F.1 – Singapore Gp : THE POINT…by Gian Carlo Minardi
The fight of Alonso and Ferrari against McLaren, Red Bull and Lotus is the leitmotiv of this year racing season. One by one, the rivals of Ferrari aim at going off with points. Reliability plays the main role again and today bad luck has been at Hamilton’s side, while in Monza was at Vettel’s side.
It’s so positive to escape unharmed from a race such as the Singapore Gp, which was featured by many accidents . It’s positive especially if you get a third position after spending an uneasy weekend start. Maranello has to seek after some tenth to support Alonso, as the Italian team can’t always rely on miracles. We still have four contenders to the world title and Ferrari is on 29 points over Vettel, so, positioning could be enough, even if they have to improve performances and research.
Talking about feelings, the Singapore Gp didn’t keep up with the racing season we’ve been experiencing, even if we saw some fights concerning tyres changing and accidents, especially the one involving Schumacher. The weekend was in Hamilton ‘ hands, the only driver who was able to tackle the overwhelming power of the Red Bull’s German driver. After tackling Vettel’s supremacy, driving an amazing lap in qualifying, the Englishman was leading the race. If he hadn’t had a hydraulic problem, he surely would have won the race. To keep up with the English driver, Vettel was risking a lot. Massa handled a good race. Unfortunately, if a driver starts from a bottom row, he is likely to run into a car clash. After getting back on track in the last position and changing strategy, he was able to get up to the 8th position, making also good passes. The Brazilian driver is probably getting back to his old self again.
I would have expected something more from Lotus running on soft and super-soft tyres, but maybe the car’ performances are better when on medium. The team saw its two drivers positioning in the top 10. Grosjean was Raikkonen’s second guide. The Finnish driver holds the world standing’s third position although he hasn’t score a win yet. We have many outsiders such as Di Resta and Maldonado who, relying on competitive cars, may act as a balance for points distribution. The Sauber has got us used to its ups and downs. The Swiss team showed to be more competitive on hard and medium tyres. Using that kind of tyres you can even afford to deploy more risky strategies which sometimes can pay off with good performances.
A honest race for Rosberg who leads Mercedes towards the 5th place. This fact should give us pause. If the team had “two Rosberg”, it could strive for the first four places. The reaction of Technicians toward Schumacher’ mistake was meaningful, so I think It’s time to change, even If Hamilton shift to Mercedes will be so difficult. Over the last three years, the McLaren team has been the one who got the greatest number of successes. If the three-pointed star team wants to improve, it will have to support Rosberg with a promising young driver ( i.e. Di Resta) or take a look around.
Gian Carlo Minardi
The week-end in Monza was so “stressful” both for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso. After jinxing, saying that the Italian team had run 23 flawless Gps, we just have to admit that the last seven days have been so hard for Ferrari, starting from the Gp in Spa, going through free practices, qualifying and race in Monza.
Unfortunately the Gp of Spa has been distorted by the accident caused by Grosjean who, just few metres after the start, has taken away the key players. This is not the first time things like that happen in Spa and it’s not even the first time the Frenchman do that. I think that the penalty imposed on him is so fair, as it’s not possible for a driver to make seven mistakes on twelve starts. I think that judges should have taken measures even before this happened.
For the first time from the beginning of the season the Gp we saw yesterday in Budapest wasn’t as exciting as the other ones. Everything was so predictable, only two or three overtakings were really dominant, just like the one handled by Alonso on Raikkonen at the beginning of the race, which probably denied the Finn to score a win and the one handled by Maldonado, which cost him a penalty. I think we’re going too far! We want drivers to overtake but even after a slight clash, they are penalised. I think FIA is exaggerating.
The Gp in Hockenheim was really amazing, so was Fernando Alonso, who made a masterpiece, especially on the last 20 laps.
Another amazing week-end for Ferrari, even if Red Bull’s car was the best on track. The Spaniard of Ferrari team scored important points and I think he did his best in qualifying. In fact he was the leader throughout the race and his standing is getting more and more interesting.
Unlike past seasons the Gp in Valencia has been really amazing and we’ve seen an extraordinary Fernando Alonso showing all his self-confidence, especially in overtaking.
Welcome to the “Pirelli World Championship”. This Championship is deeply conditioned by tyres and, only the driver who has the best understanding of them will succeed. Once more we have the seventh different winner inside seven different Grand Prix and running races is getting more and more difficult. What catches our eyes are the big differences inside the same team.
MONTECARLO- Yesterday’s Gp in Monaco was really amazing. After 78 laps six cars crossed the line within just 6 seconds. This is one of the most intense and competitive Championships of the F1 history. The competition will be played till the end and placing will be decisive. After six races ( won by six different drivers ) we haven’t a leader yet.
BARCELONA- The fact that we have 5 different winners in many Gps is really interesting. It’s really appreciable that an understimated driver like Maldonado, has managed to get such an important goal both for himself and his team. The Williams is getting more and more powerful. I think it can fight for the fifth or the sixth position, even if it can only rely on one driver.
With the Bahrein GP last Sunday we’ve seen again how competitive Formula 1 is this year. Four GPs, different winners and eight different pilots on the podium. The influence of tires is so strong. Only one week ago Raikkonen lost the chance of a second position just two laps before the line, whereas in Bahrein everything has gone better.
The China Grand Prix showed an interesting variable concerning tyre compounds. The interesting fact is that in a gap from 3 to 4 degrees, performances can notably change, making the championship even more exciting. We have to make our congratulations to Nico Rosberg, one of the best pilots of the grid, who made a perfect week-end: from the pole position to the victory. I’m pleased to see the German pilot, who runs for Mercedes team, breaking the leadership of the world champions. After Button and Alonso, Rosberg.
Honor to the winner. At the end of a thrilling World won the strongest rider with the best car, even though his team was not error free. Most likely without all those episodes would have won the championship with 100 points higher on other opponents. The security and certainty of having the best car in his hands gave him the opportunity to take risks, leading to the success of their pilot.