F1 | GP JAPAN, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN CONTINUES TO IMPRESS. ANTONELLI DROVE LIKE A TOP DRIVER.

The Japanese Grand Prix was a very interesting race, perhaps not so much on the overtaking front, but in terms of lap times with the first six finishing within 19 seconds, the top three within little more than 3”.

Verstappen once again made the difference in Red Bull, confirming all his worth, after having given us a preview on Saturday by taking home an extraordinary pole position, ahead of the two McLarens, despite having an inferior car.

Tsunoda, in his first outing with Red Bull, paid for what is the true value of the car. If, during free practice he had managed not to make a bad impression in comparison to his teammate, in qualifying the Dutchman made the difference. Starting so far back it became difficult to catch up. He set good lap times, but he crossed the finish line 58’ behind.

This weekend consecrated the forces in the field in both the constructors’ and the drivers’ fronts. Although Piastri had something more than Norris, I agree with the strategies and the choices made by McLaren which, in any case, with second and third places, consolidated its leadership in the championship. In both qualifying and in the race, the team from Woking “gave” Verstappen a tenth of a second, which cost it the win.

Positive signs came from Mercedes which consolidated second place, thanks to fifth and sixth places with Russell and Antonelli respectively. In particular, Antonelli raced like a top driver on a demanding track like Suzuka which he, just like the other rookies,  did not know, setting not only the fastest lap of the race, which gave him not only the new track record and the youngest driver to set it, but he was the driver who completed the most laps with the “yellows”. After a defensive first part, from the 32^nd to the 53^rd lap he consistently lapped within a few tenths of a second from his best performance, recovering six/seven tenths of a second on his teammate on each lap. A strategy that decidedly paid off in terms of lap times. The support of an engineer like Bono, who worked alongside Hamilton for the last twelve years, is invaluable. Let us not forget that this is only the third round.

Although improving on a year ago, Ferrari finished in fourth place with Leclerc, 16 seconds from the top, which translates into a gap of almost three tenths of a second. This is not a lot, but it may not be easy to make up.

I was positively impressed by Hadjar, who was excellent in both qualifying – just behind Antonelli-, and also in the race with eight place and important points for the team.

However, there is little time because they go back on the track on Friday with the fourth round in Bahrein, a track that everyone knows very well, including the rookies.

Gian Carlo Minardi