Archive for category: News

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 2^nd and 3^rd 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.

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 10^th 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 (8^th).

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.

After the two last race events, which took place at the two most modern circuits in the F.1 calendar (Singapore and Korea), F.1 is now ready to move to the Suzuka historical circuit. The Japanese track was a place where memorable challenges between Senna and Prost took place in the past and it also played a substantial role in many world titles assignments.

Suzuka is an “old style” track; it is characterized by fast and slow sectors and there are many rooms to overtake. Every mistake is dearly paid and the escape hatches are not as large as in any other modern track. It’s a tough track for drivers and cars, so something surprising can be expected.

The Japanese week end is a special one, as all experts will stay at the “Suzuka” Hotel, which is very close to the circuit. Drivers get on track together with fans, who are numerous and very expert. This week end Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen will be ready to fight for the front places behind Vettel. The constructors Championship is characterized by uncertainty, as Ferrari has one-point-advantage over Mercedes and they both fight for the second place, and Sauber and Toro Rosso are both seventh. Lotus’ fourth place and Mercedes’ fifth place are almost definite. So, the Enstone-based squad can probably stop developing its cars and make use of the current resources in the 2014 season. The situation is different for Sauber and Toro Rosso. A one-point-gap means to finish seventh or eighth, which, in terms of financial income, means a several-million-gap.

My memories at Suzuka are linked to deception; two or three times we were about to get a good result, which vanished just a few steps before the chequeredflag. .

I remember with pleasure a press conference (1990) during a party held by Pioneer (which was one of our sponsors during the Japanese GP). On that occasion the company announced it would have been a Minardi Team’s sponsor even in the following season. Unfortunately we didn’t close that agreement.

Anyway, in 1992, we scored a very important point thanks to Fittipaldi’s 6^th place. At that time we were racing with the M192 which was powered by the Lamborghini engine. A funny episode is linked to the Japanese GP. McLaren was in trouble with the engine supply, so Lamborghini started a new engine development with a view to the 1993 racing season. Our engine took advantage of that development, too. Christian’s sixth place was rewarded.

Japan reminds me of nice memories. When I was there I used to spend pleasant days in Tokyo with my friend Tadashi Sasaki. I also spent my days in the search for sponsors. At that time Japan represented an “Eldorado” for what concerning sponsorship.

Mission accomplished for Bhai Tech Racing. On the Monza track, where the seventh and last but one International GT Open Championship’s event took place last week end, the Italian team reached the goal it reserved before. In fact, the team’s four drivers Giorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia took revenge of the Spa-Francorchamps’s grim racing week end by becoming the Championship’s leaders again.

The Mestrino-based team, which is managed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, sealed its first win overall, thanks to Pantano/Suzuki’s win in race-1, ahead of their teammates Razia/Van Der Drift. After scoring a win in the GTS class at the Nurburgring and Silverstone, the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team scored another win on the domestic track, bringing the number of wins to four in the year of the debut in the International Championship.

Despite the track’s layout and the weather conditions were not so much compatible with the two McLarens MP4-12C’s technical features, the Bhai Tech’s four drivers fought to recover several positions, driving brightly and avoiding all dangers caused by wet soil.

During the Saturday afternoon’s race Giorgio Pantano, after taking an excellent start from the second row, soon managed to take the lead, giving way to a more performing Ferrari GTS and to the Esta Motorsport’s Ferrari 458 GT3 only when he had to pit. After a perfect pit-stop, Suzuki took control of the car and soon jumped up to the top of the standing. Van Der Drift’s recovery was fabulous, too. The New Zealander driver got the top 5 before passing the baton to Luiz Razia who finished first. The Italian team got the two most important steps of the podium at Monza.

Race-2 was run under the rain, which caused problems for the English car, so, 24 hours after driving a successful race, the car #65 finished seventh in the overall standing. A tyre’s puncture forced Luiz Razia to withdraw. The Brazilian driver started from the second row and set the second best chrono in the GTS class “It was an exciting week end. Our goal in Monza was to score as many points as possible to take the lead of the standing again and so it was. All guys were fabulous, both the drivers and the mechanics made perfect pit-stops. They scored the first win in the overall standing”, said the technical director Mr. Costa, “Unfortunately rain caused some problems for us. We’re working to improve our performances on wet soil. Our strategy was perfect and we developed our entire program. Unfortunately a tyre’s puncture caused by a collision, forced Razia to withdraw and stop the car on the Lesmo corner.  I’d like to compliment the Monza circuit’s commissioners as they proved to be the best once again, unlike it happened at Spa”, commented Roberto Costa, “the strategy chosen for Rafael and Giorgio was a good one and it allowed us to recover several positions even in race-2. Rafael was very good at avoiding problems caused by heavy rain and Giorgio, once tyres were brought to temperature, brought the recovery to completion by finishing seventh. We don’t have anything to complain about. We leave Monza as GTS standing’s leaders. We also took the first and seventh place in the drivers’ standing. We’ll play everything at Barcelona.”

Let’s listen to the four drivers’ statements: ““In Saturday race, we achieved the first goal of the week end, which was scoring as many points as possible. It was an important race for the championship, we had a very good pace and we were able to open a good gap. It was also a special victory because it is the home race for us”, said Rafael Suzuki, “It was a tough day because of the rain that started exactly at the time of the race. Our car doesn’t have the best performance in these conditions, and we had to pay an extra handicap of 15 seconds in the pit stop, it was harder to get in the points. But we go to the final round in Barcelona depending only of our efforts, and we will work hard to achieve our goal.” His teammate Giorgio Pantano has the same opinion: “It’s exciting to win at Monza, everything was perfect. We regained the standing’s top position which we share with Bontempelli, this was our main goal. Unfortunately we know our limits on wet soil, but we’re already focused on the Barcelona race for the final challenge. We’ll test the car’s last upgrades during the collective test session to take place before the racing week end”, ends Giorgio.

“In race – 1 Chris took a good start and the pit stop was also very important for this result. We count a bit on luck because others had problems, but it was good to complete a well done job and be on the podium at Monza is always special”, said Luiz Razia, “Unfortunately we had to abandon the race because of a flat tire. It was a shame, because I believe that even having to pay extra 10 seconds in the pits, we could have scored points, but let’s think forward, because we still have two races”, said Van Der Drift and Razia.

 

Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull sealed two wins out of the three editions of the F.1 GP, which have been played out at the Corean circuit of Yeongam until now. His Ferrari’s rival Fernando Alonso had the honor of taking a win in the 2010 first Korean GP.

All the potential deployed by the German driver and his team until now, could make us think that the World Championship’s final result is already written, even because the team and the driver’s advantage over rivals is remarkable, so only unconceivable events can turn the situation around. Despite that and the fact that the 2014 season will be a very demanding one for what concerning engine, aerodynamics and tyre degradation, Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus, McLaren and Force India won’t raise the white flag, since the constructors’ championship is still open and we have Maranello fighting against Brackley for the second place and McLaren fighting against Force India for the fourth place.

The Korean GP will be a very important race and it will be tactically very different in comparison with the past season, as the Pirelli will bring Supersoft and Medium tyres, instead of Supersoft and Soft tyres like it happened last year. As far as the weather is concerned, the Korean GP will be characterized by hot weather and, perhaps, sudden storms. Despite the fact Korea will continue to be one of the 2014 F.1 Championship’s venues, the Asian track’s future is not so bright and there could be some troubles in the future. With regards to next season, the FIA World Council made official the 2014 F.1 calendar, which consists of 22 GP. It will be a very demanding season not only for drivers but also for the team’s staff who will have just a little time to recharge his batteries. I hope small teams will have enough resources to meet next year’s challenge and I also hope that they’ll be good at managing those resources.

Talking about the 2014 F.1 season, it seems that Ruben Barrichello will make his return to F.1 alongside Sauber team, along with Sirotkin. Rubens is a very experienced driver for sure, but, to be honest, I think it will be difficult for him to become a f.1 driver again, even if, considering the importance of Brazil for the international market and for the audience, the golden-green flag will continue to light up the F.1 Championship. I will look favorably Felipe Massa’s presence in the F.1 Championship, since the Brazilian is a very experienced racer. I will also look favorably the fact that a new driver such as Felix Da Costa will join the circus. The young driver is probably expected to replace Ricciardo in Toro Rosso. Felix Da Costa’s arrival would represent continuity to the Red Bull young drivers program. But it is still too early, everything can happen.

After the unlucky race at the Nurburgring, which was the Blancpain Endurance Series’ last event, Davide Rigon’s season is almost coming to an end. Together with his demanding work on the Ferrari Simulator and his engagement in the Endurance Championship at the wheel of the Kessel Team’s Ferrari 458 GT3, the Minardi Management’s driver made his debut in the WEC World Championship and in the international GT Open Championship at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT2. He finished second at Interlagos and scored a double win at Spa-Francorchamps. “It was an end to the Championship to be forgotten about. Because of some accidents, penalties and mistakes we didn’t manage to score a win which could have been within our reach. Once again our pace was good, but it was not enough unfortunately. I want to praise all the team on a job well done. All the guys did a great job on the car, they did miracles!”

After scoring a win in the Championship’s opening race at Monza and contesting the Championship’s final race as leaders, we all know how your season ended. What do you think about the racing season?

It was a positive season as we delivered good performances as drivers. Along with Daniel and Ramos, we were among the fastest on track, but luck was not at our side. At the 24H of Spa we had to withdraw just 1 hour before the end of the race. It was a crucial abandon.

An intense season is coming to an end. Besides your engagement with Ferrari as a test driver and your participation in the Blancpain Endurance Championship, you made also your debut in the WEC and in the GT Open.

It’s always exciting to put oneself to the test in different challenges and live new experiences. I made my debut in the WEC World Championship and in the GT Open and I got excellent results in both challenges. I hope to have further chances to draw attention on myself in similar challenges.

 

What are the differences between the Ferrari 458 GT3 and the Ferrari 458 GT2?

The Ferrari 458 GT3’s competition level is very high; the 458 GT2 is very close to a formula car. It’s a very reactive car, aerodynamics plays a very important role with regards to that and the car doesn’t have any ABS system. I like that car very much.

Will you get back on track before the season ends?

I’ll take part in the GT Open Championship’s last event at Monza behind the wheel of the Villorba Corse team’s Ferrari 458 GT3, along Montermini. It’s a pleasure for me to have the chance to continue to race alongside the Raimondo Amadio’s team and have Andrea as my teammate. We got excellent results at Spa-Francorchamps. Two Italian drivers will race at Monza behind the wheel of the Ferrari GT2. It’ll be fabulous. Both Andrea and the team are fighting for the title, so we have an important goal to reach. Let’s meet in Monza on October 5^th.