F1 | GP ABU DHABI, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “MCLAREN’S TITLE IS THE ANTECHAMBER TO THE FIGHT IN BOTH CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2025. CONGRATULATIONS TO ANDREA STELLA”

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One of the most beautiful championships goes into the archives, especially the second half where several teams took home a win.  McLaren came back to win the world championship, a success in the constructors’ championship that had been missing since ’98.

A result the reflected the forces in the field. Certainly, they will have to revise some internal aspects to try to avoid repeating some mistakes, but they can start from a base that is already solid. Unlike Ferrari, Mercedes and, probably Red Bull, the reigning champion will be able to rely on the stability of the design and on the best pair of drivers, in my opinion, launched into the future. Andrea Stella has done an exceptional job in these years, bringing back to the top a team that had fallen to the rear. He is a fantastic young man that I had the luck to meet, and he deserves this victory that, historically, is the antechamber to fighting for both titles next season. This is precisely why I expect McLaren with an advantage for 2025.

It was also a positive second part of the season for Ferrari that closed this very long championship with second and third place, and they can celebrate second place in the constructors’ title, finishing only 14 points behind. Unfortunately, in one part of the season, they had lost sight of the main objective, making some mistakes that turned out to be decisive. Next year they are in for a major challenge with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc.

Behind Ferrari were the two Mercedes with Hamilton and Russell, ahead of the world champion Max Verstappen, once again the protagonist of a solid race. On the contact with Piastri, in my opinion the 10” second penalty was excessive. He was on the curb, and that was a far as he could go.  This could have been dismissed as a race accident with 50/50 responsibility or by penalizing McLaren’s Australian driver as well.

A positive race also by Gasly, an excellent seventh place with Alpine finishing in sixth place, behind the Aston Martin, and ahead of Haas, which is also growing and it too files away the season with Hulkenberg’s eighth place ahead of the “warrior” Fernando Alonso who continues to fight tooth and nail.

The aspect I appreciated most of this season was precisely the alternation at the top and the ability of the teams and drivers to turn things around from race to race. It really was hard to make predictions. We saw this both at the top with Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, and in mid table. Alpine was able to right the season, achieving a result that was almost unhoped for until a few races from the end, as did Haas.

We are approaching the end of a technical cycle and next year it will be even more interesting, together with the new developments in Mercedes with the arrival of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and the already mentioned Hamilton in Maranello. All that is left is to choose is who will be Verstappen’s teammate in Red Bull…

Gian Carlo Minardi

 

F1 | TOWARDS THE ABU DHABI GP WITH GIAN CARLO MINARDI “ABU DHABI HAS ACCUSTOMED US TO UPSETS. WATCH OUT FOR THE GRAINING”

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imola Minardy day GIANCARLO MINARDI

We have come to the final act of this very long season made up of twenty-four rounds that was able to keeps us in suspense on many occasions. Abu Dhabi has already accustomed us to major upsets and this year, we are again faced with multiple scenarios involving both the battle at the top between McLaren and Ferrari, and in the middle of the table between Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls for sixth place.

We already have a novelty precisely on this point: Alpine will bring in Jack Doohan to make his debut in place of Ocon, “freed” to give him the chance of already driving with Haas in the post-race tests. Currently, the team led by Oliver Oakes is six points ahead of its direct rivals. An unhoped-for result until a few weeks ago.

The other challenge, for the title of vice-champion, is between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc currently separated by eight points in favour of the British driver. Despite being twenty-one-points behind, Ferrari will try everything to bring the world title back to Maranello. A title that has been missing since 2008. To find McLaren’s last win, we must go all the way back to 1998.

On the tyre front, Pirelli has brought the softer trio of compounds, made up of C3 as the Hard, C4 as the Medium, and C5 as the Soft. Given the scarcity of fast bends, the stress on the tyres is medium-low, and the strategy should be to aim at two stops. They will have to watch out for graining.

There is no lack of ingredients to also follow even the last round with great attention, which will then introduce us to 2025 with a day of collective tests. The grand prix will start on Sunday afternoon at 2.00pm, with the drivers committed to racing 58 laps of the 5.281km of the Yas Matina track.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP QATAR, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN THE ONLY CERTAINTY IN THIS CHAOS“

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In this chaos of penalties, the only certainty is called Max Verstappen who took his latest win, demonstrating once again that he is a champion with a great vision of the race: from the mirrors he noticed the irregularity committed by Lando Norris.

Honestly, although probably necessary, I do not share these changes within the Federation a few races left in the world championship. The FIA must take another step forward in the professional management of its structure. In recent weeks we seen several changes, the fruit of palpable internal nervousness. Despite some penalties being dictated by the guidelines (we are still waiting for the decision on Piastri), other decisions have left me perplexed: Verstappen’s penalty in post-qualifying, both due to the motivation and the type of  penalty, or not “calling” the Virtual Safety-Car for the removal of the mirror lost by Albon, subsequently hit by Bottas that led to the punctures of Sainz and Hamilton.

On the race front, both Norris and Piastri were the protagonists of some ingenuities which are part of professional growth, but that they should try to avoid, above all for the sake of the team. In any case, I do not think McLaren will have problems taking the world constructors’ championship back to Woking, having, as of today, a twenty-one-point lead over Ferrari.

Ferrari said goodbye to Quatar with second place, as positive as it was unhoped-for. For once the wheel turned in their favour, especially for Leclerc who took himself within eight points from Norris.

Also, among the surprises were Gasly’s fifth place with Alpine and the first points for Sauber, thanks to Zhou’s eight place.  Gasly made himself the protagonist of a positive weekend, once again demonstrating his qualities in a team that found its stimulus again and the way to emerge by consolidating itself as the sixth force in the world championship.

We are heading towards the last round in Abu Dhabi, already the scene for unforeseen upsets in the past, with the open battle between Ferrari-McLaren,  Norris-Leclerc for second place and Alpine-Haas for sixth place.

F1 |HEADING TO QATAR WITH GIAN CARLO MINARDI “I AM CERTAIN EVERYTHING HAS BEEN RESOLVED IN FERRARI. THEY MUST WORK FOR ONLY ONE GOAL. THE CONSTRUTORS’ TITLE”

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The world championship is drawing to a close, with the drivers’ title awarded to Max Verstappen (his fourth) and an open fight in the constructors’ title for both first place and sixth. Compared to the previous edition, this year’s round has been postponed more than a month to limit the heat that last year, together with the high humidity, tested the drivers’ resistance.

It will be run at night again this year, but constant temperatures around 25° are expected, definitely different compared to a week ago in Nevada. Major changes have been made to the curbs that created quite a few problems for the tyres in the 2023 edition, with the Federation imposing pit-stops every 18 laps.

Pirelli has worked hard on this aspect as well, bringing the hardest compounds, from C1 to C3. Qatar will host the sixth and last Sprint-Race. Therefore, the teams and drivers will have only one session of free practice to think about the cars. The challenge for the constructors’ title has fired up, with Ferrari and Red Bull chasing after McLaren, along with the challenge for sixth place between Haas-Alpine-Red Bull.

We said goodbye to Las Vegas with the Mercedes one-two, the title won by Verstappen and the third and fourth place for Ferrari with not a few sparks between Leclerc and Sainz. I am certain that everything will already have been resolved, also because it was the result of the tension of the race. The common is shared, which is to bring the constructors’ title back to Maranello. By the way, for the team this situation is nothing but an appetiser for 2025 when it will have to manage two drivers of the calibre of Leclerc and Hamilton, in my opinion, much more incandescent than the current pair, especially if they will be able to take a competitive car onto the track.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 GP LAS VEGAS, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “LECLERC-SAINZ: DIRTY LAUNDRY IS WASHED AT HOME. AN EXCITING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RIGHTLY IN VERSTAPPEN’S HANDS”

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We are witnessing one of the best, if not the best, season in Formula 1 history. Las Vegas gave us an exciting grand prix made up of a lot of correct overtaking that did not require the intervention of the safety-car or the virtual one.

Once again, the predictions were overturned with a Mercedes that was one of the great protagonists right from free practice. It knew how to make the most of its advantage in these particular conditions, taking the one-two.  Just a few months ago I had pointed out Mercedes as one of the possible arbiters of the constructors’ championship, which is occurring in the McLaren-Ferrari challenge.

This is a championship in which the slightest slip is enough to find oneself in the rear, especially in qualifying in which there are six drivers within a handful of tenths of a second. We saw this with Hamilton. He started from tenth place and climbed up to second place.

With third and fourth place Ferrari reduced the gap from the leadership to 24 points, even if what happened between Leclerc and Sainz must give them food for thought. It could be a foretaste of 2025 with the arrival of Hamilton in the red car. I do not want to blame one or the other. They are both right, even based on the agreements made at the start of the race. Sainz managed the tyres better, but what I did not like were the comments Leclerc made on world vision. He is a champion and dirty laundry is washed at home. The team has to learn how to manage its drivers in that it will have a hard season under this aspect. It will be much harder to manage Leclerc-Hamilton compared to the current pair.

Las Vegas gave us the first verdict. Max Verstappen took out his fourth world title. An absolutely deserved result, the result of great professionalism, preparation and seriousness. Despite the difficulties with his car he did not relent, fighting and taking home fifth place ahead of his direct rival who consoled himself with the fastest lap. Once again, Verstappen made the difference within the team, even if, this time, at least Perez contributed with a point.

The duel in the rear is also very nice. Haas goes one point ahead of Alpine (forced to retire with Gasly), but the Racing Bulls also reduced the gap with the usual Tsunoda, with an excellent ninth place.

We are approaching the last two rounds with trepidation. Qatar and Abu Dhabi within just two weeks.  In between the two Grands Prix, the sixth, and last, Sprint scheduled for Saturday.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP LAS VEGAS, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “COLD WEATHER IS ANOTHER UNKNOWN FACTOR FOR THE TYRES”

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We have come to the twenty second Grand Prix of the season, less than three rounds from the conclusion. The challenge for the constructors’ title is back on with three teams, McLaren-Ferrari-Red Bull, in contention. Currently Ferrari is 36 points behind the team from Woking, while Red Bull is 49 points behind. Considering the points still up for grabs, I would say anything is still possible. So far Red Bull has lacked the support of Peres, who is increasingly in difficulty. Ferrari will bring some important innovations just for this end of the season.

The situation of the drivers’ title is different. Despite a McLaren in great form, in any case, two weeks ago in Brazil it could do nothing against Max Verstappen. For me, a comeback by Norris is improbable.

They come to Las Vegas; a track characterized by three straights. 17 bends and abrupt braking with fairly cold asphalt that creates a reduction in grip and an acceleration in wear. In fact, we are in a area with a considerable difference in temperature between day and night. They will race at night, starting at 5.00pm in Italy. Pirelli has brought the softest compounds for the GP, C3-C4-C5, and the strategy should be geared towards two stops, even if lately we have been proved wrong. Watch out also for the possible entry of the safety-car and/or the VSC.

After Spa-Francorchamps, this is one of the longest circuits of the world championship with its 6.12km to be run 50 times, and, in addition to the challenge at the top, also keep an eye on the three fighting for sixth place between Alpine, Haas, and Racing Bull. After the exploit in Interlagos, Alpine leads the group by three points from the American team.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BRAZIL, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN OUT OF THIS WORLD. RACING BULLS DEPRIVED OF AN IMPORTANT RESULT BY A RED FLAG WAS SHOWN TOO QUICKLY”

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As long as the Brazil Grand Prix continues to be scheduled in this part of the year, we will have races strongly affected by the rain and the weather.

We witnessed a Sprint Race won by Norris, ahead of Piastri with Max Verstappen the protagonist of some mistakes that took him to a penalty, something that he did not do during the grand prix managing to outclass the direct rivals. From the 46th lap he made himself the protagonist consistently setting fast laps, outpacing his adversaries by more than five tenths of a second. The second fastest lap of the race is found a more than second slower (Verstappen: 1:20.472  – Norris: 1:21.517).

He gave an important signal, making it clear that his three titles were not won by chance, and that the fourth is coming. Let us not forget he started from sixteenth place on the grid. It will certainly not be easy for Norris to make up the 62-point gap, not only because there are only three rounds, but above all because he is up against a great driver who, once again, cancelled his teammate: absolutely irrelevant for the whole weekend, the protagonist of various mistakes and also ridiculed by Lawson.

After the last two grands prix won, Ferrari partially disappointed with Leclerc only fifth. Who disappointed in particular was Carlos Sainz, who made mistakes in both qualifying and the race.

It was a decidedly favourable weekend for Alpine that, thanks to the double podium, took sixth place on the constructors’ ladder. An unhoped-for result only a week ago, which certainly came thanks to the weather conditions that mitigated the problems of the power-unit, but also to excellent work by the team and its two drivers. In these difficult conditions they were competitive.

Instead, it was decidedly underwhelming grand prix for McLaren that ended the long Sunday with only sixth and seventh places, and a number of mistakes by the poleman Norris.

It was a weekend decidedly conditioned by the bad weather that put a strain on the drivers – who made various mistakes – but also the race management that was first forced to delay qualifying until Sunday morning, and then to abort the start following Stroll’s  mistake in the formation lap, until the red flag was shown due to the difficult track conditions  and Colapinto’s  going off the track.

Precisely Williams was the “victim” of a number of incidents which had a major impact on costs. I believe that Colapinto could come into the financial operation aimed at balancing the finances considering that the team from Grove already has two drivers under contract for 2025 (Albon and Sainz) and that Red Bull is racing with only one driver…

So far, the race marshals have not commented on the investigation begun due to the departure of some drivers, despite the display of the flashing lights for an aborted start. In fact, at different times, all the drivers left the starting grid (with the sole exception of Sainz who started from pit-lane). I am of the opinion that any penalties should be assigned quickly, but, in any case, the track has already given its verdict.

In addition to the bad weather, the race was also strongly conditioned by the red flag, which was shown too quickly because they then restarted with the same conditions and tyres (intermediates). Among other things, it was shown in a time that strongly affected in a negative way the Racing Bulls that had guessed the strategy and the best moment for passing onto the full-wets. I find that the team was deprived of a very important result. It could have found itself in Alpine’s place.

It was certainly not easy for the race marshals and the Federation to manage this type of race, but I believe it would take a uniform work group throughout the season, especially for minimizing possible non-uniformity of views.

We leave this demanding weekend behind and prepare to experience the final three rounds in which rain should not be a problem.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP BRAZIL, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “COMEBACKS ARE MORE COMPLICATED WITH THIS GREAT COMPETITIVENESS”

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For the twenty first round, the third in a row, Formula 1 arrives in Brazil, in Sao Paolo, on a track that is as historic as it is fast, and which has its own peculiarity, it is run anticlockwise.

We are 700m above sea level, in an area characterized by sudden weather changes. The track has been completely resurfaced, certainly an extra variation considering the drivers will have only one session of free practice. In fact, Brazil hosts the fifth of the six Sprint races. On the compounds front, Pirelli continues the trend of soft sets, with C3-C4-C5. A configuration that, lately, has brought good results to Ferrari, author of the last two wins.

Like the win in Mexico, I expect a good fight on the edge of tenths of a second. Approaching the end of the  season, possible penalties for changes of the Power-Units and/or components also come in to play. Precisely on Verstappen’s Red Bull there is talk of possible changes with the consequence of penalties to be paid on the starting grid.

It is certainly a track that favours overtaking and eventual comebacks, even if you must take into account greater competitiveness and an upwards compaction of performances which make an eventual comeback harder. Today we have four teams that can aspire for the podium, if not for the win.

Behind McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin, there is a fiery battle between Haas and Racing Bulls for sixth place, currently in the hands of the American team that boasts a 10-point lead on the Faenza based team that is recovering slightly. Williams and Alpine, separated by only three points, are fighting for eighth place.

Good GP to everyone

Gian Carlo Minardi

 

F1 | GP MEXICO, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FERRARI IS TO BE APPLAUDED. THE DIRECT CHALLENGE WITH MCLAREN STARTS AGAIN. VERSTAPPEN: HEAVY PENALTIES BUT CORRECT “

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Once again, these young men knew how to entertain us, giving us a good grand prix, and on the whole it was a very interesting weekend. Carlos Sainz made the most of his performances in the best way possible, just like Ferrari took home a second straight win. Together with important points with Leclerc’s third place, to which is added the additional point for the fastest lap.

As we had been expecting for some time, the challenge between McLaren and Ferrari has started again. McLaren, that keeps the lead in the constructors’ world championship, finished the weekend with an important second place with Norris, but a Ferrari not only removed Red Bull from second place, but it got closer to its direct rivals from Woking. Now the gap is 29 points.

This is certainly an important sign in view of the near future that was hard to foresee until a few months ago, and it is synonymous with peace of mind, and a rediscovered tranquillity within the team.

In Red Bull they were probably aware of this possible scenario, finding itself having to race with only one driver, especially after having made the decision to trust Perez. It is an incredible involution by the Mexican.

Staying in Red Bull, Verstappen paid, all at once, for all the bonuses accumulated up now. Besides everything, they are severe, but correct, penalties, probably the fruit of the meeting on Saturday between the drivers and the marshals. They are two penalties that Verstappen paid heavily, managing anyway to climb back to sixth place.

The challenge within Mercedes between the seven times world champion and the possible next world champion was exciting. It was a very correct challenge, with Hamilton taking advantage of indecision by Russell. He showed his experience and all his worth.

Between all the teams that are growing in this end of the season we surely find Haas, once again in the points with its drivers, so consolidating sixth place at the expense the Racing Bulls that was deprived right from the start of its driver, who was blameless. These are episodes that are part of the races.

Next week we go back onto the track once again, in Sao Paolo, Brazil for the fourth last race round.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP MEXICO, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERY INTERESTI NG DISTRIBUTION OF PERFORMANCES. UNCERTAIN RESULT”

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From Texas to Mexico. We are witnessing a truly exciting end to the championship, as it should be  as we approach the end of an intense cycle. We have an upward compaction, especially amongst  the four top teams with a highly interesting distribution of performances.

Luckily, for some months it has become very hard to guess the poleman, let alone the possible  winner of the race. The gaps are  narrowing, a sign of high competitiveness.

I surely do not feel like taking for granted the win by Max Verstappen who remains one of the  points of reference. Right now, he is racing with great cunning and j ust as much skill, as he  showed only a week ago in Austin.

Norris has an excellent car, the McLaren, but he does not always manage to  make the most of  this potential, as the 57-point gap to the Dutchman demonstrates.

Leclerc, who just won in COTA, took  himself to 22 points from the McLaren driver, reopening the  challenge for second place.  It is an open battle also on the constructors’ front, with Ferrari only  eight points behind  Red Bull.

Keep an eye on the challenge for sixth place between Haas and Racing Bulls, currently in the hands of the American team, with a lead of two points. Just a week ago, the Faenza based team  showed signs of recovery, thanks in part to the addition of Lian Lawson.

The world championship arrives in Hermanos Rodriguez, a track  located 2,000 metres above sea  level with the drivers having 30 minutes more for free practice 2, validating the softer compounds  of the 2025 range (C4, C5, and C6). For the weekend Pirelli has confirmed the switch to a softer selection, with C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium, and C5 as Soft, to broaden  race strategies. Despite high downforce, very high speeds are reached, due to both the straights and the rarified air dictated by the altitude. On the strategy front, it is a track with only one stop, but they must watch out for possible safety-cars. The track is little used during the year; therefore, the asphalt will have more rubber from session to session leading to improved performances…

It promises to be a weekend to follow with great interest starting from free practice 1, which will on the track Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the when of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP USA, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “FERRARI PERFECT. LAWSON AND COLAPINTO TO BE APPLAUDED. CORRECT TAKING AWAY THE POINT FROM THE GPV”

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The three races in America started with an extraordinary double by Ferrari. Charles Leclerc was the protagonist of a perfect start. That type of attack by Verstappen on Norris was probably expected.

The driver from Monte Carlo was just as skilled at the start after the safety-cay caused by Lewis Hamilton (protagonist of a mistake not worthy of a seven times world champion), maintaining a high pace for all the grand prix. Just as infallible was the strategy regarding Carlos Sainz that allowed the double taking them to only eight points from second place on the constructors’ ladder with five races still to be run.

This was a prestigious result for Ferrari and a good omen that confirms the important step forward, especially in the long run configuration. They must still improve something in qualifying, but we are talking about tenths of a second. Leclerc and Sainz can only recriminate for having blocked each other excessively during the sprint. Otherwise, they would have made it harder for Verstappen to return to success.

Third place for Red Bull with Verstappen, who found his smile once again, the fruit of a tussle with the poleman Norris and the subsequent penalty. Unfortunately, we do not know the guidelines dictated during the briefing between the race director and the drivers. It certainly seems to me that there was more permissiveness during the first lap compared to the rest of the race, because the two episodes – always with Norris and Verstappen as protagonists – are very similar.

George Russell and Lian Lawson also stood out. Both, starting from pitlane, were the protagonists of important comebacks with both finishing in the points zone. Sixth place for the Mercedes driver, with the mistake in qualifying that probably wiped out a result that could have been more important, and eighth place for the Racing Bulls flagbearer in his first race of the season. An important result for the direct challenge with Haas in view of sixth place, currently to the hands of the American team with a two-point lead, the result of both Hulkenberg’s eighth place and, above all, the better result in the Sprint.

Just as important, tenth place by Colapinto who put an unjudgeable Albon in serious difficulty. In just a few races the young man has shown that he deserves to stay in the world championship. We hope that correct choices are made in his regard. Until a few laps from the finish, he had also set the fastest lap of the race, taken away only in the final lap by Ocon with an action that has little to do with sport or technique.

Precisely for this reason I am absolutely in favour of eliminating this regulation. It would be fair to reward if it is done during the race. Used in this way it has so sense.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SINGAPORE, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “THE FINAL RESULT OF THE WEEKEND IS THE SUM OF QUALIFYING AND THE RACE”

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Compliments must be made to these young men.  In such a complicated race, dictated above all by a high level of humidity, once again the safety-car stayed in the pits. Only Norris “gave” us a few seconds of suspense by touching the battier despite an important lead over Max Verstappen.

As could have been expected, it was a very tactical race by Lando Norris in an excellent McLaren that left the world champion almost twenty-one seconds behind. It was certainly an important gap. A positive second place however for Verstappen who kept the leadership with a 52-point advantage.

The final result of the weekend is the sum of the results between qualifying and the race, Ferrari paid a high price for a disastrous Saturday. Fifth place, a hand full of tenths of a second behind George Russell(fourth) is certainly a positive result, but, considering the pace on the track by Leclerc, supported by a good strategy (change of tyres after the 37th lap, Ferrari certainly has something to recriminate, also together with the physical difficulties in the end felt by the winner. We could probably have seen a Baku-2 with the two drivers very close. But this is racing.

The other factor to emerge from the final placings was the only seven drivers on full laps, Carlos Sainz, seventh it the first non-lapped driver. A result of the mistake in qualifying, but also a perfect start and a different strategy compared to his teammate’s. The Spaniard was amongst the first to make a pit-stop, switching to the whites after barely fourteen laps of the sixty-two.

Even always being competitive, right now the gap between the four top teams (McLaren-Red Bull-Ferrari-Mercedes) and the rest of the group is strongly becoming evident at the moment. The result is the lapping of drivers that have not been seen for quite some time, see Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin.

Theee was team play between Red Bull and Racing Bulls with Ricciardo recalled to the pits at the end to set the fastest lap and take the extra point away from Lando Norris. Racing Bull however says goodbye to Singapore with zero points, counting the 2 points gained by Haas’ direct rivals (9th Hulkenberg, ahead of Perez) in the fight for sixth place on the constructors’ title.

We have another six grands prix. The appointment is in Austin on October 18-20.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | GP SINGAPORE, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “IS MCLAREN PREPARING TO OPEN A NEW CYCLE? HERE KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER”

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From Azerbaijan to Singapore, the Formula 1 World Championship is stopping at the Marina Bay Circuit street circuit for the eighteenth round. For the first time after 55 grands prix, McLaren lines up at the start as the leader of the World Championship.

Thanks to Oscar Piastri’s win and Lando Norris’ fourth place in Baku, Andrea Stella’s men have overtaken Red Bull.

Despite the modifications carried out last season that reduced the length of the track to 4,940m and the 19 bends (against the previous 23) it is still one of the most twisty and insidious tracks of the season.

The first novelty this year is the introduction is the fourth DRS zone (between bends 14 and 16), which has the aim of facilitating the spectacle and overtaking. At Baku the drivers gave us an exciting race run on the edge of tenths of a second. On this track I also expect a struggle on the edge of tenths, if not hundredths of a second. It will be interesting to see if they manage to continue the positive trend without the entry of the safety-car. A week ago, it did so only at the end, the collision between Pere and Sainz led to the use of the VSC.

On the tyre front, Pirelli has opted for the softer compounds, (from C3 to C5) and it will be interesting to see on how many pitstops the strategy will be based on a track that improves considerably session after session. Watch out also for the weather that represents another unknown factor, due to both the layout of the track and because it is run at night. The risk of rain will be present for all the weekend with a very high probability for the Sunday.

It will be interesting to follow the weekend of Red Bull and Mercedes, at the present time the ones most in difficulty, compared to the McLaren (currently the car to beat), and good competitiveness from Ferrari. Right now, the priority for McLaren is the constructors’ title. Historically, when a team is about to open a new winning cycle, it starts by taking the constructors’ title and only then concentrate solely on the driver’s title. Amongst other things, they must also perfect some things that range from the management of the drivers and strategy, which are not always perfect.

Gian Carlo Minardi