Video, F1 | Australian GP: THE POINT on qualifying

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Nothing seems changed. Everything looks like in November 2015, with the two Mercedes ahead of everyone. I get the impression that they haven’t even revealed all their cards. Once again, Hamilton has been great managing to run just 3 seconds below the absolute record on the track. FIA and the Working Group should meditate on this fact in view of new regulations in 2017 that will require more performing single-seaters.

As we anticipated, Scuderia Toro Rosso has made us a surprise. We had two single-seaters in Q3 with Verstappen in fifth and Sainz in seventh, ahead Ricciardo’s Red Bull. They proved to keep up with the situation in spite of an engine 2015. Ferrari should meditate, because it can count on a power unit that is definitely more advanced. In post qualifying, Vettel seemed very regretful and argumentative on performances.

At Mercedes, Aldo Costa has dusted off the hydraulic suspension that he already used along with Gabriele Tredozi on the Minardi in ’93-’94. I am glad they are talking about it. Half standings is for McLaren that managed to exploit at best the features of this track. If the reliability supports them, they will be able to aim to the points, their primary goal in this starting of season.

The show we watched in Q3 is shameful. None fought on the track for pole position in the last minutes: this is unacceptable. When teams realized that they couldn’t get close to their competitors, they saved tires, like Ferrari. I don’t agree with this kind of Format, and it is completely to be revised. In Q1, we watched two incredible mistakes at Sauber and at Red Bull with the elimination of Kvyat. Nothing more exciting.

Tomorrow it will be interesting watching the first race of the season, starting from 6.00 am.

F1 | Single-seaters still at the pits, but the first threats appear. New arrivals on the grid?

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The season of Formula 1 hasn’t started yet, but the first threats of desertion have already appeared. The heart of the matter is always the same: the Power-unit. After last year’s soap opera regarding the engine supply at Red Bull Racing solved through a renewal with Renault signed by Tag-Heuer (after the refusal received by Mercedes and Ferrari and the first breach in the agreement with the French manufacturer), Dietrich Mateschitz has returned to the fray “Without a competitive power-unit we will leave F1”.

In 2017, we expect radical changes regarding every manufacturer who will have to supply from a minimum of two to a maximum of three teams. So far, there are four suppliers in F1, but the situation for someone of them is far from being serene. “At Honda, even if they show calmness, the mood is everything but relaxed. Extraordinary scenarios could manifest. Alonso himself doesn’t seem really relaxed, even if Ron Dennis strives to stress that Fernando has an agreement also for the next two seasons”, Gian Carlo Minardi comments. “Moreover, Audi declared that it won’t enter the Circus until it has stable rules”.They are not the only ones to think that way.

The announcements of number 1 of the Austrian group could open new scenarios. “They could seem presumptuous, but they are the measure of the sponsorship in F1. Nowadays, we have colorful cars, but they have not many adhesives. Red Bull goes on thanks to the coming back of its image. Without some winnings, all this goes missing because the initial investment is too high”.
Paolo Barilla, in the exclusive interview released to Minardi.it, has claimed: “Right now F1 is not a good investment for a company. Formula 1 is an outdated model because it has not been able to renew itself by keeping up with the times“.

“According to my knowledge, Red Bull would have renewed his agreement with Renault for one year “. A year is short time, especially when there are great changes in regulations that require a great development. “We are experiencing a major domain signed by Mercedes, but in Germany there are other manufacturers. Mateschitz, perhaps, with his threats wants to attract the attention of someone like BMW that can’t stand idly by”, the manager from Faenza concludes… Maybe some negotiations have already begun...

Video, F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi presents the new season

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After an almost bottomless silence three months long, Formula 1 is ready to make the news in Melbourne, first stage of 21 world events. We are in suspense to verify Barcelona’s results that have showed us a competitive Ferrari. We have to study the real potential of Mercedes. Behind them, I wish I could watch an amazing row. 

The season starts uphill due to some situation like that at Sauber and Force India heavily penalized by a difficult economic situation. The Swiss group, even if late, managed to pay wages to its employees, while tycoon Vijay Mallya is facing Indian justice. There are still many unknowns on the front of rules because they have still not reached an agreement. These kind of delays prevents other car manufacturers to approach.

Mercedes and Ferrari

In few days, we’ll know if Niki Lauda’s announcements are just pre-tactical or not. The President of Mercedes speaks about a powerful Ferrari, only 2-3 tenths of seconds from the German “battleship”. The SF16-H proved to be very performing on race pace, but i think that Mercedes has hidden itself.

A possible surprise

Behind Mercedes and Ferrari, I expect a fight between Williams and Red Bull for the third place in the throne of the world championship. Behind them, there are several stables that will fight till the end in the first races with the aim to collect as much points as possible and build their final standings. Scuderia Toro Rosso could be a surprise. I liked it a lot during the eight testing days and I trust both the team and its two young drivers, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr. Already last year they had proved to have a good car slowed by some problems in their trans-alpine power unit. With the Ferrari unit (2015 edition) they have made a lot of km.

The new qualifying

They are the only change (along with the Violet Ultra Soft tires of Pirelli) after much talk and meetings. As a passionate of this sport, I do not see it as a positive change even if it can be a different way to approach pole position and a way to attract young people. Anyway, drivers’ abilities and the qualities of the cars will not be the only ingredients for excelling. Fortunately, also weather conditions, the possible mistakes in strategy and traffic will enter in play. Surely, we have to watch this novelty from Saturday at 6:00.

 

Minardi.it meets Giovanni Lavaggi

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He was 26 years old when debuted in Motor Sports and 35 years old when  raced his first Formula 1 Grand Prix, then joined the court of Gian Carlo Minardi. In his prize record there is also a victory in the 24 hours of Daytona and the fact of having designed and built a LMP1 as a private.

A week before the new F1 World Championship starts, Minardi.it met Giovanni Lavaggi. “Honestly, I don’t really follow the World Cup. In my opinion, races are not interesting or attractive. Unfortunately, you count overtakings with the dropper. The duels that have made great this sport are extinct and the cars seem too complicated to me”.


Let us step back to 1996, the German GP, when you debuted at the wheel of the M196 pushed by Ford. It has been an amazing experience. In spite of the economic difficulties faced by the team at that time, I find great professionals. The frame of the car was really outstanding, and this is not a joke. The engine was the Achilles heel. In addition to paying penalty on the power front, reliability was really lacking. I broke seven engines during six weekends. The Motor-show in Bologna where we risked winning against Benetton and Ligier proves how much the car frame was good.

What did you lack to stay longer in the World Championship? Certainly an economic support. Since the beginning, I had to make ends meet through my own efforts. In those years, Sicily Region would had the means to support me because I was the only Sicilian driver in Formula 1, unfortunately this cooperation did not materialize.

Once as today, there was a dominating team. Yesterday Williams, today Mercedes. Cycles that repeat forever. With a difference, today smaller teams can count on engines that are equals to the official ones. At that time, we used to pay also 180 HP minus than the official ones, almost 25%. Hence it was impossible to fight on equal terms with the others, in spite of a very good frame as the result in Budapest proves. In a circuit where the engine was less crucial, I managed to end in the top ten.

In 1995, you won the 24 Hours of Daytona. What difference did you see between Europe and USA? I can’t say to have lived the American experience entirely because I was racing with a semi-official Porsche team, whose cooperation with the company in Stuttgart has been continuing since 1989. I also raced three editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I must say that the greater difference is in the drivers. In Europe, their level is higher.

After F1, you took part in slick tires and then designed and built a LMP1.  After the experience in F1 it was difficult to find new incentives to go on, so I decided to create a team, we raced with a Ferrari 333 and got some important results with podia and victories as in the 1000 Km in Monza and Magny-Course. At a certain point, I had with me also Gaston Mazzacane who then, in 2000, came into Minardi. When Ferrari decided not to let me have some spare parts in time, I thought to do by myself. That was the first step that led me to design and make a LMP1 privately. I knew that it would not have been an easy challenge. Gian Carlo himself, with who I have maintained a good friendship, had warned me, but I have always liked missions impossible, also because I would have fought with Audi, Peugeot etc.

Despite the tight financial resources, the car was good, easy to drive and had a great potential. At the end of 2006, we were only 2″ from pole. Simultaneously with the economic crisis, we had to face the changes of regulations requiring major investments. An impossible condition for a private. We went on until 2009. Occasionally I take part in historical races, and I happened to share the cabin with Emanuele Pirro.

Formula 2 comes back, Minardi "We would need more manufacturers"

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After the launch of Formula 4, in which Italy has had a pioneering role in bringing the first Championship into track in 2014, the International Automobile Federation has developed the last tile by replacing the present GP2 with Formula 2, the new anteroom to Formula 1. The connection between the two series will be the FIA European F3 Championship that in the last years has been able to capture the attention revealing important names as Max Verstappen, Stefano Ocon, as our standard-bearers Antonio Giovinazzi, Raffaele Marciello, Antonio Fuoco, and Alessio Lorandi.

The real revolution will take place in 2017 with new single-seaters with which drivers should engage further to enhance their technical qualities. In recent years, the GP2 Series hasn’t been longer able to bring his champions into the Circus, that was the starting goal. “The FIA is trying to take its historical brands back, to create a chain in which F4 is the first step to get to F2 through International F3 which is experiencing an important peak” says Gian Carlo Minardi, interviewed on the subject by Minardi.it.

The revolution could not stop. Given the great success of Formula 4 everywhere in Europe, the idea to create an intermediate step is under consideration. “A National Formula 3 to link F4 and International F3 is under study“.

Gian Carlo Minardi has built much of his know-how as a manufacturer participating in the Formula 2 Championship from 1974 to 1984, at first with the Scuderia Everest and later with his Minardi Team, coming from the Italian Formula and Formula 3. “In those years, Formula 2 was a championship at the highest level with 5-6 chassis manufacturers, 4-5 engines suppliers, and 2-3 tires suppliers. The races were made up of drivers engaged in the Formula 1 World Championship and by young people who would pawed the ground for show off. Those who did well in F2 then arrived in F1 as Martini, Nannini, Alboreto and many other” the manager from Faenza explains, stressing on the lack of manufacturers, except for Dallara. What is now lacking it is a competition between the various manufacturers. Unfortunately, new Formula 2 will only be a chassis, engine and tires single brand. This scenario is the result of past decisions made by the Federation. It has wanted to entrench behind reductions of costs that has not really happened. Doing so we lost all the major manufacturers who made this sport great as Lola, March and Ralt, just to name a few. Today, scene is dominated by Dallara, even when the regulations would allow more competition, like in F3“.

Would not it be better to open the challenge to more manufactures of frames? In 2012, the latest Formula 3 Italia edition saw the challenge on track between two manufacturers, Dallara and My GAL with the French one victorious thanks to JD Motorsport and Riccardo Agostini.

F1 | Since Melbourne, "More silent races"

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 Starting from the Australian GP at Melbourne’s city circuit that will launch the new Formula 1 season next March 18-20, pit-to-driver communications will be strongly restricted.

The International Automobile Federation decided this, with the aim to make the races less predictable, increasing the awareness of drivers. Communications regarding safety will be still  allowed, whereas any contacts about fuel consumption, tires, and engine will be forbidden. “We are in a peculiar moment. One has the feeling that they don’t know what they want and that the will to unanimously face problems lacks. Hence they propose some palliatives to be tested on track”, manager Gian Carlo Minardi says at Minardi.it.

In Melbourne, the new hotseat qualifying format should debut with eliminations during the three sessions every ninety seconds.“Ferrari pointed out that they modified the qualifying format with an inappropriate bureaucratic procedure. Therefore, FIA gets busy to obtain the consent of the Working Group and of the F1 Commission, and the approval of the World Council”.

The World Championship starts in ten days and it has some unknowns. “On one hand, we have a Mercedes to beat with a Ferrari behind, to some teams the situation is not so easy. Sauber has not yet closed its sponsorship agreements and is run out of oxigen. Force India proved it can be again the fourth or fifth world power, unluckily they too have some liquidity problems”, the manager from Faenza concludes.

WSK – A gritty but unlucky weekend for karol Basz

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The international circuit 7 Laghi inaugurated Karol Basz ‘ new season in the SWK Super Master Series that will continue with the events in Sarno (March 20), La Conca (April 3), and Adria (May 22). Strong of his two consecutives podia in the WSL Champions Cup and Winter Cup, the Kosmic Racing World Champion had a unexpected weekend, innocent victim of a collision at the first lap of the Final that put him out of game. A strange situation to the strong Minardi Management driver, who is accustomed to see the checkered flag. We have to come back to last May to register a withdrawal.

The weekend starts uphill since the first steps when Karol signs only the sixteenth position in qualifying due to some misjudgments. Saturday, during Qualifying Heat, he is determined to get back on top of the standings, but the bad weather makes a mess of his plans, forcing organizers to nullify all the sessions (due to snow and bitter cold) and modify the race schedule. The qualifying results remain valid for the Pre-final. With the determination and speed that distinguish him in all the races, Karol becomes protagonist of a great recover, despite a problem at the drain valve that the Polish driver promptly solves on track during the race. At the end of sixteen laps, Basz is in eighth. He is ready to complete the recovery in the final, but his race finishes at the first lap when he finds himself in a carom between Sergeant and Van Leeuwen.

“It was a difficult weekend. The bad weather and the cancellation of Saturday’s free practice penalized us. In Pre-final, I started from sixteenth position and I was able to recover up to the eight position. In Final, they pushed me out and I received serious damages to the kart chassis. In Sarno I want to be ahead again” Karol Basz says.

“It was definitely an unfortunate and negative weekend, especially if we look at the final result. The bad weather and the modification in the schedule deprived us of the chance to recover. Anyway, in Pre-final Karol did well, resolving also a problem in the drain valve and recovering eight positions. The collision in the Final frustrated his effort. In the next days, we’ll come back on track to prepare our visit in Sarno at our best” manager Alberto Tonti observes.

Photo: Alexandros Vernardis/The Racebox

F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi "Performance and reliability make a step forward"

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Like in the first four days session, Ferrari closes the last common testing session at the circuit of Barcelona with the best time, and in the last day collects 142 laps with Sebastian Vettel, bringing the kilometers done by SF16-H to almost 4.000.

Evaluating the quality of the cars isn’t an easy task because we do not know how much gasoline they had on board or their daily program. Undoubtedly, Mercedes remains the car to beat, especially due to the many kilometers covered by Hamilton and Rosberg.Together they have almost made an entire Formula 1 season, achieving the amazing goal of 6.000 km. The second place is for Scuderia Toro Rosso that has done more than 4.800 km in eight days with Verstappen and Sainz. Eight hundred less for their Red Bull “cousins” (Renault client), Williams-Mercedes, and Ferrari. Little further back, Sauber, Force India, and Renault. The third from last place for McLaren-Honda (3.250 km) that pays its penalty in the session of February and barely exceeds 1.100 km. In the last days, Alonso and Button have recovered time lost putting together 448 laps (2.085 km).

“Two sessions that stress the improvement accomplished by the teams on the reliability front. The performances also seems more compact, especially at the center of the group. Mercedes remains the reference car for everybody with behind a Ferrari ready to insert taking advantage of the new qualifying system that will begin in Melbourne (eliminations every 90 seconds during the three sessions). The Power-Unit from Germany has covered along with its four teams over 15.500 km”, observes Gian Carlo Minardi who glimpses in Toro Rosso a possible surprise for 2016. “They have covered a lot of kilometers proving to have achieved a good reliability. A reliability that penalized their end result last year“.

The American new-entry Haas and Manor end the overall standing with 2.295 and 1.950 total km.“Compared to last season, Manor has done many changes, on both power-unit and technical front, that require a certain time. Haas must be supported and justified because it has been called to make its debut in a 21 GP long World Championship with just eight testing days behind. Complications arise only on track. Everything is completely new to them and they must become familiar with nuts and bolts”.

F1 | Engines supply, Gian Carlo Minardi warns "Honda is a risk"

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While teams are engaged in the last session of collective Barcelona test in preparation for the first seasonal GP in Australia, behind the scenes one continues to work to change F1.

In addition to the changes in qualifying proposed by the F1 Commission and the Strategy Group that should come into play this year, starting from the Spanish GP, as Bernie Ecclestone directly announced “the new elimination software won’t be ready until May”; they also talk about new rules for the Power-Unit supply. The proposal would concern a minimum supply of two team for each manufacturer, with a maximum of three customers. So far, the Circus includes four suppliers (Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda) and eleven stables (Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull Racing, Force India, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Manor and the American new entry Haas).

According to the results of the first four testing days, Mercedes is still the leading manufacturer, not just because of its reliability (with its 3800 km travelled) but also because of its power, 950 validated HP, against 930 HP at Ferrari, 900 HP at Renault and 850 HP at Honda. So far, the World Champions supply four teams (Mercedes, Williams, Force India and Manor), like Ferrari does. With Renault and Red Bull, the Trans-alpines have two stables and McLaren with Honda. Eyes are on the Japanese manufacturer who faces a hard task after a disastrous 2015 and a change in top management.

GIAN CARLO MINARDI “If their difficulties continue also this year, Honda could decide to withdraw. Nobody likes to lose too much. According to what I have heard, the Japanese would have also some difficulties with the lubrication of the crankcase. Moreover, the change at the top management when the season has just started is not a good signal. The new rules force each manufacturer to supply two or three teams. In the event of a dramatic about-face, we will lack some supplies. It would be better to look around to find a new reliable manufacturer ” the manager from Faenza interviewed by www.minardi.it observes. “From Spain some rumors come about a nervous and worried Fernando Alonso”.

F1 | Hotseat. New qualifying format

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The F1 Commission and the Strategy Group have sketched the new qualifying format that will determine the starting grid of World F1 Grand Prix. The session of an hour remains divided into three segments (Q1-Q2-Q3) respectively of 16′, 15′ and 14′. Instead, the elimination system and the pole-positions assignment will completely change.The “hotseat” could became part of the Circus.

The first elimination will happen after the first 7 seconds of the Q1 followed by the other eliminations after every 90 seconds. After this session, only 15 drivers will join the next round. In Q2 the slowest driver will be recalled to the pit after six minutes, and just the faster 8 drivers will access to Q3, the final session, with eliminations that will start after 5 seconds and repeating every 90 seconds. The two best drivers will dispute the pole position in the last 1.30 minutes.

The aim is to create some havoc in the grid, trying to make races less predictable. This decision needs the approval of the World Motor Sport Council on March 4.

GIAN CARLO MINARDI: “It is something new that surely deserves to be tried, but this idea does not convince me because I do not believe it can change the cards at play drastically. Given the few time, Strategists could make some mistakes in Q3, but I do not expect any overturned show. Moreover, it could be a difficult reading for the audience in the stands”.

BERNIE ECCLESTONE has already announced that the new system won’t be operative before the Spanish GP. “We are not ready with the software. Thus, the World Championship will start with the already known qualifying. It isn’t the very format I’d have liked to see, but at least it mixes the cards making the grid less predictable. I’d have preferred thinking to some penalizations”.

Wouldn’t it have been better to announce  the new format with a ready software?

F1| Barcelona test: good start for Ferrari, first displeasures at McLaren

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The sun has set also on the fourth testing day in Barcelona, setting aside the first one of the two common tests sessions in view of the debut race in Melburne. It is difficult to make any predictions. What stands out from data is Mercedes reliability, but also the step forward of Ferrari with its SF16-H.
Consulted by www.minardi.it Gian Carlo Minardi has commented the first event of the Circus focusing on W07 but also on Ferrari and Force India, despite the economic difficulties of this latter. At McLaren-Honda there have been the first dissatisfactions.

F1 – Gian Carlo Minardi "Ferrari well done, Mercedes always at the top"

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The first two test days in Barcelona have already given us a clue about the potential world champions. Hamilton and Rosberg have managed to notch 320 sessions up without showing any problems. Behind them, we have seen an interesting Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel leading the standings with his SF16-H.

We have asked Gian Carlo Minardi for a specialised opinion. “The first two days have proven all the Mercedes supremacy, especially in terms of reliability. Hamilton and Rosberg have concluded 152 and 172 sessions without any problems. According to the rumors from the circuit: who has tested the times with the stopwatch, talks about a great power gap between the German Power Unit and the trans-alpine one” the manager from Faenza observes. “That being the case, Red Bull has been able to make an excellent frame once again”.

The SF16-H seems “well born” and it represents a new development in comparison to the single-seater for 2015. “In the winter Ferrari took a good step forward, but it is early to determine the gap, since I have the impression that Mercedes is marching purely in race trim. Mercedes and Ferrari are a step ahead of the others” Minardi concludes.

Poll- Vote the livery for 2016

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If Ferrari, Williams, Mercedes, McLaren, and Haas have presented their “weapons” for 2016 season, Sauber, Red Bull and Renault have showed only their new chromium patings, whereas Toro Rosso, Force India and Manor haven’t still “answered the call”.

On our official twitter channel we have launched a poll where you can choose the livery for 2016 that you prefer. In a first battery there are Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas, and Williams.

Starting from Monday and until Thursday, the teams will race in Barcelona, for the first round of collective testing in preparation for the Australian Grand Prix which inaugurates the F1 world championship of 2016.