Minardi “F1 is going back to ‘90s”

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In less than one week, spotlight will be on the F1 World Championship again, as the new cars which will be the protagonists of the forthcoming racing season, will be soon introduced to the audience. Even the top series has been affected by the economic crisis the whole world is undergoing now, as shown by the fact many seats are still up for grabs. The crisis is also shown by the quit of the HRT Team and the many difficulties expressed by other teams.
“We’re going back to ‘90s, when the grid was composed by 18 Squads (mostly private), who had to integrate their budget by choosing rich drivers. Starting by saying that if a driver gets the Superlicenza, then he deserves to race in F1, the impossibility to get enough money through sponsorships, forces a team to choose those drivers who can either rely on the support of multinational companies or on the support of countries which use sport to promote their own products and tourism; their choice is not based on sports meritocracy. Teams’ financial situation won’t be better, as the reintroduction of the turbo engine in 2014 will further increase costs.”
In the last few years, many attempts were made to reduce costs: restrictions and cancellations of private testing and reduction of on-track staff “Strengths have been shifted from one side to the other. Private testing restriction has forced teams to concentrate their resources on new sectors, such as virtual simulation. Moreover, top teams can rely on an in-house team who supports technicians in managing the race. To reduce costs, it should be necessary to have less sophisticated cars, reduce the employment of electronics and aerodynamics and set rules which will help the development of material and technology to be applied on the series production. Anyway, I can hardly understand how costs can be kept under control”, says the manager Gian Carlo Minardi.
Car racing has always been one of the most expensive sports ever. Since a long time ago, all the drivers who made it into F1, could rely on the support of their family and important companies. It’s hard to see a driver pushing forward with his own resources. The revolution FIA is carrying on now is aiming at reducing the number of categories in order to make the talent identification process easier. In the past, we had only few categories: F1, F2 and F3. In F2 there were 4 or 5 constructors and more engine suppliers. That was the right way to emphasize talent. We must have the courage to make some steps backwards, even if it’s not easy. The CSAI has made a hard decision: suspend the Italian Formula 3 Championship with the aim of collaborating with Berger and the FIA to achieve a change.”
Few months before the beginning of National Championships, many teams haven’t completed their staff yet and many contracts still have to be signed “By now, GP2, GP3 and WSR teams have many vacancies. The fact that successful teams haven’t completed their staff yet, sounds like an alarm bell. Furthermore, there is another particular circumstance that should be taken under control: many parents are either buying or becoming part of racing teams to assist their sons’ professional development. No doubt this means certainty to some teams, but, if results didn’t come, they could give up. That is what happened when car companies got into F1. As soon as the crisis started to affect the world of car racing, car companies left the scene, causing problems for the entire system.”

BHAI TECH EXPERIENCE DAY

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By the joint effort of “bhai tech”, the new advanced vehicle centre located in Mestrino (Padua-Italy), which has been established to develop the professional growth of drivers and technologically contribute to the set up of racing cars, and the Minardi Management of Mr. Giovanni Minardi, a new event has come about: the “bhai tech experience day. It’s a 3-days event dedicated to a selected group of drivers who have been invited to attend it considering their experience in running different Championships such as GP2, GP3, WSR 3.5, Formula 3, F. Renault Eurocup and Formula ACI CSAI Abarth.
From February 18 to 20 at “bhai tech”, the young drivers will test the cutting edge full motion driving simulator and will experience mental and personal training, thanks to a gym equipped with advanced equipments and to the presence of sport specialists.

Rigon winks at the WSR 3.5 and thinks about the GT2

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The past season was full of important events for Davide Rigon, who was engaged in his first GT racing season behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 in the Blancpain Endurance Series and at Ferrari, where he was and still is at the “Scuderia” disposal for sport and commercial activities “It was a fantastic year, full of engagements. I spent so many days working on the simulator to help the team developing the car, going on with my apprenticeship behind the wheel of a F1 car. It’s exciting to see how important details are. Nothing is left to chance. During each simulator session you have to be constant and give specific clues to engineers, in order to make them follow the right guidance”, says Davide.
The most exciting event was the Rookie Test on the Magny-Cours track, driving a Ferrari F2012, during which the talented driver from Vicenza didn’t spare his energy by running more than 700 km and 165 laps “I really fulfilled my dreams. After working on the simulator and making several aerodynamic tests, it’s really exciting to have the opportunity to take part in an official test with the team from Maranello. It was so good to work with an official team and collaborate with it like official drivers do. This testing session represented another step towards the top series.”
The experience with the Kessel Team in the Blancpain Endurance Series was so positive, even if unfortunately, some unlucky events affected the final result “I contested the first two races as an apprentice, as I had never tested the car before. However, I got along so well with the Kessel Team and my team mates. We were the fastest out of 60 drivers, but unfortunately, having only 6 races to contest, it was so difficult to make up for lost ground, even because of some unlucky events.”
Now it’s time to think about the new season in which Davide, after contesting a race at Paul Ricard with the BVM-Target Team, winks at the World Series by Renault 3.5, and he’s also interested in the GT2 “It’s early now, but I would like to race with a competitive team, starting to work with it since winter testing. I’m still so young but experienced and the format of the WSR Championship is the most similar to the F1 Championship.
On the contrary, in the GP2- 30-minutes sessions, most of the times, on-track results doesn’t reflect a driver real skills. We’re talking about the two most important Championships, after the F1. I just want to keep my feet on the ground, so I would like to continue my experience in the GT. I’ve had the chance to test the Ferrari GT2 and I was positively surprised by that. Running races like Le Mans wouldn’t be less important. I will continue to work with the “Scuderia”, trying to make the most of the work done over the last years. I know the working methods and I’m faster to give clues and recognize details. So I hope to take part in other tests, as my main goal is F1. I’m so glad and honoured to be part of this amazing family, even because it’s the most important and valued team all over the world.”

Rigon at Silverstone to emulate Monza’s successful racing weekend

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More than one month after Monza successful racing weekend, Davide Rigon gets ready to drive the Ferrari 458 of Kessel Team, again.

The Blancpain Endurance Series’ second round will be competed on the charming historical track of Silverstone, where F.1 World Championship competitions take place since 1950s. On the 5891 m long track, the talented driver, along with his teammates Zampieri and Ramos, will try to keep the lead of the Championship, displaying the same stunning performances he had previously displayed at Monza circuit.

The circuit landmarks are the three famous corners named Maggots, Becketts and Chapel which lead to the long straight called Hangar Straight “Those are the circuit’s three most important corners to set a good lap time, especially if you drive a GT car which has a low downforce. It is so important to keep a good race pace since the first corner”, says Davide Rigon “I cannot wait for driving the Ferrari 458 again. Almost one month has passed since my last successful race at Monza. We’re charged-up to race at Silverstone as we’re aware we can drive a successful race, even if it won’t be easy. We’ll have to pay attention to McLaren and Audi. I’m also very satisfied with Pirelli tyres as they fit our car almost perfectly.” When we talk about Silverstone, we know that weather is always a wild card “Silverstone has always been a rainy track, so rain will be one more variable.”

“At Monza they demonstrated to be powerful, as they were the fastest drivers on track and kept an unbeatable pace from the beginning to the end. So I feel confident also for the race in Silverstone. They’re leading the Championship. I just want to wish good luck to Davide and the team”, says the manager Giovanni Minardi.

The racing weekend will start on Saturday at 11am with the only 90 min. free practice session, followed by pre-qualifying to start at 16.35. The qualifying session will start on Sunday at 9 am and will be followed by a three-hour-race session to start at 14.50.

The Silverstone race will be streaming live on the Championship’s official website, Bloomberg Television and Eurosport. It could be watched all over Europe.