THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi "An emotional weekend"

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Another season is filed away and above all a weekend in which I personally experienced a number of emotional moments, beginning with the party for Fernando Alonso on Saturday evening with two world champions of the calibre of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who “escorted” Fernando Alonso. Independently of the number of titles, Nando was a great champion.

The extraordinary image contains all the beauty of this sport that continues to surprise and give me unique emotions. Despite the duels on the track between these young men and great champions there is great respect. Fernando Alonso experienced a weekend he will never forget, praised by all. It is a pity that nobody wanted to give him a car for 2019. It am sure today was not goodbye but a see you later.

The season went into the record books with Lewis Hamilton’s and Mercedes’ latest titles that show that once again they have no rivals. Bottas was subdued, finishing the season just behind Kimi Raikkonen on the driver’s ladder (third place behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel).

Next year Ferrari will be called upon to take another step in its development to oppose Mercedes’ domination as happened in the first half of the season in which it even took the lead in the World Championship. Sadly, it paid the price of a negative second half in which Kimi Raikkonen was not missing but Sebastian Vettel.

With the first day of collective tests on Tuesday the curtain will rise on the 2019 season which will give us a starting grid with many changes, one of which is Leclerc in red, hoping that he will be the right partner to give Vettel a boost.

A positive season also closes for the colours of the ACI Team Italia. The flagbearers Puccini, Fuoco and Ghiotto put themselves on display at Abu Dhabi in GP3 and Formula 2 respectively. These results must be a source of pride.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | MINARDI "Hamilton has grown even more"

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We have reached Abu Dhabi, the 21st and final round of the World Championship. The curtain will fall on the season at Yas Marina but it will also inaugurate the 2019 season with the collective tests on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 where we will see some changes of teams by drivers.

It will be interesting understanding Pirelli’s programme since I still believe the supplier must give us some sporting explanations. We saw a second half of the season constantly characterized by the same problems tied to the lack of difference in performance between the mixes, as well as blistering and graining problems.

We have 20 grands prix behind us and comparing with the 2017 results there are interesting outcomes, even in light of the future.

Mercedes, world constructors’ champion for the fifth straight year, confirmed its positive trend, even if it collected less points (630 against 688 last year). This is more than Ferrari which showed important growth of 31 points, despite Sebastian Vettel who collected 15 points less than 2017. The German driver closed last season in second place with 317 points. The gap is completed by Kimi Raikkonen whose pace speaks of 46 more points (251 against 205).

In an intense and tight championship the new World Champion Lewis Hamilton once again confirmed his excellent qualities by collecting 20 more points (383 against 2017’s 363).

Despite problems of reliability Red Bull also showed positive signs. Ricciardo and Verstappen collected 24 more points. From next year they will have the Honda engine.

If the first three positions were confirmations, behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull there was no lack of new developments. A good leap forward by Renault, Haas, McLaren and Sauber which went from sixth, eighth, ninth and tenth place respectively to fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth place in the World Championship. All at the expense of Toro Rosso and Williams.

If behind Red Bull’s satellite team there is a technical explanation (they worked on behalf of Horner’s team to develop the Honda engine for 2019), for Williams the situation seems even more critical even if Robert Kubica’ s return full time beside the young promising Russell really pleased me. This was an intelligent combination. The Polish driver has the culture to help the extremely promising young driver.

Racing Point Force India (ex Force India) deserves a separate discussion. If to the current 48 points we also added the 49 points collected in the first 12 grands prix there would be a great duel with Renault for fourth place. This is a positive result and synonymous with the team that knew how to hold on to its technical level (finishing in fourth place in the previous two seasons) despite the financial problems that led to the change of ownership and loss of points at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Let us jump into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1, the last race for Fernando Alonso. Minardi "It is only a see you later"

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On Sunday at Abu Dhabi Fernando Alonso will race his final Formula 1 Grand Prix after his debut in 2001 with Minardi, a 17 year career, 2 world championships and three just missed. From 2019 the Spanish driver will write a new chapter by chasing the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.

The last few years with McLaren gave little satisfaction and did not give the results he had hoped for and which he would have deserved but compliments were not lacking from colleagues and others who work in the Circus. We wanted to talk on the telephone with the man who brought Fernando Alonso to the Formula 1 Circus, Gian Carlo Minardi.

“I was present at his first test with Minardi in 1999 after his win in the Nissan World Series, at his first Grand Prix in Melbourne in 2001, again with Minardi, but I will not be present at Abu Dhabi because I am convinced it will not be his last Grand Prix. The race at the Emirates will only be a see you later,” commented the manager from Faenza.

“I wish him the best of luck in his next challenge and I tell him to enjoy himself since he still has a lot to give and receive from this sport,” concluded Minardi.

Karol Basz at Vallelunga between Super Trofeo Europa and World Final

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The Vallelunga circuit named after Piero Taruffi will be the setting for both the sixth and final round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europa and the sixth edition of the World Final dedicated to the cars of the maker from Sant’Agata Bolognese involving all the protagonists of the three series Europe, Asia and North America.

After the positive experience in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship aboard the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 the Polish driver followed by Minardi Management will return to the wheel of the blue Imperiale Racing “Lambo” number 44 together with Vito Postiglione to defend the leadership and to play for the title strengthened by the ten point lead over their direct rivals.

The spotlights will turn onto the final round on Thursday with free practice and qualifying, while on Friday there will be two races at 11.40am and 3.40pm.

On Saturday the curtain will rise on the World Final’s intensive programme with the warm-up, official trials and race-1. Race-2 is scheduled for Sunday at 2.25pm. There will be direct streaming on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse Facebook page.

“It’s time for the culmination of year-round struggles. We are leading in the standings, so the situation is very good for us, but we must remember that our rivals will definitely not go easy on us. Two-day tests before the finals mean that not only we know the track very well, but the other teams also. For this reason, I expect a hard fight from the first outing on the track. Together with Vito, we will definitely give our best and I hope that it will be enough to stay on top. Keep fingers crossed” commented Karol

“As always we will go to the track with our minds on the aim of winning the Super Trofeo Europa and to then have a say in the World Final, an appointment that embraces the best teams from the three series and to finish as well as possible a season that has been positive up till now,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

F1 | Gp Mexico, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “This result must make Ferrari think”

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Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton who won his fifth World Championship in Mexico. The extraordinary result came in Mercedes’ hardest weekend that saw a perfect Max Verstappen win in front of the Ferraris of Vettel and Raikonnen (a pity about Daniel Ricciardo). It was a decidedly important result for the “red cars” that let it keep the Constructors’ title open, even if personally I think that the comeback is very complicated, if not impossible.

The race, tight and not easy as can be seen by the gap between the drivers in which the tyres were once again the protagonists, must make the men from Maranello think, especially about the too many errors made during the season, which is coming to an end with a few too many regrets. Well done Vettel who, after the race, praised his rival on a Sunday in which he managed to interrupt his negative period.

Amongst the second rank teams Renault consolidated fourth place, an important result in light of the future, and with Sauber that leaped over Toro Rosso to take eighth place thanks to the seventh and ninth places claimed by Leclerc and Ericsson. The duel will continue in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Gian Carlo Minardi

GT Italia | Karol Basz on the podium at Mugello as well with Imperiale Racing

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It was another podium for Karol Basz who, together with Vito Postiglione, on the track at Mugello put his mark on his second race at the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the final round of the Italian Gran Turismo Championship.

On the demanding Tuscan track the Polish driver followed by Minardi Management took third place in race-2 under the driving rain that conditioned the entire race that began behind the safety car since during all the weekend the drivers never had the chance to race in these difficult conditions.

It was an important result for the Imperiale Racing standard bearer who, starting as leader, on next November 17-18 at the Vallelunga track will take part in the key round of the Super Trofeo Lamborghini season with the sixth and final round of the European season.

In qualifying Karol took the front row authoritatively thanks to the second best time and he finished the day with fifth place in race-1. At the start Vito Postiglione quickly climbed up two positions confirming second place up to the pit stop but the time penalty took the Lambo number 16 back to seventh place. Karol was very skilled and fast to take back the positions lost, climbing up to fifth place and finishing amongst the Imperiale Team’s best drivers.

“We are very happy with the work carried out by Karol all weekend. It was only his second experience in GT3 and he gave the answers we expected, he just missed out on pole position and once again reached the podium. Compared to Monza the weekend was even more important which gives us good hopes for 2019- Now we will get to work ahead of Vallelunga,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

“The race was very hard since visibility very poor at the start but with every lap the feeling improved. At one point of the race we were even the fastest on the track. I am very happy with the podium and our rhythm. It was another great result in the light of next season,” commented a satisfied Karol Basz.

F1 | Minardi “Ferrari must help Vettel. Leclerc’s arrival is positive”

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We are coming into the weekend of the Mexican Grand Prix, the nineteenth and third last round of the Formula 1 World Championship and with another match ball for Lewis Hamilton to win his fifth world title.

At Austin Ferrari managed to delay the celebration with Kimi Raikonnen’s win and Sebastian Vettel’s fourth place which was surely an important result for the team from Maranello that reduced the gap slightly from Mercedes on the Constructors’ front. It was a result that revitalized the shares in the team of the Finnish driver who came back to victory after 5 years and 115 races and who will leave Maranello to return to Hinwil.

I do not share the comments about this since I am convinced that the choices made by the team’s management are the right road to return to victory. The results speak on their own with Sebastian Vettel constantly faster than his team mate, even if he was the protagonist of too many errors (9 in 18 grands prix is a very high average for a driver who wants to win the title). At Austin he had overtaken Raikonnen as well, just as he had all season.

At this time Ferrari must recover Vettel the driver in view of both the final three rounds and in consideration for 2019 and the arrival of Charles Leclerc will give him the right stimulus.

Raikonnen was perfect at Austin and I hope to see him with the same determination, which had been lacking in the first part of the season, also in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. He has to be the deciding factor to help Ferrari win the constructor’s title.

Gian Carlo Minardi

GT Italia | Karol Basz at Mugello with the Imperiale Racing GT3

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This weekend Karol Basz, leader of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europa together with Vito Postiglione, will return to the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for the final round of the Italian Gran Turisimo Championship.

After his excellent debut at Monza the Polish driver followed by Minardi Management will once again team with Vito Postiglione on the demanding Tuscan track at the wheel of the Imperiale Racing number 16 supercar from the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory to run up more kilometres and gain experience with the powerful GT3 car ahead of next season.

“We are very happy to race once more with the Lamborghini GT3 as this will be our next challenge in 2019 and for this reason we thank all the Imperiale team and Ivano for this new opportunity after the excellent weekend at Monza and to show once again how fast Karol is”, commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti

“I am very happy with the new invitation from Imperiale Racing. This is a confirmation of the good work carried out up till now. At Monza we climbed up on the podium twice and I hope to be able to fight it out for top position at Mugello as well. It will surely not be an easy weekend due to the penalty we will have to pay in the pit stop. I know the track very well and I will concentrate on the car right from the start” commented a satisfied Karol.

The first of the two races that will close the season will start on Saturday afternoon at 2.05pm, whereas on Sunday race-2 will begin at 2.00pm. It will be broadcast direct on Rai Sport and in streaming on acisport.it.

F1 | Gp United States, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Unacceptable mistakes by Vettel. Verstappen the next World Champion”

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At Austin we witnessed another excellent grand prix, ruined by the latest mistake (the second of the weekend) by Sebastian Vettel. Nine mistakes in eighteen grands prix is an unacceptable average for a driver that wants to win his fifth world championship.

Ferrari’s German driver was certainly the great absentee in a great fight for final victory between three drivers belonging to three different teams that saw Kimi Raikonnen return to success.

The Finn was very good and built this success right from qualifying, without making the slightest error, as has been happening to him for a number of races in this part. Anyway, Ferrari won an important result, placing its cars between the two Mercedes and showing important competitiveness that should make Vettel think even more.

It was a stupendous race by Max Verstappen, a future world champion, who kept at bay the five times world champion who did not hold anything back to try and close the game in Texas with a double cross on Red Bull’s Dutch driver who defended second place superlatively.

In a week’s time we will be back on track in Mexico and there is little time to recharge the batteries, above all for a team (Ferrari) that must again find calm and trust in its lead driver, who is surely not achieving the results expected of him.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Kart | Andrea Kimi Antonelli in OKJ with Rosberg Racing

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At the South Garda international track Andrea Kimi Antonelli left Mini 60 after having won the Rok Cup International Final that this year celebrated its sixteenth edition.

Placed in the L-Series 2 group, Energy Racing’s very young driver from Bologna followed by Mercedes-AMG in collaboration with Minardi Management was the absolute protagonist with three wins and a fourth place in the three rounds of the Heats that put him in the front row of the Qualifying Heats and he finished the weekend with first place in the Mini Rok Final that earned him the title.

“We thank Mick Panigada and all the staff of Energy Corse for the dedication they put in place all season that helped Andrea to grow. Now another chapter begins,” commented Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

For Andrea Kimi Antonelli it is already time to think about next season that will see him make a leap of category to the OKJ that will already begin on the same track at Lonato for the first three rounds of the WSK Final Cup. After the round at South Garda the karting international will move to circuit 7 Laghi of Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia) for the round on November 11th which will then be followed the final weekend at the Adria Karting Raceway planned for November 21st.

In the new challenge of OKJ Andrea Kimi Antonelli will wear the colours of the Rosberg Racing Team, the team created by the fusion between the 2016 World F2 Champion Nico Rosberg and Dino Chiesa that, five months after its formation, already celebrated the FIA Karting World Championship at Kristianstad.

“We are excited about starting this new adventure beside Rosberg Racing in OKJ, the newly crowned OK World Champion. This contract strengthens the collaboration with Mercedes-AMG and we will continue to follow Andrea’s growth, giving him the proper support race by race,” continued managers Minardi and Tonti.

F1 | Gp America, PRESENTATION by Minardi “Calm is in Ferrari”

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The Formula 1 World Championship comes to the Americas for the double round of Austin-Mexico City. It begins in Texas that is currently being hit by bad weather with heavy rain which also struck the track that is the setting for the eighteenth grand prix.

It will not be an easy weekend for Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari that are calling for a real miracle to open the title. From what we hear from inside the team there is a strong tension in the air due to the many errors made during the season by both the driver and by the team itself. It would be opportune to begin thinking about 2019 and President John Elkann is responsible for reorganizing team, without striking technical revolutions.

Ferrari has shown on a few occasions that it has built a competitive car whose results have been limited by mistakes that have compromised the season. Sebastian Vettel must show that he is a World Champion. Everything can happen but he must be able to get back up again.

It will be an interesting weekend on the front of the second ranked teams with an open battle between Haas-Renault for fourth place in the Constructors’ ladder and Sauber-Toro Rosso for eighth place. In the last four rounds Racing Point Force India will to try overtake McLaren for sixth place.

As we told you in recent days (http://www.minardi.it/f1-gran-premio-damerica-il-weekend-delle-prime-volte-con-gian-carlo-minardi/), with Gabriele Tredozi and Pierluigi Martini the United States Grand Prix represents a crucial point in the results of the Minardi Team and have become part of our history. I took a lot of pleasure in reliving these events with you.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Grand Prix of the United States, the weekend of the “first times” with Pierluigi Martini

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After Team Principal (Gian Carlo Minardi) and Engineer (Gabriele Tredozi) we could not miss the Driver Pierluigi Martini, the hero who gave the Minardi Team its first world championship point at Detroit 1988 and its first front row at Phoenix 1990 with the second fastest time behind Berger’s McLaren, together with many other important results that became part of the history of the team from Faenza such as fifth place at Silverstone and Estoril, the fourth place in qualifying in Spain and the third fastest time in Australia – with starting grids made up of 27 cars – behind the McLarens of Senna and Prost and in front of Nannini’s Benetton finishing in the points with sixth place, the fourth places set in 1991 at Monte Carlo and Estoril with the Ferrari powered Minardi and the fifth places at Montmelò and Magny-Cours and racing in more than 100 grands prix.

“Detroit ’88 changed my life as a driver but it was just as important for the team. When the call came from Gian Carlo I was racing in F3000. I will never forget that weekend. The M188 was a car so difficult and demanding to drive that the steering wheel had taken away the fingertips from both hands. I finished the race on the strength of desperation. After 23 laps I was in fifth position and when I read on the board on the wall that there were still 40 more laps I didn’t want to believe it but I gritted my teeth. The car, nicknamed the Camel, jolted every time it disconnected from the asphalt and I struggled more to keep it on the road in the straight than in the curves. This was due to the configuration chosen by Caliri,” remembered Pierluigi Martini with satisfaction.

“Minardi chose the strategy of not changing tyres and I crossed the finish line on the canvasses. In the end I also touched the guardrail but luckily I did not break the car. It was our perfect day.”

“Phoenix ’90 was the other great day, with the Minardi on the front row for the first and only time in its history. It was a great lap, even if not my best since I made the best lap in Adelaide the year before with the third fastest time behind Senna and Prost and finished the race in sixth place,” continued the driver from the Romagna.

As the engineer Gabriele Tredozi already did, Martini also highlighted the great technical leap between the M188 and the M189 that ran the first races in the 1990 world championship before passing the baton to the M190.

“There was a great abyss between the two cars. The great leap of the M188 came in the summer of the occasion of the Monza Grand Prix when the car was taken up by Aldo Costa and Gabriele Tredozi who totally redesigned the front suspension which let us make up more than 2” per lap. Previously the M188 jumped on the valleys like crazy. The M189 was the car that gave us the best results, despite the cooling problems that were resolved after the Silverstone Grand Prix.”

Pierluigi Martini concluded his memories with the important result achieved, together with Sala, in the 1989 grand prix at Silverstone, “That weekend was our salvation because, thanks to the fifth and sixth places, we managed to avoid the trap of prequalifying. In the first lap I came back into the pits because the temperatures were once again very high but then, luckily, the problem was solved and that allowed us another incredible comeback”

F1 | Grand Prix of the United States, the weekend of the “first times” with engineer Gabriele Tredozi

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We continue our trip in time towards the United States Grand Prix and after Gian Carlo Minardi we approached Gabriele Tredozi, the engineer from Brisighella who marked his debut in the Formula 1 World championship wearing the Minardi Team colours beginning in 1988

We wanted to experience once more the emotions of Detroit ’88 and Phoenix ’90 from the technical point of view.

“I remember the Detroit weekend very well. It was my sixth grand prix in Formula 1 and I was the race engineer for the M188 number 23 entrusted that up to Canada was entrusted to Adrian Campos and from Detroit to Pierluigi Martini. That weekend Piero climbed into the car for the first time during free practice and he quickly set excellent times that showed he could be in the first ten places when he closed qualifying in sixteenth place. Bringing the car to the finishing line on debut on a street circuit and disjointed such as that of Detroit in sixth place was an extraordinary result, especially because the M188 had a number of problems,” remembered Tredozi.

The Minardi M188 designed by Caliri, nicknamed the “camel” due to its chronic instability was powered by a Ford 3.5 aspirated V8 and its very short wheelbase and the torsion bar suspension (an absolute innovation at the time) were badly suited for irregular road surfaces.

“This was a very rigid car and certainly not easy to drive, particularly on a street circuit. In August, in view of the grand prix at Monza, we managed however to resolve a large part of the problems thanks to an important intervention with the adoption, amongst other things, of the dynamic dome to increase the flow of air into the engine which let us gain two seconds”.

“This development was then transferred to the M189 that made its debut in Mexico (the third grand prix of the 1989 season, editor’s note), also beginning the following season at Phoenix by taking the front row with Martini, who was beaten only by Berger in the McLaren in the final minutes by only a few tenths of seconds,” continued Tredozi,

The Minardi M189 was surely the best car built at Faenza, both in terms of results with 6 points won (5th and 6th places in Great Britain, 5th place in Portugal and fourth place in qualifying in Spain and 6th place in Australia), as well as its performance at speed.

“The generational leap between the M188 and the M89 was important. The chassis was worked for the first time with a 5 axis numerical machine that exploited CAD-Cam technology instead of by hand, with rear shock absorbers to balance the gear box and great attention paid to the profile of the spoilers. The start of the season was not easy due to water cooling problems, but once we modified the system the efforts were repaid with the fifth and sixth places at Silverstone which were followed by other important results such as the front row at Phoenix 90,” concluded the engineer from the Romagna, “They were two incredible results that made Minardi history, achieved also thanks to Martini’s technical skills”.