Rigon to Shanghai for the FIA WEC thinking about the 2014 season

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Davide’s adventure in the FIA WEC Championship goes on. The Italian driver will race alongside the 8Star Team, at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT2. After taking part in the races at Interlagos and Fuji, the talented driver, who is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal, will fly to China this week end to take part in the 6 Hours of Shanghai, which is the world championship’s last but one event.

Davide will put all his talent to the 8Star Motorsport Team’s disposal, to help the Italian squad win the class title, trying to replicate the results achieved in the International GT Open Championship alongside Andrea Montermini and the Villorba Corse racing team. “Competing in a world championship is always so exciting; having the opportunity to drive a Ferrari is even more exciting. Unfortunately the event at Fuji was cancelled because of bad weather, so I hope in China everything will work out for the best. It will be the third event I’m taking part in and I hope to help the team win the title”, says Davide Rigon “Me and the staff get along so well, so this makes everything easier. It won’t be an easy week end, as I’m not familiar with the Chinese racetrack, but I’ll do my best, as usual, to try to reach our goal. It’s an important challenge and all participants are high-level drivers. Competing against them it’s a great opportunity to grow.”

Davide will make his return to China, the country where he won the Superleague Formula Championship in 2008 alongside the Beijing Guoan team: “It’s a pleasure for me to remember the 4 days I spent in Beijing. On that occasion a great party was arranged and Chinese people welcomed us in a warm way. They really made me feel at home, so it’s always a pleasure for me to go there. I hope to see many fans attending the event.”

Bhai Tech ready for the Barcelona final round

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A little more than one month after taking the first and historic double win overall at the very fast and historic circuit of Monza, Bhai Tech Racing is ready to compete in the International GT Open’s  final race to take place at Barcelona this week end.

The Mestrino based Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team, whose director is Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, will contest the Championship’s last round on the 4.655 m-long-Catalan racetrack as the GTS and drivers Championships’ leader, position achieved after taking a win at Nuerburgring, Silverstone, Monza and getting some good placing. Considering the slight point gap which separates all teams, the last round at Montmelò will be a 120 min.-final-challenge, divided into 2 races which are scheduled for Saturday (at 4 p.m.) and one race which is scheduled for Sunday (at midday).

“According to our first results, we would have never expected to race in Spain as the Championship leaders, fighting for the title. We’ve developed so much over the last few months and made use of all our energies. We’ll try to get the last pieces to complete the puzzle”, says Roberto Costa “In the year of our debut in the Championship, it’s great to be fighting for the title in the drivers and teams championship. I like the Montmelò racetrack very much. I drove many successful races there. It’s ten years since I took the first pole position along with Giorgio Pantano in the F.3000 Championship. I hope we’ll manage to keep on pursuing this direction and finish this season successfully”, comments the technical director.

It’s a special event also for the drivers fighting for the title and the top three “Our main goal is to win the teams’ championship, but of course, we’ll do our best to help Giorgio winning the drivers’ championship and help Luiz and Chris finishing in the top three. It will be our first racing experience at Montmelò behind the wheel of this car, so we’ll be well concentrated on the race. We’ve worked hard over these weeks in order to get ready to compete.”

The two 60’-free-practice sessions will take place on Friday. The two qualifying sessions to set the starting grid order will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11.55 a.m. The 70’ first race will start at 4 p.m. on Saturday, while the 50’ final race is scheduled for Sunday at midday.

GP Abu Dhabi – THE POINT

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The supremacy showed by Red Bull in the GP of Abu Dhabi was once again disarming. A 32’’ gap between two teammates is something uncommon and incredible. Despite Mark Webber drove an excellent race, his teammate Sebastian Vettel had a half- a- minute advantage over the Australian. The German driver keeps on doing whatever he wants, he just has to stop for a coffe…..I think it’s the first time in the F.1 history that the time-gap between two chief drivers is so huge. In 2010 Mark Webber would have deserved to win the world title he lost in Abu Dhabi for the German benefit.

To be honest, I’m astonished by this supremacy which should be taken into great consideration also with regards to the 2014 season. If the other teams don’t manage to get a way out of that, they won’t close the gap with the Austrian team.

At the Yas Marina Circuit we saw brilliant strategies. Ferrari’s Alonso managed to get the most of his car’s potential. After a difficult Saturday, the Spaniard finished 5th, closing the gap with Massa, Hamilton and Di Resta. He constantly set the fastest lap throughout the last 8 laps. Massa also drove a very good race, but Mercedes was even more performing. The German team has now an 11-point lead over the Maranello-based team, thanks to Rosberg’s 3rd place and Hamilton’s 7th place. Once again Nico caused problems for his team mate. There are still 2 races on the calendar and many points are still up for grabs, so the fight to get the second place in the constructors’ championship is still open. Thanks to the last result, the Spaniard has almost secured the second place in the drivers’championship. He was helped by Kimi Raikkonen’s abandon. The Finn experienced a nervous week end, but, since he’s a professional, I expect him to complete the season. The team won’t sort out all the outstanding matter towards him, but it will try to find some other way out. So I think it will be difficult for Valsecchi to replace Raikkonen. Force India achieved an important result; the Indian team finished 6th between Ferrari and Mercedes. No doubt they deserve the position they hold in the championship and their drivers are very good at getting the most of tyres. Perez drove a good race; once again the Mexican driver finished ahead of Button. Is Alonso’s overtaking over Vergne under inquiry? I think that it’s very important to have the same driver among race commissioners, so that a unique way of thinking is ensured. This week end Martin Donnelly, a former driver who took part in the F.1 championship in 1989 and 1990, played the role of race commissioner. The world of car racing has changed so much over the last years, so I think a “fresh” driver is needed, a person who can understand the different situations. My philosophy is to let things go and be strict towards dangerous situations. Alonso’s overtaking was magnificent. Vergne didn’t expect the Spaniard to attack him on his way out of the pit lane. Huòkenberg’s episode is different. Because of an unsafe release, he had to serve a drive-through penalty.

I want to praise Sebastian Vettel again, not only for his victory, but also for the show he made in front of the audience. I hope he won’t get a penalty again.

In 15 days, at the Austin Circuit, we’ll see Ferrari and Mercedes fighting for the second place again.

Abu Dhabi GP – Preview

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Seven days after Sebastian Vettel’s won his 4th world title, the F.1 paddock is ready to move to the Middle East for the last but three events to take place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

At Yas Marina teams will fight to get the second place in the drivers and constructors championship and they are all ready to score the points that are still up for grabs in order to preserve their position or aspire to new adventures into F.1. I expect Red Bull to do its best for not giving anything to rivals. The true challenge will take place behind them. Considering the track high temperatures and hot weather, the Pirelli tyres will play a key role again.

I get the feeling next racing week end will be mainly played out “off-stage” because of the many questions about the 2014 F.1 season that are still unanswered. There are still some free seats to be assigned: Lotus, for example, is looking for a driver to replace Raikkonen, being careful with money and technical skills. Williams’ Maldonado is determined to quit the English team to join the Eric Bouiller’s camp. Should the Grove-based team find an interesting economic agreement, it can sign Felipe Massa. Another aspect which is not of a minor importance compared to any other is the one concerning the maximum number of engines which can be used by each team throughout next season (5 engines per driver). Considering the large number of technical upgrades introduced by FIA (turbo-powered engine 1.6 with limited rpm, limited gas consumption, new energy recovery systems such as the MGU-K and MGU-H) and the lack of time to make on-track test, I think 5 engine units per season are not enough. It won’t be easy to find the right reliability and balance at the beginning. The great thing about that is that this technology can be applied to standard cars.

The 2014 season will be very demanding from a technical point of view, but I’m sure that engineers and technicians will be able to find a solution to that, as usual. Technical changes will involve a huge financial outlay for all teams and small teams will rely on great manufacturers’ technology. Historically speaking, regulations amendments has always changed the balance of the deployed forces. Red Bull seems to be out of reach and I think the Austrian team will be like that also in the future, but we will probably see some other team growing.

Indian GP – Drivers’ Scorecard

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Sebastian Vettel 9 – The 26-year-old driver won the fourth world title. He will make the history of F.1 Championship. He did what he wanted to, as usual. I appreciated his burnout in front of the audience (I would have never fined him) and I also appreciated the moment when he got down on his knees and kissed the car. Through that action, he made us understand how grateful to Red Bull he is.

Nico Rosberg 8 – He’s fighting hard to try to get the better over Ferrari for the second place.

Romain Grosjean 9+ – He deserves to be better graded than any other driver, as he showed to be stronger than his pitwall staff, who made several mistakes. Started from the 17th place, he managed to jump up to 3rd and drove an excellent race.

Kimi Raikkonen 8 – He took a particular choice. His teammate was better than him at handling tyres. His masterpiece was ruined by a last-moment- pit stop. Satisfaction comes from the fact he set the fastest lap. Congrats to Lotus, as well. The English team is fighting tooth and nail.  The team could act as a judge for the second and third place in the constructors’ championship.

Felipe Massa 8 – Competing as a “separated” at home it’s not easy at all. He wants to leave a good memory of himself, for sure and he wants to secure a future in the F.1 Championship. His fourth place is a good omen to try to close the point-gap with Mercedes.

Fernando Alonso 6 – “You can’t touch pitch without being defiled”. He took a very unlucky start, even if this time he was less concentrated than he was in many other occasions. According to times sequence, he could have fought against Rosberg to get a second place finish, but he was very nervous.

Sergio Perez 7+ – He handled his car in such a good way and he has improved time after time. He was strongly criticized throughout the Championship’s first part, now he’s upstaging Jenson Button. McLaren is getting ready for the 2015 racing season.

Lewis Hamilton 7 – He’s having quite a hard time. He doesn’t manage to get the most of his car, unlike his teammate. He held the reins of the team, but now he’s upstaged by Rosberg.

Force India 6 – The “homely atmosphere” was good for the team. After an unlucky period, the team finished in the points again with both its drivers. The week end was good for the Indian team which has almost secured the sixth place.

Toro Rosso 6 – One point is not enough, especially if we consider that the team’s immediate rival Sauber didn’t finish in the points. Even if three races are yet to be run, I don’t think they’ll be able to close the gap. As a Faenza-born person I hope they’ll have a good end to the season.

Indian GP- THE POINT

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What else we can say…The supremacy displayed during the Indian GP is almost embarrassing and it’s even hard to comment. Once again Vettel was able to do what he wanted to. Now that the two world titles are appointed (drivers and constructors championship), Ferrari will have a thrilling end to the season. The Italian team will have to fight hard to try to get the second place. According to Rosberg and Hamilton’s performances the Italian team cannot sleep tight. The second place is within their reach, for sure, as three races are yet to be run (Abu Dhabi, Austin, Sao Paulo) and many scores are still up for grabs.

With regards to Webber and Alonso, we can say that misfortune sees very well. Once again the Red Bull’s Australian driver was forced to retire. The Australian could have fought to get high positions, while the Spaniard was involved in a car collision at the beginning, which dropped him to the 17th place. If we analyze times, we can notice that the Italian team lost a great chance to score points for the World Championship.

Except for the extra-terrestrial Seb., Grosjean’s performances were also noteworthy. The Frenchman managed tyres very well and Raikkonen did his utmost to try to turn the starting grid order upside down and managed to set the best lap time after pitting. McLaren finished fifth with Perez who finished ahead of Hamilton. It was a good racing week end for Felipe Massa who got the most of his F138, staying ahead of Lewis but he was overtaken by Nico. It’s a good omen to see Massa being so aggressive and lively despite the end of the relationship with the Maranello-based team. The Italian team will try to close the 4-point-gap with Mercedes. Toro Rosso managed to score only one point (thanks to Ricciardo’s tenth place). The Faenza-based team wasn’t able to take advantage of Sauber’s unfavorable week end.

It was further confirmed that most of the second-tier teams’ performance level is almost the same. The second-tier teams’ championship was good. That is alarming, especially if we consider that there is a short time between the Championship’s last event (November 24th) and the beginning of the next F.1 season. I think it’s such a short time to try to close such a huge gap. According to rumors, Newey seems to be ready to shake the cars building philosophy. Despite a radical technical upgrade, the Austrian team is still the one rivals will have to try to beat.

In six days drivers will be behind the wheel of their single-seaters again. Vettel is determined not to give rivals anything. The challenge for the second place will light up the F.1 championship again.

Indian GP- Preview

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We can say that the countdown for Sebastian Vettel to win the fourth Championship has already started. In the case the German driver should not seal a win on the Indian track, he would anyhow start to celebrate his victory seven days later at Abu Dhabi. At this point I don’t think there will be many alternatives for rivals. A 90-point-gap is almost impossible to close, even if, according to mathematics, 100 points are still up for grabs from now to November 24th. We can say that this chapter is already closed. I’m expecting Seb to drive an independent race, as usual.

The situation is completely different for what concerning the drivers behind him. Three drivers (Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus with their drivers Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton) are fighting hard for the second and third place in the constructors and drivers’ championship. There’s a little point-gap between the three of them. If, on the one side, Lotus is chasing closely Mercedes, on the other side Ferrari cannot sleep easy, especially if Felipe Massa doesn’t start to score important points to preserve the team’s second place.

There’s also an interesting battle between Sauber and Toro Rosso to conquer the seventh place. In the last few races, the Faenza-based team was quite sluggish and lost the advantage gained throughout the Championship’s first part. The Italian team has to chase closely the Swiss squad which has now a 14-point lead over it.

All these battles can be the leitmotiv of the 2013 Indian GP, which is about to close down only after the third edition. Probably the 5121 m long Buddh International Circuit won’t be one of the F.1 Championship’s venues anymore, that is especially due to some bureaucratic reasons. Some customs-related issues haven’t been solved yet and some problems concerning the inward processing may be one of the main causes for the Indian track to be closed down as a F.1 venue.

Countries such as India, China and Korea are extremely important for the automotive business, so this is the reason why doing this kind of experiment is very important, even if all that is to the detriment of Western countries-based circuits. I think Government should adapt to formal procedures in order to avoid causing problems which turn to be difficult to solve. In parallel with these situations, there are also new schemes which can turn into reality. Unfortunately Western circuits, besides undergoing a deep crisis, they also have to deal with space issues and have to be adapted to the newest safety regulations, as they were built inside realities which are so difficult to modify.

Minardi "Italy is going back to the splendors of the ‘80s and ‘90"

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The Monza race was the final event of the Speed Italian Championship. About 7000 race enthusiasts attended the Italian race, which marked the end of a very satisfying season, whose results were uncertain until the very last round. The Prototype Championship and the GT Championship’s winners, were uncertain until the last race. The first one was won by Faccioni, the second one was won by the two Porsche drivers Lucchini and Postiglione.

The Formula ACI CSAI Abarth Championship was won by Alessio Rovera (born in 1995) who got the better over Michele Beretta (born in 1994), who tried to be hot on the heels of his colleague in the Championship’s finals. Thanks to the result achieved, Rovera and Beretta are entitled to attend the Super Corso organized by the Federation School (November 4th to 7th) and take part in the Auto GP testing session offered by Scuderia Coloni as a prize.

The season was not free from difficulties: the lack of people attending the Championship’s events was compensated by the competence of drivers and teams who gave us an engaging and high-level show. Despite the worldwide financial crisis, this was an ever-growing season and the maximum number of participants was reached at the Brianza-based circuit. The “Open Doors” initiative launched by ACI-Sport met a positive audience response. A large number of race enthusiasts coming from Lombardia crowded the paddock and the gallery. It was a very good experience which paves the way to new options and initiatives with regards to the 2014 racing season.

The Italian flag proudly waves also on other racetracks, even abroad. The successes achieved by Antonio Fuoco in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and by Raffaele Marciello in the F.3 Euroseries are a clear demonstration of Italian drivers’ talent. We don’t have to forget Antonio Ghirelli’s success in the Auto GP Championship and Antonio Giovinazzi’s second place in the British F.3. All these results are a clear proof that everybody’s work is leading Italian motorsport up to the ’80s-’90s level and I do believe all these achievements will contribute to restore the reputation our drivers enjoyed in the past.

I’d like to praise also the ACI CSAI, the Federation School and the FDA whose 4-year-old project starts bearing fruits at an International level. The project started with Raffaele Marciello, the first promising youngster and went ahead with Antonio Fuoco. This season we arranged some evaluative testing sessions with promising go-kart racers. We know that, because of the crisis we’re undergoing, drivers are lacking the “gas” to take off, anyway the results achieved are of a good omen and great efforts will be made to try to support them. Unfortunately, after Fisichella, Trulli, Liuzzi left F.1, no other Italian driver has taken part in the top Championship anymore, so a generation gap was created and it’s so difficult to close it immediately. All the work done aimed to make the most of young drivers’ talent and to draw attention on them.

The 2014 season’s news will be the introduction of Formula 4, which is a preparatory formula for young drivers coming straight out from kart racing. The President Sticchi Damiani has adhered to the FIA-conceived project since the beginning and now we’re proud to be the first Federation to carry out this project. 15-year-old young drivers will have the chance to drive cars duly designed to direct them towards a career as professional drivers and to compete in more demanding Championship in the future. It’s a challenge, but a great opportunity for us to continue to act as tutors and make the most of new talented drivers.

“Pit talk”….2014 F.1 season and more

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All teams’ efforts are focused on the 2014 season and the difficulties they’re meeting are not a few. It’s time to take stock of the situation thanks to the support of some friends who were very close to the Minardi F.1 Team in the past and some others who constantly deal with the F.1 limelight. I’d like to go beyond technical details, which characterized many articles published on many sports magazine and I’d like to create an overview of the situation by having a “pit talk”.

The main difficulties constructors are meeting with regards to the 2014 season ( Ferrari-Mercedes-Renault) are: Engine Consumption – Engine Power – Reliability, but the real handicap is the lack of on-track testing. Nowadays tests are made inside simulator suites. Even if driving simulation is a technologically advanced method to make testing, it cannot accurately reproduce on-track reality.

Thanks to suppliers’ cooperation, reliability is getting better and better, but we’re still talking about results achieved at the test stand. The situation could change when the engine unit is installed inside the car and on-track testing is run, as it’s very difficult to reproduce on-track situations in details.

According to the information gained, it seems that the three engines’ horsepower will be in a range between 610 and 620 hp. Engine designers are more focused on consumption streamlining, rather than on trying to achieve the engine’s maximum power. The Damocle’s sword for the 2014 season will be the 100 kg- gas- limit.

Excessive consumption could be disadvantageous during the race and it seems that everybody is still looking for a right balance. According to rumors, it seems that all constructors dread tire skidding, especially when drivers shift to the 2nd and 3rd gear (engine torque – engine power distribution – tyres effect). This effect features the current Pirelli tires, so it is very important to know the 2014 tyres’ characteristics. I don’t want to say anything more about that, as everyone is trying to bring everything to line with regulations and we don’t have to forget that next season new “energy recycling systems” will be introduced: the MGU-K (the KERS) and the newborn MGU-H, which is a brand new recycling system. This system is not so easy to install and it has still to be tested. Furthermore, we don’t have to forget that the basic engine has to be ready-to-run within 4 months!

Besides talking about the 2014 racing season, I’d also like to meditate on the 2015 racing season. HONDA will join the circus by officially supplying McLaren with engine. PORSCHE could join F.1, too. Despite the German manufacturer isn’t cooperating with any team at the moment, it’s by the way testing a new engine (well-informed people say that their engine unit is not second to any other unit in terms of consumption, horse power and reliability). The two above-mentioned manufacturers have made the history of turbo-powered engine (I’d point out that they’ve always made use of that system also for what concerning cars’ manufacturing).

It seems that the Honda engine put out 640 horsepower, which is much higher than rivals’ engine’s horsepower and the consumption level is very good. According to some rumors coming from Japan, it seems that some on-track tests will be made using a hybrid chassis. The chance for Honda to test its engine throughout the 2014 season, thanks to the cooperation with McLaren and Mercedes, can turn to be a technical advantage even with a view to the 2015 season.

This is only a “pit talk” and what is certain is that there’s something brewing and we’ll see wonderful things! Next winter and spring will be red-hot.

Points record for Fernando Alonso

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Even if the leadership in the F.1 Championship is 90 points away, thanks to the fourth place scored in the Japanese GP, Fernando Alonso set the record with regards to the sum of the points scored in a F.1 Championship. The Spaniard racked up 1571 points, getting the better of the 9-time-world champion Michael Schumacher.

His career started 213 GP ago (thanks to Gian Carlo Minardi’s insightfulness) at the Australian GP in 2001. A 19-year-old Fernando made his debut in F.1 alongside the Minardi Team.

During the 2001 season, the Faenza-based team scored three top-ten finishes, thanks to Tarso Marques’s ninth place finish in Brazil and Canada and to Alonso’s tenth place finish in Germany. The team didn’t score any point as only drivers who finished in the top six could score points: “According to the current F.1 point system, the Minardi Team’s history into the world of F.1 would have been different. We would have racked up 446 points”, said Gian Carlo Minardi “I want to congratulate Fernando on his success. He reached an important goal. The first time I saw him at the wheel of a F.1 car, I immediately realized he had an edge over other drivers. In 2001 he ran a fantastic season with us, before becoming Briatore’s team’s test driver. You could immediately realize he would have been a champion”, ends Minardi “After winning two world championships, he racked up 1571 points. I hope he’ll win the third title.”

Congrats Champion from Gian Carlo Minardi and the Minardi Team

Japanese GP – Drivers’ scorecard

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The Suzuka circuit and Japanese fans deserve the best mark for sure. Once again the GP arrangement was flawless; a large number of F.1 fans attended the event. The Japanese audience supported drivers and cheered on them.

It’s very difficult to grade Red Bull, as the team’s supremacy is such that they can almost do whatever they want. I think the strategy was planned almost arbitrarily, otherwise I can’t explain the reason why Webber made one more pit stop. They can take the liberty of playing and deciding their drivers’ arrival order. This time Sebastian Vettel had some problems at the beginning of the race. The German took a poor start and clipped Hamilton’s car (50%Vettel’s fault). After making sure everything was ok, he started to push hard and took the lead of the race. Every week end we attend two races: the first race is the one in which Red Bull’s drivers challenge each other and the second one is run by the other drivers. They achieve 9/10 grade.

All the other drivers achieve 7/10 grade, more or less. They drove a good race, defended their positions in the Championship, but they didn’t delivered extraordinary performances. We had fun watching the fight between Hulkenberg and Alonso. The Sauber’s German driver deserves to achieve 7.5/10 grade, as he usually tries to fight against top drivers even if his car is not as performing as top drivers’. Ferrari will have to do something more if it wants to defend its second place in both championships. Massa deserves to achieve 6/10 grade as he’s working as a separated but living together driver, anyway the 10th place is not enough. He didn’t allow Fernando to pass him, but maybe it would have been better for him to stand aside, rather than being overtaken. Luckily for them Mercedes took a point finish only with Rosberg (8th).

Romain Grosjean achieves 7.5/10 grade, too. He took a good free practice session and a great start. He finished first among second-tier teams. In this final stage he wants to show he deserves to be the team’s first driver. Next season he’ll have “Hulk” as his teammate. Either because of some physical problems or some technical choices, Kimi Raikkonen’s performance level is not as good as it was in the first part of the season.

Esteban Gutierrez’s seventh place is a clear proof that FIA and F.1 policy towards young drivers is wrong. The Mexican driver was harshly criticized during the first races, but he’s now demonstrating he deserves to be a F.1 driver. He’s helping the team to get the seventh place in the constructors’ championship, which is no small thing. The good result achieved is also a consequence of the car’s improvement.

Japanese GP- THE POINT

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There’s no contest. Another success for Sebastian Vettel (nine GP won out of 15, 5 of which were won in sequence) and Red Bull which, thanks to Webber’s second place, scored a double-declutch. It’s an overwhelming and embarrassing supremacy. Once again they played the game of the “cat with the mouse”. Vettel seemed to have the control operated until he was sure not to have the car damaged as a consequence of a collision with Hamilton’s car. Then, he put into the seventh gear, took over rivals and won another race, even if this time, the time gap with the other drivers was a little more “human”. The German driver has now a 90-point lead over Alonso.

Webber took the first pole of the season, so he hoped to get on the top step of the podium, but he was handicapped by the strategy. Lotus is making miracles in this final stage of the season, so the English team deserves to be praised. Despite the team’s budget is not as high as top teams’, the team’s car is very competitive. Grosjean is improving his performances race after race. He took an excellent start and got a podium finish, defending his position. Raikkonen’s fifth place finish ended a racing week end which was positive for the Enstone-based team, which not only consolidates its fourth place in the constructors’ championship, but also gets closer and closer to Mercedes’s third place. Two episodes marked the Stuttgart-based racing team’s Japanese GP. At the kick-off, Vettel clipped Hamilton’s right-rear tyre, causing a puncture. The Englishman dropped down to the bottom of the standing until he had to retire. Rosberg’s race was affected by a pit-stop mistake, because of which he only managed to finish 9th.

Ferrari was in a spot throughout the week end; the Italian team delivered fluctuating performances during the race. Alonso and Massa tried to score as many points as possible, taking advantage of the Mercedes’s failure to consolidate their second place in the drivers and constructors championship. I noticed a little bit of annoyance in the Italian team, so this is not of help. I hope the Maranello-based team will make technical upgrades for the 2014 season, during the winter. That will maybe help the team to cheer up. Sauber is showing unexpected performances. Gutierrez’s first point finish is a good omen for the future. Suzuka is a favorable track for the C32 and the team was good at taking advantage of the opportunity at the detriment of Toro Rosso and got the seventh place in the constructors’ championship. Next circuits will be the test bench for them. In this final stage of the season, Toro Rosso is slacking off. The Faenza-based team’s position seemed to be solid until a short time ago, while now they have to make an extraordinary comeback, considering the prize up for grabs.

McLaren’s fifth place in the constructors’ championship is almost certain; we can say that the team’s season is almost finished. Mind is set not only on the 2014 season, which can be considered as a transition year, but, above all, on the 2015 racing season, the year Honda will officially return to competition.


 
 
 
Gp Giappone
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull/Renault 53 1:26’49.301
2 Mark Webber Red Bull/Renault 53
3 Romain Grosjean Lotus/Renault 53
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 53
5 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus/Renault 53
6 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 53
7 E.Gutiérrez Sauber/Ferrari 53
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 53
9 Jenson Button McLaren/Mercedes 53
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari 53
11 Paul Di Resta Force India/Mercedes 53
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso/Ferrari 52 1 Giro
13 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso/Ferrari 52 1 Giro
14 Adrian Sutil Force India/Mercedes 52 1 Giro
15 Sergio Pérez McLaren/Mercedes 52 1 Giro
16 Pastor Maldonado Williams/Renault 52 1 Giro
17 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Renault 52 1 Giro
18 Charles Pic Caterham/Renault 52 1 Giro
19 Max Chilton Marussia/Cosworth 52 1 Giro

Davide Rigon to Fuji with 8Star Motorsport to compete in the FIA WEC

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Davide Rigon will write a new chapter of his racing career in the world of GT, by taking part in the 6 hours of Fuji, which is the FIA World Endurance Championship’s sixth event to take place in the week end of October 20th.

After a fabulous win scored in the International GT Open Championship’s penultimate event at Monza circuit, the Veneto-born driver, who contributed to Villorba Corse and Andrea Montermini’s title achievement on the Italian track and is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal for sports and technical development activities, will take part in the GT competition at the wheel of the 8Star Team’s Ferrari 458 GT2 again. It will be Rigon’s second participation in the WEC Championship, after finishing second at Interlagos on his debut event.

It will be the first time for Davide to race at the 4563-m-long-Japanese circuit which is located on the slopes of Mount Fuji. The Italian driver will race alongside the team managed by AF Corse and will share the driving with Enzo Potolicchio and Rui Aguas, again. The goal is to achieve another important result: “I’ll fly to Japan next Wednesday and it will be my first race on the Fuji track. I’m really happy to race alongside 8Star Motorsport Team and share the driving with Enzo and Rui with whom I get along very well”, said the Minardi Management’s driver.

“It will be my second participation in the FIA WEC and I hope to manage to achieve the same good result I achieved in Brazil. The Ferrari 458 is really a great car and I’ve felt comfortable with it since the first few miles. It will be so important to drive as many km as possible to discover the track’s secrets. I’m really happy with this chance. The Championship I’m going to take part in is one of the most important Championships in the GT Endurance scene and competing at the wheel of a Ferrari makes it even more special”, ended Davide Rigon.