sec., while Massa was outdistanced by the German by 50 sec. That is a clear proof of how a driver can really make a difference on technical tracks like Spa. He really pushed hard to get a podium finish between the German and Hamilton. This result has to bring back a little peace of mind to the Maranello’s team. I’d like to see Fernando to be less gloomy, especially after achieving such a great result. He doesn’t have to fuel anxiety.

Mercedes set off on a bare foot, but managed to get the pole thanks to Hamilton who was expected to deliver better performances on Sunday. Anyway, the English team is still a title contender and it’s second in the constructors’ championship. It will be an exciting run-up to Vettel and Red Bull till the end, what’s important is not to waste points as much as possible. It will be a hard fight against aliens such as Vettel and Red Bull.

For what concerning Lotus, Grosjean was overtaken by Massa in the last laps. Unfortunately Raikkonen had a front brake issue because of which he was forced to abandon the race after achieving 27 good results. He could have scored important points for the Championship. The room left vacant by the Finn was achieved by a very performing Ricciardo who got the better of Perez, scoring one point for Toro Rosso.

Thanks to Button’s 6th place, McLaren got the better of Force India in the constructors’ championship (the Indian team is now 9th with Sutil), jumping up to 5th. The McLaren’s Englishman hasn’t signed any contract for the next season yet; he had previously stated that he was thinking about taking a sabbatical year. Ferrari will hold the balance of power of the drivers’ market. As soon as the Italian team puts the driver “matter” right, we’ll have some news about the drivers’ market. Next season McLaren will experience a phase of transition before switching to the new Honda engine. The two world champions Raikkonen and Button will have the possibility to continue to race alongside two competitive teams such as Lotus and McLaren, however they will wait for Ferrari’s decision, too.

Next GP will be raced at Monza; the good results achieved by Ferrari in the Belgian GP could be an incentive for Ferrari’s fans to go to the circuit and support the Italian team. Ferrari’s goal at Monza is to score a win, given the fact the Italian track doesn’t suit Red Bull very much.

Hungarian GP – THE POINT

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During the Hungarian GP the Mercedes delivered excellent performances and was able to reverse the situation, after taking a very disappointing start of the season. Apart from being so fast in qualifying, they demonstrated to be very performing also in the long run. They could bother Red Bull and Ferrari, but they’re becoming the new pretenders to the success. The next 9 GP will be so taut.

Ferrari ran a very disappointing race. The Italian team also drove a very disappointing qualifying race. If they don’t find a way to recover, they’ll have a very hard end of season. We have several main actors at the moment, so this makes the recovery even more difficult and the result even more uncertain. The forces deployed have changed again, Red Bull still leads the Championship, but now the Austrian team is followed by Mercedes and Lotus. Ferrari is the Championship’s fourth force and Fernando made a mistake when he decided not to take part in the Silverstone tests. The Spaniard will have to talk less. You can’t get results by talking. Lotus is getting ready to bother the Ferrari; the team’ drivers usually bring home important points. If he wasn’t penalized, Grosjean would have fought with Webber. Car upgrades don’t let the team to get the expected good results, so the “Red” is not able to recover at the moment. The situation can be reversed for sure, but they have to work hard and roll their sleeves.

Finally Williams was able to score its first point, as Maldonado finished tenth. It will be more and more difficult to enter the top 10, as top teams won’t give away points. The room left free by Rosberg was occupied by the Venezuelan driver. Force India reduced its advantage over McLaren. At this point of the season, second-tier teams will have to be good at calculating their resources, also with a view to 2014 racing season.

Now we’ll go on holiday, let’s see what will happen at Spa.

German GP- THE POINT

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Once again the GP was spectacular, even though it was affected by tyre behaviour. Some teams disappear too quickly and reappear in the following GP. Sometimes their performance changes as the temperature of the asphalt changes within the same race week end. Now, I wonder why  teams have to spend so much money in car development and wind tunnel testing if it only takes the slightest mistake to ruin their work.

That being said, I don’t want to devalue Red Bull’s great performance in any way. The team recovered from the technical failure it was victim of during the British GP. They have the best car which id driven by a racer who can manage it in an excellent way. Webber was very good, as well. The Australian was finely able to manage the pit-stop issue and entered the top 10, scoring important points for his team.

Unfortunately at the Nurburgring the Ferrari, which tried to reverse an unlucky situation into a good result, was not so performing. The Italian team finished fourth with Alonso at the Nurburgring, which is a very good result if we consider the bad start of the race weekend. Doing that, the team gives way to rivals. If they go on like this it will be difficult to preserve the third position in the constructors’ championship, as the Lotus will be very performing also in Hungary. If Kimi gets one more good result, he will probably reach Alonso’s points. It will be important to understand what’s happening to Massa. To be honest, what happened to him on Sunday is very strange. If he had come lengthwise, the car would have headed for the right side, but the tyres of the Brazilian’s car jammed and it headed for the left side. I don’t feel like blaming him for the matter, but unfortunately the Scuderia lost points with a view to the constructors’ championship. Unlike his main rivals, Alonso is not covered in an efficient way.

The Championship is still so long; however we can say that the Red Bull is the favorite team at the moment. Let’s hope that the three-week-break before the Hungarian GP and the sabbatical month of August will bring some changes to the Ferrari. I think that Sunday’s arrival order reflects the teams’ current technical value, with the five top-tier teams in the first nine positions. Just Massa is still missing, in his place Hulkenberg drove an excellent race and scored one point. The McLaren was able to take advantage of hot weather, getting the better over Toro Rosso and Force India which finished in the top 10 on Saturday. Talking about Webber’s accident in the pit, I had already pointed out the dangerousness of the tyre change process. Until now tyres came off while the car was on track, but this time it happened in the pit lane, where the room is so tight and luckily it didn’t happen the worst. Unfortunately a cameraman was injured so, starting from next GP, they can only stay on the wall. Although it’s not easy to try to find a solution, I think that the “fence is always closed when horses have already bolted”……Before the Hungarian GP, I would like to talk about the Mercedes’ request to take part in the tests at Silverstone. Beyond all the exceptions given to the German team, I think it’s fair that they take part in that test, as tests at Silverstone were conceived for a matter of safety. The commissioners will have to make sure that everything runs in the right way. However I think that it’s extremely fair to leave the Mercedes off the rookie tests.