Archive for month: December, 2013

Double points, new penalties, pole Trophy…Is this really the right way to make the F.1 Championship more engaging? It looks like some innovations have to be necessarily introduced to make the Championship more and more attractive, but I don’t think the result achieved will be as good as expected. In my opinion, what is necessary to do is to introduce more understandable regulations, rather than making use of those stopgap measures. A marketing strategy should be carried out to attract race enthusiasts, instead of shutting oneself up in one’s own motorhome, which is locked down more than a fortress.

It would be nice that enthusiasts could live the paddock’s atmosphere and see with their own eyes the race week end, have an autograph signed by their idol and a picture taken with him. I’ve got the feeling that many people cannot even recognize drivers, instead (apart from those who got onto the podium).

I think that the rule according to which drivers will be awarded double points at the last race, it’s simply ridiculous. A driver runs the risk to see all his work being ruined by only one race. It’s the same for third-tier teams. Marussia got the tenth place in the constructors’ championship, thanks to a 13^th-place-finish (the team’s best result), one position ahead of the Caterham team. It’s a –one-position-gap which is worth at least 10 million dollars. The Russian-English team fought tooth and nail throughout the season. Next year, it could take only one race week end to ruin all the work done. This could be done more by the luck of rivals, than by their skills…..

In these days FIA has announced it wants to add a new team to the list of the teams which have been taking part in the World Championship for years. Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi have already declined the invitation, as they’ve been already engaged in some covered-wheel-Championships such as Le Mans and other World Championships. The causes of that can be many: car companies consider endurance competitions as a better way to promote their image and devolve technology to standard cars. Another reason is that nowadays it’s so difficult for car companies to partner with a chassis manufacturer who can ensure good results in F.1. At the beginning of the year Porsche was very close to close an agreement with Red Bull, but, due to some reasons, the agreement was never closed. The point is that next year the Le Mans competition will be very interesting, as important car companies the likes of Toyota, Audi and Porsche will take part in that. They’ll show us a breathtaking challenge. The participation of those big companies will make those Championships more and more interesting. Ferrari, through President Montezemolo’s statement, announced to be interested in those Championships. After all, a constructor such as Ferrari, who won the GT2 World Championship, cannot ignore these scenes.

After being replaced by Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez in the Force India Team, Adrian Sutil joins Sauber for the 2014 F.1 World Championship.

The German driver joins the Hinwil-based team after being a Force India’s driver for 6 seasons: “I’m really happy to race alongside Sauber team. Transaction spun out more than expected, but Sauber has always been my first choice. I was a Force India’s driver for 6 seasons, so it was time to take on a new challenge. It’s a team with a long-standing experience in F.1. The factory is really amazing and the wind tunnel is one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the field. I want to say thank you to Peter Sauber and Monisha Kalternborn for giving me this great opportunity”, says the Sauber team’s new driver Adrian Sutil.

“The new season is taking shape and each piece of the puzzle is taking its place. I’m very pleased with the agreement between Sutil and Sauber, as it means that the team is quickly solving all its problems. He’s a good driver, with a 6-year-long-experience in F.1. Peter Sauber will surely take advantage of the driver’s long-standing experience. Now, we’re waiting to see who’s going to be his team mate”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

Now, all we can do is to see who is going to partner the German driver. Sergey Sirotkin is the favorite one to partner the German driver, but he hasn’t got the Superlicence yet.

On the occasion of the “Fernando Alonso Collection”, which was inaugurated on Monday at the Madrid-based Centro de Exposiciones Arte Canal, Gian Carlo Minardi was a Spanish Champion’s guest and had the chance to re-experience the beginning of the Spaniard’s bright career into F.1, which was promoted by the Faenza-born manager and his team in 2001.

It’s an amazing exhibition where all the cars, trophies and memorabilia concerning the Spanish driver’s career, are put on display and visitors have also the opportunity to take an “interactive trip” into Fernando’s story. The exhibition is divided into 6 thematic areas: the first one is called “o km” and it’s the area dedicated to Alonso’s first steps into the world of motorsport; the second area is called “la collecciớn” and it’s the area where all the single-seaters Fernando has driven to take part not only in the F.1 Championship but also in lower Formula Championships, are put on display; the third section is named “Circuito Alo”, here visitors can take an “interactive trip” through Fernando’s motorsport career and private life; another section is called “Start your engines!”. Visitors can have an audio-visual experience relating F.1 and can share the passion the Asturias-born driver has for this sport; “Formula 1 Experiences”, where all secrets about the technological innovations which mark the top series can be discovered; “275.000 km de emociớn”, it’s a video where the Ferrari’s driver goes back over his career. The Exhibition, which was organized by the Fernando Alonso Foundation in cooperation with the Canal de Isabel II Gestiớn, is only the embryo of what will be the Fernando Alonso Museum, to be established in Oviedo.

“It’s a beautiful exhibition and an amazing collection. Fernando parents’ idea to collect all their son’s sport equipment was great. There you can find his first go-karts, racesuits, gloves and trophies. Even the 2001 Minardi car is put on display, along with the racesuit Fernando wore in his debut year into F.1. All that brought pleasant memories to my mind. I want to extend my congratulations to everybody for arranging such an amazing exhibition. It was also a good opportunity to see some friends like Flavio and Stefano, again”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

On the exhibition’s opening day, Fernando wanted not only his family and friends next to him; he also invited all the team principals he dealt with throughout his career into F.1: Gian Carlo Minardi, Flavio Briatore, Martin Withmarsh and Stefano Domenicali.