FOCUS Melbourne

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Here we are. Winter is over, as well as the new F1 cars launch days and the 12-day-pre-seasonal testing. The teams checked the new changes to be brought on track for the upcoming racing season (or for the first races, at least), which is about to start at the Alberta Park in Melbourne.

While teams made all their evaluations and have all parts well checked, supporters and racing enthusiasts still have many unanswered questions: “How much gasoline was there in their tanks? What kind of tyres did they use? Did they push as hard as they could? And obviously……how is the new Ferrari F138?”

These are all good questions which are almost impossible to answer, as we think that teams played seek and hide with each other and tested all their upgrades separately. Sometimes they also raced on unbranded tyres and worked a lot on reliability.

Let’s start by telling some important points:

–          The new Pirelli tyres had a sudden and heavy degradation, so it will be very important to find the right moment for tyres change;

–          Compared with 2012, regulations haven’t changed so much and a technical programme has come to an end. That led teams to make their performance lever higher.

–          Talking about the Scuderia from Maranello, we have to say that the Ferrari team found a good match between the wind tunnel data and on-track data. This didn’t happen in the past racing season.

Let’s go step by step:

PIRELLI: as it already happened in the past season, the Pirelli tyres are the darkest horse of the upcoming racing season. During tests, tyres showed to have a sudden and heavy degradation, so drivers will probably have to pit many times each race. (according to the data collected in Barcelona, 4 or 5 pit-stops would be scheduled). Honestly, I’m wondering if it’s correct that all wind tunnel and on-track tests undertaken by teams in winter, were influenced by tyres degradation or performance.

FERRARI: they’re recovering from the past season shock. In fact, last year, timesheet data and car on-track behaviour were completely different if compared to simulator and wind tunnel test data. No doubt they progressed so much, but only in the first races we will see how much they progressed over rivals.

MERCEDES: they showed having their work optimised on a single qualifying lap and on super-soft tyres. Now, they have to demonstrate if they overcame the on-track and long run issues they had in the past season.

MCLAREN: it’s a balanced car. It is driven by a young driver like Perez and an experienced one like Button, who demonstrated to manage tyres so well in the past. This aspect could make the difference in the first GP and could be a winning surprise.

RED BULL: they’re the reigning champion; it’s impossible to decode feedbacks. This is the most scaring item. Their real potential is not the one displayed in Spain, and it’s also difficult to evaluate how tyres influenced car performance. Both drivers complained about tyres degradation, but this will be a common issue. They showed off self-confidence and set good times on hard tyres.

LOTUS: the new E21 is a top team car, for sure.  Raikkonen’ positive comments on the car mean that the Finnish driver appreciates his car potential so much. He will be one of the outsiders to struggle for the 2013 world title.

Besides the 5 top teams, a good struggle could be also undertaken by Sauber (which has the best car from a technical point of view), Williams, Force India and Toro Rosso to get that 6th place which is like the 1st for secondary teams. The Swiss team has to make a step forward thanks to Nico Hulkenberg’s contribution, even if Gutierrez is a “dark horse”. Finally, we have Marussia and Caterham; the Russian team has a slight advantage over the Anglo-Malaysian team.

After analyzing teams I would like also to analyse the couples of drivers who will give the best contribution to their teams, in terms of scoring.

HAMILTON/ROSBERG: they’re the best couple among the 5 top teams.  This is due to their long experience and the feeling between them. Nico and Lewis raced in the same lower formulas. Rosberg can cause problems for the 2008 world champion. They can be a good duo for the constructors’ championship.

ALONSO/MASSA: Fernando’s performances are like the ones displayed last year, so he will act in the same way even in the forthcoming season. Massa’s performances are getting better and better, as he showed in the final part of 2012 championship and in the pre-seasonal tests; they will aim for scoring important points.

VETTEL/WEBBER: this is the duo to be defeated. Thanks to them, Red Bull won three constructors’ championships. They demonstrated to be the two most prolific drivers of the world championship.

RAIKKONEN/GROSJEAN: they represent the biggest wild card. If the Finnish drivers demonstrated to be able to strive for the world title, Grosjean was able to deliver good but also tragic performances. He had good performances during winter testing, so the Frenchman’s progression can be decisive to score points for the constructors’ championship.

BUTTON/PEREZ: despite the Englishman great experience, even regarding tyres management, as demonstrated by winning three GP in the past season, the McLaren duo’ general performances may not be so good; the Mexican driver’s limited experience may not be enough to confirm their position in the championship.

MALDONADO/BOTTAS: among second-category teams, the Williams drivers will be the ones who will be able to score the most. They’re young and determined and, if Maldonado is able to make some steps forward, the team will probably be the protagonist of some race.

VERGNE/RICCIARDO: they have to confirm their potential. They can both rely on one more year experience. Running for an economically speaking sixth place team, they’ll have to make a double effort to express their potential. The car was built in such a good way and, to enable one of them to get Webber’s position, they’ll have to act like top drivers.

BIANCHI/CHILTON: I think Bianchi made a good choice running for Marussia. Although he doesn’t run for a highly competitive team, he will have the opportunity to progress, thanks to a good competition with his teammate. The first year in F1 is never easy. If he had signed a contract with Force India, he would have been much more under pressure, as he would have asked to get high results, besides the fact of being competitive towards an experienced driver like Di Resta.

Gian Carlo Minardi “The truth will be discovered only in Melbourne”

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With the 4-day-test session at Barcelona, the pre-season practice stage came to an end. Now, all eyes are on Melbourne circuit, where the first F1 GP will be held. This year, all F1 races will be broadcasted by SKY and RAI and they will be live or pre-recorded. We’ll finally see all cars showing their newest changes.

Once again every squad played hide and seek with rivals, to prevent them to take advantage of new amendments on car development and see their real potential.

“Even the third session of winter testing came to an end. It was so hard, almost impossible to understand something during this four-day-session, as teams were so good at hiding car changes. I had the impression that they tested the modified cars separately, so, only in Melbourne we’ll have the opportunity to see the real changes.

I think tyres will be the protagonists of the first races, as they’re so difficult to manage. In ten days, in Australia, we’ll see cars racing on medium and super soft tyres, which caused many problems to teams and drivers during the last session. In Malaysia, drivers will race on hard and soft. So, in the first two racing weekends we’ll get an overall view of the new Pirelli compounds”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

“I think Red Bull played hide and seek again; the Austrian team set an interesting time only once, before being on 1-1.5 sec. behind the team on top. If this is true, teams will have to be seriously concerned. 8 cars crossed the line within 1 second; they can even grow up to 16 in qualifying. In Q3 we’ll see an interesting struggle between Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes (which is so lively on a single qualifying lap); Lotus and Williams could join in the struggle as outsiders. The competition level is higher than one year ago, as shown by times, which are so close to the 2012 pole, or even faster.”

“It seems that Ferrari found a good reliability; I’m so pleased to hear Pat Fry and the Ferrari staff saying that they’ve finally found a good match between the wind tunnel testing (virtual reality) and on- track testing(reality). This is so important, especially for a team which has always considered development as its flagship.”

Gian Carlo Minardi “We’re at an interlocutory phase”

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The four-day-tests on the track of Barcelona ended up the second pre-season tests session. This session was characterized by bad weather conditions which affected the last day of testing during which teams usually put into practice all the work done, as analysed by Gian Carlo Minardi.

“Teams started to make amendments to be ready for the last session of testing and the first GP. It’s very hard to say if teams used cars to their full potential. What is almost clear is that it is quite hard for teams to manage soft tyres. I still remember what Paul Hembery said when new tyres were introduced; he pointed out the will (or need) to make the race even more interesting”, said the manager from Faenza.

“In the second half of the past season, teams equalized their performances on medium/hard tyres. Drivers pitted according to regulations. Comparing times in the first few laps of the long run with times in the last laps, we could notice sudden performance downfalls within a short time. It will be extremely hard but important to set the right time to pit. So, in the first GP it will be interesting to see different strategies. We’re still living an interlocutory phase and the four-day- testing session was interrupted by bad weather conditions. Generally, the last day of testing shows the results of the work done during the previous days, but this time it wasn’t possible.”

The tests at Barcelona confirmed a compression of times, as 7-8 teams crossed the line within one second.” Therefore, it will be so interesting to see what it will be going to happen during the third and last session of testing (from February 28 to March 3), to be held on the track of Barcelona, again. We will see how much teams will show their cars’ performances; I think they will be going to make separate tests in order to avoid opponents to take advantage of each car’ strengths and weaknesses. We’ll have two GP so close to each other (Australia and Malaysia), and then three weeks after the Malaysian GP, there will be the Chinese GP, where we’ll see amendments.”

The Ferrari gets people to discuss again: “We’re at the end of a cycle. It could be the result of a car built thanks to a cutting edge wind tunnel. Most of the mistakes made in the past season were certainly linked to an imperfect wind tunnel”, ends up the ACI CSAI supervisor.

Examination passed with flying colours for Bhai Tech

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A lot of work was done over the past few days at the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Centre, the new cutting-edge vehicle centre located in Mestrino (not far from Padua) and conceived by the businessman Mr. Ferdinando Bada. The Centre hosted a three-day-event dedicated to all the young promises of the international motorsport.

Seven young drivers, racing in the main national and international championships – Formula ACI CSAI Abarth, Formula 3, GP3 and GT – had the opportunity to test the cutting-edge full motion driving simulator and experience mental and physical training. All the work done was made thanks to the presence of a gym equipped with advanced equipments and motorsport specialists, all supported by the staff of the Forlì based Driver Program Centre.

The centre was established to sustain the professional growth of drivers and teams by technologically contributing to tweak racing cars, as Mr. Roberto Costa, the technical manager, told to Autosprint: “A team which wants to cooperate with us conveys everything about tyres, set-up and downforce. All data are put into the system and, after defining a basic set-up, we start simulating.” Bhai Tech main facility is just the 6-DOF driving simulator, which is equipped with 5 outboard headlamps and an 8m210° curved screen with rear-view images. “In many F1 teams usually a hundred people are involved in this field”, says Mr. Costa, “we’re able to offer clients this kind of advanced technology by only involving few people, so to get costs down and make it affordable for teams”.

The GT driver Nicola De Marco, along with Juan Branger and Santiago Urrutia, two other young drivers running in the Formula Abarth, were invited to test Bhai Tech’s driving simulator. The rookie champion Santiago Urrutia, who was at his first experience at the wheel of a simulator, commented as follows “It was an amazing experience. I had the chance to run 20 laps on the Monza track at the wheel of a GP2 car. Everything was new to me, except the track. The simulator is an absolutely realistic and wonderful vehicle. I think it could be a good substitute for on-track tests”, said the future Open F3 driver. Alessandro Cicognani, the 21-year-old driver who ran in the Carrera Cup Championship last season, thinks the same, too “I think the centre is really fantastic, the simulator is so professional and realistic. It can perfectly simulate reality. When I got off the vehicle I felt like I had run on track. Arms and legs are stimulated just like when you’re racing on track, even though you have to be more concentrated. I think it’s an ideal device for the drivers racing in the GP2 and WSR 3.5 Championships, where you don’t have much time to test the track and private tests are so expensive”, ended up the driver from Ravenna.

His thoughts were also echoed by the Open F3 Champion Niccolò Schirò and the Trident GP3 team racer David Fumanelli “I think the simulator could be a good substitute for on-track tests. I drove a GP2 car for the first time and I got along so well with it, even if I had a little bit of headache, so I didn’t manage to race for too long”, said Schirò “I was astonished by the centre, which is so modern and advanced. It’s equipped with all sort of equipment, just like a F1 Team. The simulator is so developed and it’s even better than the ones used by F1 Teams, because it was built using better materials. Given the fact they’re at their first stages, I have to say that the base is so good. I drove a GP2 car, too, but on Barcelona track”, said Fumanelli “I had never driven this kind of car before and I was amazed by braking. I think it could be so useful to get ready for a GP3 or GP2 racing weekend, since you don’t have much time to test the track. For example, you can train to find the right braking point, besides working on the set-up.”
Nicolò Granzotto, who will be the next Antonelli Motorsport Team driver in the Carrera Cup Championship, was enthusiastic about the simulator, too “The centre is amazing and it’s run by a very professional staff. Nothing is left to chance. The driving simulator is astonishing, as it can perfectly simulate reality. Just after a few laps, everything becomes so automatic, as if you were on track. It’s an essential device and I think it should be tried, as it allows you to work both on car balance and braking points. Along with the engineers support, telemetry can also be analyzed. I want to praise the staff of the Driver Program Center who made us do some physical and mental training before and after the simulator session.”

Gian Carlo Minardi “At Jerez, a first taste of the 2013 racing season”

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The 4-day-testing at Jerez finished the first session of the 2013 collective testing. Over the last 4 days we started to know more about the new single- seaters (except the Williams which will be tested at Barcelona), which will be the protagonists of the upcoming F.1 World Championship. As shown, the performance level will be higher.


“The current regulations, which will last till the end of the upcoming season, have been taken to the extreme, At this point it’s so difficult to think up new amendments. The common denominator is represented by very thin sidepods which could cause rear side’s overheating.  All teams got medium-high positions and the Red Bull is a benchmark. The McLaren seems to be a very interesting car, as well as Sauber and Toro Rosso. Good feelings come from the Ferrari, as well. The long runs of the first two days (13-14 laps), during which lap times were less important than other performances, were quite good. I think that the Spanish track was a mean to collect as many data as possible and compare them with the ones obtained by making simulator and wind tunnel tests. This is the way the Spanish tester will help the team. According to his interviews, it seems that the team will have to improve the simulator hardware. Along with Davide Rigon’s contribution, we all hope that they will be able to solve a problem that sounds like a “false note” in the world of F.1. It’s unacceptable not to test cars before running such a long Championship. It is important to reach a compromise in order to give teams the chance to test the turbo engine on track. The turbo engine will be the 2014 racing season official engine; it’s also interesting for the world of production cars. Cars have to be tested directly on track, not only by using a simulator”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

“Long runs have always been Sebastian Vettel’s prerogative and I think Red Bull has mainly worked on car reliability and race performances, rather than on lap time. Beyond Ferrari good results, it’s difficult to set an on-track hierarchy yet.  No doubt 4 cars are a step ahead of the others, but it will be interesting to see also the steps of the latter. After taking a shaky start on the first two days, the Mercedes recovered in terms of reliability and performance by running almost 300 laps between Thursday and Friday.”

At Jerez teams started to test and improve all the changes made by running hundreds of laps, before working on further revisions to be presented at Barcelona, the track where the second session of the pre-season test will take place from February 19th to 22nd and from February 28th to March 3rd “Pre-season test in Barcelona will be so important, as the Spanish track will also host the World Championship opening tests. Thus we’ll have accurate feedbacks from cars and drivers. With the Barcelona test we’ll get closer to the first GP of the season, so team will get ready to play their ace card”, ends up the manager from Faenza.

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.