Gian Carlo Minardi “Congratulations to Ferrari, Sauber and Marciello”

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Raffaele Marciello is the new test and reserve driver of Sauber. 2015 promises to be a year full of events for the driver of Ferrari Driver Academy, who will continue his adventure in GP2 Series, in addition to the commitment to Formula 1 with the colors of the Swiss team.

It consolidates the axis between Maranello and Hinwil that next year can rely on Ferrari’s Power-Unit. “I am really happy for this announcements and I do my most sincere congratulations to Ferrari and Sauber for having reached this important collaboration through Marciello“, Gian Carlo Minardi says. “This announcement is the confirmation that the FDA program continues“. Just in the past weeks and following the announcement of Gutierrez, the manager from Faenza said on www.minardi.it that the next Ferrari driver would come from the ranks of Ferrari Driver Academy, stating: “…I would be easy to issue judgments against Ferrari Driver Academy. At this moment, FDA project will go on with Raffaele Marciello, Antonio Fuoco, Lance Stroll and Guan Yu Zhou. Esteban arrival doesn’t affect FDA work“.

“As ACI, I got to follow Raffaele since its first steps in this sport. After karts, he stood out in 2010, making his debut in Formula ACI-CSAI Abarth and then racing in Formula 3 Italia“. 2012 is the year of the debut in the Formula 3 European, then won in 2013.

“I’m really happy to be part of the Sauber F1 team, a team that from the beginning of its history has been able to grow talented drivers“, Marciello said after the announcement. “I think this is the best choice for my future. I am also very happy to play another season in GP2 Series, confident that this, together with my new role in Formula 1, will make my 2015 particularly challenging. I thank Ferrari Driver Academy for giving me this great opportunity; I can hardly wait to get to work and do my best“.

Raffaele Marciello had also taken part in the tests in Abu Dhabi at the wheel of the F14-T.

Minardi Team and the Paris-Dakar

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When you read the name “Minardi” or you see the historical colors yellow/blue, mind turns quickly to Formula 1 and the historical Italian team founded by Gian Carlo Minardi in 1979, that for over twenty years has attended F1Grand Prix. And rightly so. But not everyone knows that the brand of the team from Faenza is also linked to the world’s most famous race in rally field: the Paris-Dakar.

The project was born in 1985, in conjunction with the debut of Minardi Team in Formula 1 World Championship, materializing in 1986 with the participation in the eighth edition of the competition conceived by Frenchman Thierry Sabine.

Gian Carlo Minardi provided all its structure and experience in races to transform a CVS truck for special freight and Iveco-motorized, to participate in the tough competition in the desert. “During an intense season and not without problems, since the debut in F.1, the Paris-Dakar project started. We transferred our experience in F1 on the vehicle, which proved to be extremely balanced with a 40% load on the front and the remaining 60% on the rear, managing to jump over the dunes at high speed“, Gian Carlo Minardi says. “Unfortunately, the crew, formed by Gaudenzio Mantova experienced driver in F.2 and F.3), Denis Biffi (co-driver) and Adriano Antolini (navigator and father of the adventure, as strongly desired), was forced to retirement, while it was firmly in second position. The vehicle“, continues the manager from Faenza, “burned into flames in the middle of the desert. In all likelihood, we create an electrical system too small in the design phase. The mistake“, concludes Minardi, “based on the inexperience in this type of competition, was fatal“.

Never two without three. Unfortunately.

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Not only Manor (Marussia) and Caterham are uncertain for next season. Unfortunately, there is a third team that, to date, is registered for Formula 1 World Championship with reservation. This is Lotus, a team that in 2012 and 2013 ended the season as the fourth power of the world championship, with the seals of Kimi Raikkonen in Abu Dhabi (2012) and then in the opening appointment in Melbourne.

For Circus, 2014 has been a season full of changes and innovations that have considerably increased the costs of management, especially with the introduction of the brand new Power-Unit, causing great difficulty for many teams, just like the team of Enstone and Sauber. The structure of Gerald Lopez has lived a troubled season, also under the sports results failing to go beyond an eighth place among manufacturers, suffering the problems of the French engine. Trying to get back on top, for 2015 he has focused on the Mercedes world champion’s power-unit, renewing confidence on its bearers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. “Surprises continue not to miss, even at the end of the year. even if it’s registered in the 2015 Championship, Lotus has an asterisk, which equates to a sword of Damocles not just. It means that from the administrative side is not all right”, Gian Carlo Minardi says. “This occurs when the entry fee is not paid within the prescribed time and an extension is granted. For the F1 this would be a heavy loss. In addition to bringing a prestigious name, the team of Enstone has in its organic structures and men of universal value, whose roots are well entrenched in the history of this sport, despite having changed several names and properties”.

The possible out of Lotus, together that of the two Cinderellas, would lead to having a grid formed by only 16 cars and eight teams (Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari, McLaren, Force India, Toro Rosso and Sauber). Let us hope that this does not happen.