F1| GP BAHRAIN, THE POINT BY MINARDI “RED BULL IS A SPACESHIP, ALONSO PHENOMENAL”

The spectacle was not lacking throughout the weekend, starting from free practice 3 with all the drivers within barely a second and a half. In Q3 the first ten were separated by just eight tenths of a second.

We noticed this compaction during the three days of testing and this was confirmed on Saturday, while the race gave us an absolutely incredible and uncatchable Red Bull that relegated the first of the rivals – Alonso in the Aston Martin – to more than 38 seconds that rose to 48 when compared to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

At the moment there is nothing for anybody. Despite already having a practically perfect car, Herman’s men managed to improve the vehicle by almost a second. The growth of the Aston Martin that went onto the podium with a great Fernando Alonso was also incredible.

Despite his 42 years of age – which are only a statistic – Nando made himself a protagonist with two incredible over takings against Russell and above all Hamilton. Despite an attacking race he got out of the car as fresh as Verstappen who managed the race from start to finish. A phenomenon was confirmed, and phenomena always have something more. At the present time his years do not show and he does not feel them. This is certainly a positive note for all of Formula 1. It unites three generations of drivers and creates good suspense. Watching him drive was fantastic.

Stroll’s great feat in racing in impaired physical conditions is also to be highlighted. He carried out an incredible tour de force and thanks to the sixth place Aston Martin is the second force of the constructors’ world championship.

On the Ferrari front, the signs that were expected did not come, quite the contrary. In addition to having gained little compared to last year on its direct rivals, it must face up to a not insignificant reliability problem. Without reliability it becomes hard to concentrate in the development of the car, which also wears out the tyres, but we are only at the first race and they need to stay calm.

As I said before, there has been a good compaction in the group and I am pleased to see Williams already taking a top ten place and the first point of the season for Albon. They are still in difficulty in qualifying but it defended itself in the race. They came from several difficult seasons but this is a point of encouragement and confidence.

Gian Carlo Minardi