Fernando Alonso to debut at Le Mans and in WEC

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After having followed it for all of last season, this year Fernando Alonso will reach his objective of participating in the 24 hours of Le Mans at the wheel of the Toyota TS050 Hybrid. For the World Champion this will be a season full of commitments since together with the 21 grands prix with McLaren-Renault there will not only also be the marathon at Sarthe, but he will also take part in the 18/19 WEC Super Season, always at the wheel of the Japanese car number 8, together with Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi.

This will be another debut for Nando after his positive participation in the Indianapolis 500 which ended with his retirement due to a broken motor, which was possible thanks to the blessing from the team of Woking. Coming back from the disappointing Daytona 24 hour event at the wheel of the Ligier LMP2 of the United Autosports tea, Alonso will sign on to make his debut in the World Endurance Championship at the wheel of the LMP1 in the 6 hour event at Spa-Francorchamps (May 5th and 6th) which will be run before Le Mans (June 16th and 17th) and will then only miss the 6 hour event at Fuji due to the overlap with the US Formula 1 Grand Prix which will have the priority.

“I wish Nando all the best of luck as he will be called to make a noteworthy commitment. He will find himself in situation that will not be easy, having to pass from one category to another and, above all, between cars that are different greatly from each other, The endurance races (6 hours or 24 hours) require a very different preparation compared to an F1 GP,” commented Gian Carlo Minardi.

“I do not condemn, nor do I support this choice, but I see a lot of discontinuity on this programme. After having taken part in Daytona with a Ligier LMP2 he will front up to Le Mans and the WEC with a Toyota TS050 Hybrid, while last year he ran the Indianapolis 500. Nando is giving a strong demonstration of the strength of his commitment to racing by seeking new challenges and this can only be good for the sport since it generates interest, but I find it excessive” concluded the manager from Faenza.

Kart | A winning debut for Andrea Kimi Antonelli for Energy Corse in the WSK Champions Cup

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli began the new season with an authoritative win in his first race for team Energy Corse. On the Andria circuit the very young (he was born in 2006) karting driver from Bologna dominated the whole weekend of the WSK Champions Cup in the mini category, clocking up the fine total of 5 successes.

Assigned to Group A, Andrea Kimi Antonelli put together three wins and a third place in four of the five rounds of the Eliminatory HEAT and registered a decisive comeback in the Pre Final when he managed to make up four places which brought him the win and pole position for the Final.

The Masterpiece then came in fact in the final round when the driver followed by Minardi Management gave all the spectators a heart thumping last lap when he recovered two positions after having gone down to third place and then once again cut the finish line in first place.

“This really was a weekend that was full of satisfactions beside Andrea Kimi together with his new team, Mick Panigada’s Energy Corse. Andrea Kimi showed that he has adapted quickly to the new material and the team’s new method of work and took another step forward professionally after already being been rewarded last year.

There is nothing to say about the competition, with the pole. and the wins in the rounds and the Pre Final, but the real masterpiece came in the Finale when, after having been overtaken by two drivers and going down to third spot he did not get discouraged and with superb lines won back top spot and thus the win.

We can put away this important first success with a lot of satisfaction, but we are already concentrating on the new weekend of racing which will put the seal on his debut in the WSK Master,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi is optimistic about Giovanizzi’s future

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“Everyone recognized positively the work Giovinazzi did last season.”

These were the first words by Gian Carlo Minardi when asked by www.minardi.it about the future of the young driver from Martina Franca who this year will have the role of third driver for both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo-Sauber. It will be a season “on the bench” for the young man from Apulia but the manager from Faenza says he is confident.

“I am sad that Antonio is still a spectator at this stage. If I still had a team I would probably have given him his debut a few years ago. His situation is muddled, but a lot will depend on Ferrari’s beginning to the season as we have a Raikonnen on the verge of forty years of age who, should he not give some sign of confirming what is expected of him, could set off an earthquake of changes of drivers’ seats. I am moderately optimistic about his future,” continued the ex constructor from Faenza.

Giovinazzi took part in a Formula E rooky test on Marrakesh’s street circuit and was left positively impressed. However he confirmed he still wants to concentrate on the F1 world championship.

“Antonio wants to continue his career in F1 and for now there is no desire to take the direction of electric racing, either by him or by Ferrari,” concluded Minardi.

F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi “The silence of this F1 is exhausting”

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Two months have passed since the Abu Dhabi grand prix and we must wait for another thirty days before seeing the cars on the track in the first day of collective tests. Before that day there will be the presentation of the Renault (February 20th) which will the trail blazer for the path which Ferrari and Mercedes will follow when they lift the covers on Thursday February 22nd. Is the break too long? We asked Gian Carlo Minardi.

“The break is certainly not too long if we consider a season with 21 grands prix. They are all working hard to prepare every single detail also because we must not forget that the most important challenge is tied to the duration of the power-units which this year will be only three per driver. A ratio of 7 to 1,” emphasized Gian Carlo Minardi,

“The sad part is this silence from the teams which are issuing no press releases and have not organized conferences to keep the enthusiasts up to date. Unfortunately this fashion has been taking hold for some time and I find it absurd, just as it is like tripping yourself up by setting the presentations on the same day.

In all the other sporting realities the teams supply the information and the media world goes on,” continued the manager from Faenza,

“The teams are committed to trying to catch up to the Mercedes which is still the point of reference and Ferrari is called upon to make a leap of quality that will not be easy after five wins last year. To be followed is also the fight in the family between Renault, McLaren and Red Bull which all have the same engines and the unknown factor that is Toro Rosso-Honda. The Japanese come from three disappointing seasons and its problems are tied to the use of fuel and the lubricants.”

F1 | Minardi “I am curious about the Williams pair”

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With the announcement from the Williams team that Sergej Sirotkin will be next to Lance Stroll Robert Kubica’s fairy tale ended, even though the Pole will in any case make his return to F1 world championship as the third driver for the team from the Grove.

The announcement was not exempt from much criticism from members of the F1 world, but Gian Carlo Minardi is going against the flow

“Despite being very sad that we were not able to see a driver of Robert’s calibre as a lead actor in the world championship. I will be curious to see these two young men in action,” commented the manager from Faenza in an interview by www.minardi.it.

With an average age of barely 22 Lance Stroll and Sergej Sirotkin will give life to the youngest pair of drivers on the grid.

“My DNA has always that of working with the young and therefore this choice gives me much pleasure, even if a team as important as Williams could pay the choice in terms of the car’s development,” continued Minardi who was able to follow closely the first steps of the young men in the world of racing cars.

“These two young men grew up in our territory and within the ACI-Sport championships and this must be a source of pride. Unfortunately there are no Italians and this must be an incentive to keep working.

“It is useless hiding behind a glass wall: behind Lance and Sergej there are respectively a wealthy father (Lawrence Stroll) and a Russian bank. Exactly what our young men are lacking. It will only be up to them to show that they deserve the place they are they are occupying,” concluded the ex-constructor.

F1 | Hamilton backs Minardi. The champion is also against the asphalted run offs

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The asphalted run-offs of the new circuits are back on the agenda. This time the four times world champion Lewis Hamilton is the one pointing the finger at the new layouts of the circuits confirming what was already said in recent months by Gian Carlo Minardi. It was on the occasion of the USA grand prix and following Verstappen’s penalty that the manager from Faenza stated

“…The asphalted run-offs give the drivers too much peace of mind and this urges them to go over the limits allowed by the circuit and then they incur penalties which raise controversy that does no favours to the image of the world championship. As a matter of fact these incidents do not occur on the historic circuits such as Suzuka, Spa-Francorchamps or Monza where errors or acts of bravado come at a heavy price since they risk finding themselves stuck in the sand”

The 2017 World Champion from Britain is of the same idea.

The Federation has done an incredible job on safety, but the time has come to take a step back and return to the run-offs with grass or gravel. A driver should not be able to cut a corner so easily knowing that he has available a wide strip of asphalt… What I loved about the past was the risk of losing time – or the race- if you left the track. Today you can approach a corner even 5% faster since if you make a mistake you can come back onto the track in any case”

It was precisely the penalty given to Verstappen for his overtaking manoeuvre at Raikonnen’s expense at Austin that Minardi added another analysis.

“It would be vital having the same work group at Race Director Charlie Whiting’s side for the whole season. Objective decisions can only be avoided in this way. During last season,” added the ex constructor, “there were a number of similar incidents which had different evaluations between them and this does not do the sport any good. One solution to bring together the circuits and to avoid them spending more money and to ensure safety could be to impose heavy penalties in the case of cutting corners,” concluded the manager from Faenza.

F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi “2018 a crucial year” – Part II

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2018 will not only be a crucial year on the driver front (as we discussed in recent days), but also on the motor front. On the one hand Mercedes will line up at the start with a completely redesigned power-unit and on the other Ferrari, Renault and above all Honda will have the task of making an important leap forward to fight the German dreadnought.

The task will be even harder with the new regulations since the motors available for each driver will be only three which, in a season made up of twenty one rounds, equals a cover of seven grands prix each before hitting the penalties barrier.

Last season Maranello laid the foundations for trying to open a winning cycle, even though they paid a heavy price with reliability in the second part of the season (together with some errors by its drivers), having to take a step back by sacrificing performance.

We find the principal new developments in McLaren and Toro Rosso which were the protagonists of an exchange. After three markedly disappointing seasons Honda moved to Faenza which freed its place at Woking to be taken by Renault.

“With the current regulations the power unit is a deciding factor in the final result and seven grands prix for each PU represent an incredible sword of Damocles. Mercedes is working with a completely new motor and I hope that Maranello will be able to keep up the pace. From what we have heard Ferrari’s new chassis was born under a better star and I hope that the power unit will also be up to the task. With last season’s five wins they set the foundation to continue to grow and to try an open a winning cycle, even if it is not easy against this Mercedes” commented Gian Carlo Minardi.

“As well as the Ferrari-Mercedes challenge it will also be very interesting to follow the Renault-Honda exchange. For the first time Faenza will have an official motor and such a long term programme can only benefit the team which now finds itself in excellent condition to better plan and programme the new (and future) cars. In recent years they were forced to work with motors that were not latest generation and without the continuity of supply by said constructor. It is a situation I know all too well since in other occasions we found ourselves in November without the certainty of a motor for the following year, continued the manager from Faenza

“For other reasons the magnifying glass will also be Renault which will be called to improve last year’s sixth position and also the performance of its motor (which it will still supply also to Red Bull) and Force India with the Mercedes engine which was the protagonist of an exemplary season that ended in fourth place for the second consecutive year” concluded Gian Carlo Minardi.

F1 | Gian Carlo Minardi "2018 a crucial year" – First part

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We are still two months away from the Melbourne Grand Prix (23-25 March) which will start the 2018 Formula 1 season, but between now and then there will be the presentations of the new racing cars and the twelve days of tests to develop the new cars in the light of the first commitments outside Europe which will give us the first taste of the season to come. It will begin in Catalonia with a good eight consecutive days of tests (February 26 – March 1) to then return to the track, again in Barcelona, from March 6 – 9.

On the presentations front, Ferrari will lead the pack with a ceremony booked for Thursday February 22, before leaving for Spain where Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Williams and Haas will take off their covers. Williams also has to resolve the riddle of the driver who will replace Felipe Massa at Lance Stroll’s side with Sergej Sirotkin holding a lead on Robert Kubica.

The work in the factories is proceeding without a break and together with Gian Carlo Minardi we tried to point towards the season to come

“It will be a very important season since we have a number of drivers reaching the end of their contracts that must give their all to be reconfirmed in the team, or to draw the attention of others.”

Last year Ferrari confirmed Kimi Raikonnen for a year, while Red Bull’s contract with Daniel Ricciardo expires at the end of the season, just as Mercedes’ contract with Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ with Romanin Grosjean, Force India’s with Sergio Perez and it is Fernando’s last year with McLaren.

“The motors are still off, but 2018 already looks to be a very animated year, above all in the first part. Raikonnen’s renewal came at a particular moment and, in my opinion, dictated mainly by the need to satisfy Vettel’s requests, but in the final part of the season the Finn was decidedly unstable. To win the constructors’ world title and to try to beat the German dreadnought two stable drivers are needed. For this reason there could be an approach as soon as this season in light of 2019” continued the manager from Faenza.
It will also be Fernando Alonso’s final year with McLaren which, after three troubled years with Honda, will have Renault power-unit but keep an eye at what could also happen with the smaller teams where it is possible to emerge as happened with Minardi. It will be interesting to follow the debut of Charles Leclerc at the wheel of the Sauber”

2018 promises to be a season full of twists and turns and many Team Bosses will be called upon to manage the rivalry between their own drivers to the best of their abilities. If you want to know more, just ask Force India about the extremely heated clashes between Ocon and Perez.