Singapore GP – Preview

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With the Monza GP, the F.1 Championship has left Europe, seven more races outside the ancient continent are scheduled for the next months. The first one is the Singapore GP to take place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit this week end.  It’s a street circuit and it’s not an ordinary one for F.1 both because the GP is raced at night and because safety car is traditionally deployed during Sunday race. That is due to the circuit’s features: walls and very few escape hatches. Some drivers’ supremacy could be void. So, good fortune will play a key role, especially if tyre shift will be done in the right moment in the case the safety car will be deployed. What is more, due to weather condition and the high temperatures of the asphalt, Pirelli tyres will play a key role again, as they will be probably subject to sudden degradation.

Many aspects can affect the final result, so they have to be kept under control. The Singapore GP represents for Ferrari the last chance to keep on playing the role of a 2013 title contender, before giving itself up to the 2014 season. We’ve seen how competitive Red Bull is in any situation, so, despite many upgrades will be made, it won’t be easy for other teams to stop its supremacy without an external “support”. Mercedes can bother Red Bull and Ferrari for what concerning the competition for the 2013 title, while Lotus is undergoing a financial crisis as proved by Kimi’s return to Ferrari and many technicians’ exit.

As far as the Championship’s outsiders are concerned, all eyes are on Toro Rosso and Sauber, which both delivered good performances at Monza in qualifying and during the race. The Faenza-based team will make further upgrades to try to get higher positions until the end of the season. The Italian team is also working on the new car. I’m glad to point out that in this venue, the “made in Italy” will not only be represented by the Maranello-based Scuderia, but also by a Forlì-based company who will be responsible for lighting up the Singapore’s night race, the DZ Engineering.

Leaving Europe, all teams will have to face a further snag, which is linked to next venues’ geographical position, which makes aerodynamic upgrades very difficult to be made, because of some logistic problems. The final part of the season will be so intense.

It will be my first time in Singapore. The Minardi Team has never had the opportunity to take part in the Singapore GP, so I will have a chance to experience the Singapore GP’s stunning atmosphere for the first time.

Bhai Tech Driving Simulator Challenge: the Day

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Unforgettable day at the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre. The Mestrino-based technological centre opened its doors to 12 guys on Saturday. The 12 guys, coming from all over Italy, had in common the passion for car racing and for competing on the quick and long straights of the Monza circuit. In fact, they were “racer for one day” and challenged each other on the track where Vettel sealed a win only one week ago.

The guys put themselves to the test by driving the cutting edge full-motion 6-DOF driving simulator, which is situated in the Bhai Tech suite. They had a chance to experience all the difficulties professional drives usually have to face during a race week end.

Under the watchful eye of Gian Carlo Minardi, the Imola circuit’s director Pietro Benvenuto, Giorgio Pantano and Rafael Suzuki (Bhai Tech Racing’s official drivers), the day began with a training session in the gym. The Forlì-based Driver Program Center’s founder Stefano Elia and the physiotherapist José H. Poletti explained the guys the importance of physical and mental training through some physical tests and the use of e-health, which avail itself of a portable physical performance dial which allows trainers to make a real-time detection of the main body activities such as heartbeats, sweating, breathing. The Driver Program Center is equipped with that dial.

After the physical training session, the 12 guys challenged each other at the wheel of the “Bhai Tech driving simulator”, following the engineer and technical director Roberto Costa’s meticulous technical instructions. The technical director taught each guy how to handle a driving simulator from a technical point of view, before and during the simulation session, “It was a very interesting day. It was very interesting to see people who are not used to doing this kind of activity and being under such a physical and mental stress, challenging each other. They had the opportunity to test a real simulator for the first time, a simulator which is conceived for professional drivers. William Zerbini really deserved to win, as he was fast, steadfast and confident. He made a very interesting progression for what concerning lap timing. He also confirmed his skills during the wonderful race on the Singapore’s demanding track. He drove a very fast race, without making any mistakes.” The Monza challenge’s winner put himself to the test also on the Singapore’s demanding track, where the F.1 World Championship’s 13th GP will take place on September 21-22. After the Bhai Tech Racing’s official driver Rafael Suzuki, who competes in the International GT Open Championship at the wheel of the McLaren MP12-4C along with his team mates Pantano, Van Der Drift and Razia, drove some laps, William Zerbini took over the race and delivered good performances in the Singaporean night “Second place for Zerbinati, who amazed us. He was very cautious at the beginning, but, after working on telemetry, he made the grade”, said Roberto Costa at the end of the simulation day, “Corrado Ciriello delivered very good performances and drove a very fast race. He was very aggressive at the beginning, and then he became confident. He could have further improved and he took an interesting path. He’s the typical virtual driver who has never driven a car”, ends the Brazilian engineer, “Besides the lap times set by them, I was also pleased to see their progression lap after lap, as they were at their first experience and they didn’t have so much time at their disposal.”

Gian Carlo Minardi was one of the special observers: “It was a very positive day, spent with car racing enthusiasts, who proved to be very skilled in living car racing competition through cutting edge simulation facilities such as the Bhai Tech’s driving simulator. Besides lap times, it was interesting to see the guys’ driving behavior after the engineer’s technical instructions and their progression lap after lap. I want to pay everyone my compliments on their driving performances. We don’t have to forget that they drove a professional simulator, which is usually driven by professional teams and drivers. It was a challenge, but also a funny day”, says the manager from Faenza “We’re working on the possibility to establish a Championship, as it would be great that young drivers would enter the world of motorsport through virtual simulation. F.1 uses driving simulation to decrease costs, so it is right that also young drivers would have given a chance to put themselves in the test through this kind of technology.” The Bhai Tech day’s emotions can be re-experienced on RaiSport2, inside the “Numero 1” sport program presented by the journalist Franco Bortuzzo.

The Made in Italy lights Singapore up

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“Almost 1700 headlights fed by 2000W lamps placed on a 7-km-long aluminium truss which is supported by 247 steel pylons, a 214-km-long electric cables system, 475 switchboards, a 57-km-long optical fibers system, 47 closed-circuit cameras for race monitoring placed in the operations centre. More than 530 loudspeakers arranged in all the areas attended by the audience, 500 radios for the communication between race commissioners and race professionals, 160 days of hard work and hundreds of men engaged.” These are only some of the numbers which allow the whole world to attend the Singaporean GP, which is the F.1 World Championship’s 13th event, come to its 6th edition. The Marina Bay street circuit was inaugurated in 2008 and hosted the F.1 World Championship’s first night race. The circuit is getting ready to switch on its reflectors again on September 21-22.

Who makes all this possible it’s the Italian company DZ Engineering, which is headquartered in Forlì. The company has the honor and the duty of shedding some lights on the Singapore’s darkness “It takes a six-month-assembly and dismantling work to arrange a three-day-event. In fact, it’s a fully off-taking lighting system”, explains the Project Manager Mr. Roberto Grilli, “It takes 100 days to install it. At mid-May we start to setup all the infrastructures inside which the track lighting system, the close-circuit cameras for on-track operations and the loudspeakers for sound diffusion, will be placed. We need to have all systems installed by the end of August, as it takes 10 days for them to be tested. It’s an extremely accurate check; every single piece has to be tested and checked. The rest of the pre-race period is dedicated to headlights pointing and all the other systems’ fine tuning. The dismantling begins the same night of the race and it takes about one month to dismantle the whole system. All materials have to be scrupulously inventoried after they are stored in a government’ s property area” continues Mr. Grilli the engineer “ It has to be considered that we have to work in the heart of a very dynamic city and on streets which are open to daily traffic. The track is closed to traffic on the Wednesday night of the race week, only some streets are opened every morning to let traffic stream towards main streets. Furthermore, there are also some private areas to which access is allowed only in certain periods. So we have to follow a well-structured time schedule which makes our work very long.”

The DZ Engineering’s name is also linked to the design and installation of all devices related to on-track safety, which is guaranteed through a close-circuit cameras system and a sound and communication system. Our trip in the Singaporean GP’s backstage begins through Roberto Grilli’s words “The Singapore’s project gather the company’s many skills. Even if track lighting is the activity which gives us more visibility from a media point of view, on the occasion of this race event, we are also in charge of designing and installing other technological systems which are integrated in the infrastructures, such as the TVCC, Audio and Radio communication systems. All the system is fed by twelve stations which are deployed along the circuit. Each station is equipped with two 500 kVA power units working at the same time. In case of malfunction of one of the two units, the second one is able to support the whole electric load, which is equal to 30-35%. The track lighting system is made available through 1565 headlights powered by a 2000 W lamp, while the three tunnels are fed by 179 headlights powered by a 400 W lamp.”

Galleries and paddocks are lighted by respectively 98 and 80 headlights.” Since this year, the DZ Engineering is in charge of carrying out the lighting system of the advertising panels which are affixed on the side facades of the pedestrian bridges which cross the circuit “Considering that the track lighting system is installed only on one side of the circuit, it is necessary to increase the visibility of the advertising banners which are on the opposite side. Some special headlights will be installed on the truss, so that the beam of light can be shaped. Doing that, we act only on the area which has to be lighted up, avoiding dazzling drivers, cameras and audience.”

Thanks also to the know-how gained by the company for what concerning the carrying out of the lighting system of some of the main artistic and historical places such as the Roman remains in Pompei and Paestum, the Temples’ Valley in Agrigento, the Singapore National Art Gallery, the Otranto’s Cathedral, the S.Vitale’s Benedictine historical complex in Ravenna (just to mention a few), since this year, the DZ Engineering is in charge of carrying out the lighting system of the pit stop area, whose façade will be lighted up for the first time “The Singapore’s government announced a tender for the lighting of ten sites of historical and artistic interest, whose value has to be increased during shooting.” The Government, through the Formula 1’s mass media exposure aims at promoting the State-City of Singapore to the whole world. “Doing that, the visibility of the city’s most important monuments and touristic attractions will be increased, creating an added value for the paying audience and television-viewers. So, starting from this year, the Pit Building’s façade will look different thanks to our cooperation with two other Italian companies: Namaste and Proietta. What is it? You only have to watch the GP to discover that”, ends Roberto Grilli.

Now we only have to wait for Vettel and Alonso to challenge each other in the Singaporean night, after the Red Bull’s successful race on the Monza’s fast straights. Ferrari will have to make a great effort and the Marina Bay Street Circuit could represent the last chance for the Italian team to be a candidate for the 2013 World title, before focusing on the 2014 season. It was the Red Bull’s German driver who won the Championship last season. The blond racer will be a contender for the win also in Singapore, ahead of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

Italian GP – UP & DOWN

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The Italian GP was won by an amazing Sebastian Vettel. Let’s grade drivers.

Sebastian Vettel 10 – We have to applaud an amazing Red Bull and an extraordinary Vettel. They were flawless all through the race week end. The team made remarkable upgrades. I had the opportunity to see the new wing and I have to admit it was a real masterpiece. No doubt they have the edge over their rivals who will barely beat them. Only bad luck can slow them down.

Mark Webber 8.5 – The Australian drove a good race, even if he feels the weight of the upcoming end of his career in F.1. He held a very interesting press conference at Monza and, even if he was overtaken by Alonso, he attacked the Spaniard for all the time.

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa 8.5 – Nando’s overtaking on Webber was stunning. Felipe drove a very good race, as well. The Brazilian took an excellent start and showed to be a faithful supporting driver. In the case Ferrari hasn’t taken a decision about the Brazilian’s future employment as a Ferrari racer, yet, the already-mentioned characteristic can be in his favor.

Nico Hulkenberg 8 – He drove an excellent qualifying race and a very good official race. He was one of the GP’s main protagonists. Sauber confirmed to be at ease in Monza, where last year he finished second ahead of Alonso.

Nico Rosberg 6 – Mercedes had probably hard times to run on the long straights of Monza circuit; however the German driver was very good at scoring points.

Daniel Ricciardo – Toro Rosso 7.5 – They were very performing both in qualifying and during the race. Both cars finished in the top 10. Ricciardo finished 7th, after fighting tooth and nail.

Lotus’s drivers – It’s hard to judge their performance. Their qualifying race was not so good, while Kimi set good chronos during the race, recovering positions. If we analyze the race after the accident, we would give them more than a passing grade; however, because of an awful qualifying race and a contact with Perez at the beginning of the official race, they only deserve a passing grade.

Lewis Hamilton 6 – The official race was ruined by a negative qualifying race. He recovered several positions during the race. That is a clear proof of how important a qualifying race is, especially on those circuits where the time gap between teams is only few tenths.

Jenson Button 6.5 – Despite his car is still not competitive; he managed to score one point.

Davide Rigon stands out even in the GT Open

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From Interlagos to Spa, from the WEC to the GT Open. Championships and circuits change, but the result is always the same. After making a successful debut in the WEC Championship one week ago, Davide Rigon and his team mate Andrea Montermini sealed a win at Spa-Francorchamps, where the International GT Championship’s sixth round was run last week end.

Despite the talented driver from Thiene competed in the GT Open Championship for the first time, he immediately became familiar with the challenge and managed to lead the Villorba Corse’s Ferrari 458 GT2 to the highest step of the podium, along with the Championship’s leader Andrea Montermini.

In a week end full of pitfalls, where the weather played a key role as it usually happens in Belgium, Davide weighed up the situation during free practice, set the second best chrono in Q2 and scored a fabulous win in the official race on Sunday. “It was a glorious week end; I want to congratulate Andrea and the team on a successful race.  Spa is always an amazing circuit to race at. In race – 2 I took the option to start on slicks, even if the track was wet. I tried to be as cautious as possible in the first laps to avoid making mistakes”, said Rigon “then I began to push hard and I recovered a bit before passing the wheel to Andrea, who completed the masterpiece in the final stint by sealing a stunning win”, commented Davide “however, we regret for race -1 final result.”

In fact, a lively Saturday was ruined by a penalty imposed to the Villorba Corse pair for shifting driver while the safety car was still on track. After taking the pole in qualifying – 1, Montermini set the best chrono before passing the wheel to his team mate Rigon. The new-entry continued to drive a glorious race and, thanks to several amazing passes under the rain, he successfully managed to lead the car to the third position “Unfortunately the race was ruined by a one-lap-penalty which dropped us to the 14th place. Unfortunately, only few minutes before the window closed, the safety car got on track.”

After Spa, it’s time to focus on next event to be scheduled for September 21/22 at the Nurburgring, where the Blancpain Endurance Series’s final round will be raced. On that occasion Davide will be back at the wheel of the Kessel Racing team’s Ferrari 458 GT3.

A grim race at Spa-Francorchamps for Bhai Tech

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Unlucky return to competition for Bhai Tech Racing. The Italian team, who contested the International GT Open’s sixth round on the track of Spa-Francorchamps, experienced the season’s most difficult race week end, which ended with zero points scored after four consecutive good results and three successful races at Nurburgring, Jerez and Silverstone.

The Italian team’s race week end at the Ardennes-based legendary circuit began in a good way, with the team’s four drivers Gorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Chris Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia able to lead the two McLaren MP4 – 12C to the standing’s top positions. The two qualifying turns proved the team, directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, was in a very good shape and gave evidence of its technical skills. In fact the team scored the second and third place in the GTS class (fifth and seventh in the overall standing) in qualifying – 1 with Pantano and Razia and the pole (third place in the overall standing) with Van Der Drift in qualifying – 2. “We were so fast since free practice, which is a clear proof we did a great job over the past few months. Our potential was demonstrated by scoring the second and third place in the GTS class in Q1 and the pole in Q2”, says the technical director Mr. Costa.

The Spa-Francorchamps race event is a typical example of how the final standing doesn’t reflect a team’s real value. After getting the top positions, this time Bhai Tech had to make an empty-handed return to the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre. After leading the GTS class, the Italian-Brazilian pair was imposed an one-lap-penalty in race – 1 because of a driver shift when the safety car was still on track, while the #66 car’s race ended on the 16th lap, as Van Der Drift was a victim of a terrible accident occurred at the Raidillon (luckily the accident had no bad consequences for the driver). The car was damaged in an irreparable way “It was an awful week end. We regret we lost the chance to score two possible wins, although we demonstrated to have a good potential. In race – 1 Pantano took a very good start, setting good times and taking the lead before giving way to Rafael.”, continues Costa, “Unfortunately, in the race confusion, we called Giorgio to pit, while the safety car was still on track (that is forbidden according to law 42.5) and we were penalized. Van Der Drift went off track because of the failure of a steering wheel tie-rod’s support piece, which was damaged as a consequence of collisions. Luckily Chris was unharmed, but the car was seriously damaged, so we couldn’t get the most of the pole we scored in race-2.”

In the Sunday’s final race, a great Pantano was author of a great recovery, after taking control of the car, which was passed to him by his Brazilian team mate, who was competing on the Belgian track for the very first time. “We made Rafael run a lot during free practice, which was to give him the chance to become more familiar with the track. Spa is a very demanding and technical track, where every mistake is heavily paid. Giorgio was very good at recovering and managed to finish seventh in the GTS class.”

The Championship will move to Italy in one month, to the Monza’s “cathedral of speed”, where the seventh and second to last round will be raced. The Italian staff has to fix the car #66 “We’ve already got in touch with McLaren to order the parts we need to rebuild the car. Once we’ll be at the headquarter, we’ll immediately get to work to rebuild the car. We’ll plan to shake-down the car before the Monza race. The Championship is still open and the final part to the season will be so challenging”, ends the Brazilian engineer. The best reward after a difficult week end is to chase for release.

  

Bhai Tech at Spa-Francorchamps to keep the leadership

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At the end of summer holidays and almost two months after the Silverstone successful race, Bhai Tech Racing’s four drivers Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia are ready to get back to race behind the wheel of the two McLaren MP4-12C, to contest one of the most awaited race events of the year to take place at Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

On the 7004 m long legendary Belgian track to host the International GT Open Championship’s sixth round, the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s team directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the Engineer, gets ready to keep the leadership in the teams’ GTS class, throwing down a top challenge among constructors. For what concerning drivers, the Italo-Brazilian pair Giorgio Pantano/Rafael Suzuki will be on the lookout for the first place, which is only one point ahead of them, as a consequence of the success achieved at Silverstone, while their team mates Luiz Razia and Chris Van Der Drift will try to revenge the injustice they suffered in England.

The Eau Rouge-Raidillon, to be taken at full speed, is Spa circuit’s landmark. Racing at Spa it’s like graduating at the “Motosport University” “It’s a very technical track, where a driver can really make a difference”, says the technical director Costa “It’s a very long track, where the weather has a great influence, historically speaking. So, due to its characteristics, it can happen that some parts of the track are dry and some are wet at the same time.”

The team worked hard in the factory and at the advanced simulator located inside the centre’s simulation suite “We made several simulation sessions to train our drivers. We tried to simulate different situations. We especially focused on Suzuki to make his debut on the Belgian track. We made several race simulation sessions” continues Costa “We also carried on with the two cars’ development and overhaul work. The summer break has also been an occasion to take stock of the Championship, where we are the class’ leaders.”

Bhai Tech is not only ready to contest the Belgian race , the team is also ready to compete in the 2013 season’s last three race events, which are supposed to be red-hot. After Spa, the circus will move to the Monza’s “Speed Temple”, before contesting the final event at Barcelona’s circuit “At this point of the season, we have to put together all the experience we’ve gained until now to consolidate our position and score points in view of the final part of the Championship. At Spa it will be so important not to make mistakes and take the most of our potential”, ends the Brazilian engineer.

The green lights will switch on on Friday with two 60’ free practice sessions. The two qualifying sessions to assign the starting grid’s order of the two races, will take place on Saturday (at 9 am and 11.05 am). The 70’-first- race of the week end will start on Saturday at 4 pm. The 50’-final-challenge is scheduled for Sunday at 12.10 pm.

Gian Carlo Minardi “Domenicali cares about keeping tranquility inside the team”

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The summer is almost over, but the temperature in F.1 is still so high not only for what concerning the attempt to run-up to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, but also for what concerning the drivers’ market. As it has happened for some years, Massa’s seat is still red-hot and everybody is taking a watchful eye on Ferrari. We’ve heard many rumors about Raikkonen, who is supposed to team up with Fernando Alonso, who just replaced the Finn few years ago.

In a recent interview Stefano Domenicali has stated that the Brazilian F.1 racer is still at the top of the list for next season “I think that Domenicali is caring about keeping calm inside the team. That is the most important mood to continue to chase after Red Bull”, says Gian Carlo Minardi “ in this moment, except for Raikkonen and Button, there are no drivers whose level is as high as Massa’s or even higher. The Finn has got his best results alongside Lotus, as he is not under pressure like he was as a McLaren and Ferrari’s racer”, continues the manager from Faenza “I don’t want to bring into question Kimi as a driver, who is one of the best drivers of the Championship, what I bring into question is his character, which is so particular and difficult to handle.”

“So, if Felipe becomes more performing by the end of the season, he will continue to be a Ferrari’s driver. That could be the right choice in order to not to destabilize the team. I still think that at a certain point an experienced driver should team up with a rookie driver”, ends Minardi “but I don’t feel like disapproving Ferrari and Domenicali’s choice.”

Fernando Alonso has announced that he will “tweet” some news in the next days.

Davide Rigon on the podium in the WEC World Championship

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At his debut in the FIA WEC Championship (World Endurance Championship), Davide Rigon scored an exciting second place in his class’ standing. The racing week end couldn’t finish in a better way for the talented Italian driver, who contested the 6 hours of Sao Paulo alongside the 8Star Motorsport Team, at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT2 #81. It was an all-round debut for Davide (track-Championship-car), so that makes the final result even more amazing.

Davide has become familiar with the Brazilian track and the Ferrari racecar since free practice. The Italian driver, teamed up with Potolicchio-Aguas, gave evidence of all his talent, leading the orange-colored racecar to the top positions and qualified 3rd in the class’ standing. As a consequence of the GTE Am’s poleman disqualification (underweighted car), the 8Star team’s three drivers were leveled up to the second position.

The Italian driver ran a precise race, taking control of the 458 GT2 racecar in the race’s first two hours and got back behind the wheel of the car for the final run, mounting on the second step of the GTE Am’s podium “It was an amazing week end not only for the final result, but also for me. It was very important to prove that I can be a competitive driver even in a World Championship’s event”, says Davide Rigon “Racing at an unknown track, driving a car I had never driven before on the occasion of a World Championship’s event and finishing on the podium, it’s an amazing result. We kept a good pace since free practice. Unfortunately we missed the pole by a nose. Our car didn’t have any issues throughout the 6 hours; I pushed hard during the race’s last hour. Congrats to the 8Star team’s staff”, ends the driver from Vicenza.

Thanks to this important result, the 8Star Motorsport Team keeps the second position, reducing its disadvantage with the first position.

Brought the curtain down over the 6 hours of Sao Paulo, it’s now time for Davide Rigon to think about next event to take place this week end at Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the International GT Open’s sixth round. Davide will be back behind the wheel of the Villorba Corse team’s Ferrari 458 GT2.

Gian Carlo Minardi: “Silverstone test days are Ferrari’s keystone”

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We saw a very performing Ferrari at Spa-Francorchamps. Fernando Alonso poured out all the determination and anxiety gained over the past weeks on the Belgian track, displaying all his qualities.

Red Bull’s advantage on the Italian team is still big (46 points), but the Maranello-based team is going to the right direction. Silvertsone testing can be considered as the keystone, as Gian Carlo Minardi tells us “I hope that at Monza Ferrari will be as performing as it was at Spa. Last Sunday we had confirmation of the F.1 hierarchy, Red Bull is ahead of all other teams and Ferrari is determined to run after the Austrian team. The driver test run by the rookie test driver Davide Rigon, have given further evidence of how important tests are for a F.1 team. During the three-day-testing, all data gained by the three main divisions (track, simulator and wind tunnel) were ordered.

Monza and Singapore will be decisive for the season’s goals to be set “Ferrari has to make a great effort in order to decrease the disadvantage with its main rivals. The Italian audience can support the team in doing its best. The Italian team has returned to be the World Championship’s second team in Belgium, but it’s still behind Red Bull and Mercedes in the constructors’ championship. At this point, Massa’s contribution is needed”, ends Minardi.

Gian Carlo Minardi “Hamilton-Rosberg, the best pair”

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Gian Carlo Minardi has supported Mercedes’s choices since the beginning of the championship, saying that the German team has the best driving pair in F.1. Among the top team only the German team has been able to bring both its drivers to the top step of the podium: Rosberg sealed a double win (Monaco and Great Britain) and Hamilton scored a win in Hungary, as compared to Ferrari’s double win scored by Alonso (in China and Spain) and Vettel’s 5 wins sealed in Malaysia, Bahrain, Canada, Germany and Belgium. Lotus’s Raikkonen sealed an only win in Australia.

After eleven GP and before the Italian GP, Mercedes is second on 235 points in the constructors’ championship; Red Bull is on 312 and Ferrari on 218 “Hamilton and Rosberg represent the well-matched driving pair of the whole Championship. Nico is a very fast driver, so he’s as good as his team mate Hamilton. Nico has managed to incite the Englishman into doing what is within his means”, says Minardi “the team made its choices and now Rosberg has to score as many points as he can for the Championship.”

It won’t be easy for Ferrari to threaten Mercedes and Red Bull only with Alonso “If Massa doesn’t wake up, it won’t be easy for Ferrari to take the second place or even threaten Red Bull who can now only rely on Vettel to fight for the win. Webber has unconsciously lost the strength needed to strive for top positions.”

After the win sealed at Spa, Sebastian Vettel echoed Minardi’s statement saying to the Bild that the two Mercedes’s drivers complement one another.

From Sao Paulo to Nurburgring passing through Spa. Many new challenges for Rigon

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Exciting end of the season for Davide Rigon. The 27-year-old driver from Vicenza, who is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal for sport and technical development activities, will take part in three different races belonging to different championships.

Davide will make his debut in the FIA WEC World Championship (World Endurance Championship) by competing in the 6 hours of Sao Paulo, the Championship’s fourth round which is scheduled for this week end. Once again the talented driver will be behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT2 alongside the 8Star Motorsport Team, a team who is managed by the AF Corse. The Italian racer will share the wheel with Ruy Aguas and Vincente Potolicchio.

After leaving Brazil he will head to Belgium, to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit where he will take part in the International GT Open Championship’s sixth round at the wheel of the Villorba Corse Team’s 458 GT2. The Team is second in the teams’ standing. Rigon will replace Luca Filippi and race alongside Andrea Montermini.

“It will be an honor for me to race alongside the Villorba Corse Team”, says Rigon, “I’ve been to the team’s headquarter and our cooperation has started in a good way. I immediately liked the 458 and it’s a car I’ve already known. It’s a great responsibility to replace Luca at Spa and race alongside Montermini, it’ll be a very interesting experience and I will do my best.”

“It was important to go on pursuing the same logic that has always characterized our racing season”, analyses Mr. Raimondo Amadio, the team principal “so we’ve tried to replace Filippi with another high skilled racer. Davide is the right choice, for sure. He’s a very high skilled and talented guy, so I think that he’ll deliver great performances alongside our team. He visited our company at the beginning of August to set some details about the car’s seat and he was really happy and motivated. Furthermore, we’re very glad and proud to have the opportunity to cooperate with a Ferrari’s driver.”

From Spa to Nurburgring. The week end of September 21/22 Davide will be behind the wheel of the Kessel Racing Team’s 458 GT3 #44 again to contest the Blancpain Endurance Series Championship’s final race. After taking an exciting win at Monza, along with his team mates Zampieri and Ramos, he has steadfastly been the PRO standing’s leader. Left the 24 hours of Spa behind, the 1000 km of the Nurburgring will be the final race to try to win the 2013 title “Everything will be decided at the Nurburgring. We’re still the Championship’s leaders ad we want to end the season in the best way”, ends up Davide.

Belgian GP – The Report Card

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After the Belgian GP, which was won by Sebastian Vettel, followed by a great Fernando Alonso and by the poleman Lewis Hamilton, let’s grade the main protagonists along with Gian Carlo Minardi.

Sebastian Vettel 9.5 – It’s not a 10 because he didn’t get the pole which was taken by Hamilton. Apart from that, he ran a flawless race. His car can’t be easily defeated, however he delivered good performances by himself. The difference between him and Webber is remarkable. He made the difference once again.

Fernando Alonso 9 – His race was flawless, however, the mistake he made in qualifying and, above all, his behavior, which makes the team feel more and more nervous, is disadvantaging him. In this moment we don’t need a sulky Alonso, especially after a good race such as the Spa GP was. That kind of behavior doesn’t suit my idea of racing. He doesn’t have to demonstrate anything to anyone, for sure, however I prefer on-track results rather than words.

Lewis Hamilton 8.5 – He did an excellent job in qualifying, going from zero to hero. He played his trump card in Q3. He did a great job along with Vettel, as they both managed to run one more lap. He suffered his car’s issues during the race.

Nico Rosberg 8 – He did what he had to do, that is scoring important points for the team. Thanks to the points he scored the team has secured the second place in the Championship. He was behind Hamilton at the beginning and set excellent laptimes. He suffered his car’s issues, too.

Mark Webber 5 – His mind is already on holiday. He’s now less aggressive and determined than he was in the past or at the beginning of his career in F.1. He’s about to end his career in F.1. Personally I don’t like that kind of statement at the beginning of the season. Perhaps he’s unconsciously less focused on racing.

Jenson Button 7 – He had a very good hard tyres management once again. The team’s strategy was very good. He’s a world champion and maximized the team’s resources in the best way.

Felipe Massa 6 – This mark is to encourage him. It would be necessary to know how technical issues affected his race. He was very good at overtaking Grosjean, but there’s a huge difference between him and his team mate in terms of performances.

Romain Grosjean 6.5 – Perhaps he felt the influence of the past season. He managed to score points although the week end was not so happy for Lotus.

Adrian Sutil 7 – He managed to score points thanks to a good performance just when finishing in the top 10 is getting more and more difficult.

Daniel Ricciardo 8 – He ran an excellent race and was supported by a very competitive Toro Rosso car. He didn’t make any mistake. He managed to make an excellent overtaking over Perez, even if the Mexican was not always correct. He’s showing great things, so he deserves to be a Red Bull driver.

Kimi Raikkonen 7 – He had troubles with the left front brake. He sorted out that problem in an excellent way, that’s why he’s a world champion. He gave up only at last, so he deserves to be rewarded.