F1 | Gian Carlo MINARDI “A year of transition but the market for the second drovers will be interesting”

With the long term renewals of Leclerc (until 2024) and Verstappen (until 2023) Ferrari and Red Bull have started programming their future, with Mercedes and Hamilton ready to continue their fruitful collaboration.

With the season now at the door, the longest ever with 22 grands prix, it looks like a championship of transition in expectation of the great changes scheduled for 2021 which will give us very different cars in both the aerodynamic and technical fronts with the entry of the 18” tyres that will bring about a new design for the suspensions and not only.

In this way the market for the second drivers with contracts expiring in all the teams will hold court with many young drivers ready to put themselves on show. Already last November, after a difficult season with Williams, George Russell gave a big sign of his potential during tests. We must not forget that Vettel’s’ contract with Ferrari will expire in 2020, just like Ricciardo’s with Renault.

“It will be a very interesting season in which we must pay attention to Red Bull, especially if Honda will be able to put another major evolutionary step into play. It will be a hard hurdle for both Ferrari and Mercedes”, commented Gian Carlo Minardi at Minardi.it ‘s microphone.

“We await a championship of transit awaits us in expectation of the great changes in 2021 which will come in conjunction with the budget cap. I already had the opportunity to express my disagreement on this timing, since, acting in this way the forces in the field will be offset. This year Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will have economic strength to already work with an eye towards 2021 and thus open the new cycle with a huge advantage over the second tier teams,” continued the manager from Faenza.

“The budget cap should have been introduced already this year. I find it just as absurd that the drivers’ wages, which are reaching astronomical figures, are excluded from the cap

“With the renewals of Leclerc and Verstappen, Hamilton too will continue his relationship with Mercedes with the aim of equalling Schumacher’s records but I am convinced that he dreams of wearing Ferrari red, just like in Maranello they dream of having him in the team,” concluded Minardi.