Archive for category: The Point by Gian Carlo Minardi

Silverstone, also thanks to its absolutely unpredictable weather, gave us an exciting grand prix and, together with the great work of the teams, we are about to experience an electrifying second half of the championship.

It was the second win in seven days for Mercedes, but this time won on the field, from George Russell’s pole position to Lewis Hamilton’s win. Both drivers were competitive for the whole weekend monopolizing the front row of the grid. Too bad only for Russell’s retirement, but it was a positive result, and the merit goes to Allison. Like in McLaren whose team principal Andrea Stella must be congratulated, also for his very realistic comments after the race.

Unfortunately, McLaren once again made mistakes that were decisive for the final result, mistakes which were dictated from the inexperience of becoming a winning team once more. Too bad for both Oscar Piastri who was “sacrificed” on the occasion of the pitstop, and for Lando Norris. It was good race on their part, but they could have done more.

Once again Ferrari missed out and had to be satisfied with Carlos Sainz’s fifth place. Just like Mercedes found the crux of the matter, I wish the same for them. May they go back to fighting for the win with Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes to entertain us even more.

Two leading actors like Russell and Leclerc were missing, and Albon and Tsunoda took advantage by completing the points zone behind the two Aston Martins (that returned to the points zone) and an excellent Niko Hulkenberg in the Haas. The fight for the points zone also intensified in the back.

In Red Bull the usual Max Verstappen kept his honour high, while Sergio Perez tripped up on monumental mistakes. Today’s race, which was also the result of a mistake in qualifying, can in no way be judged.

In short, we are witnessing the rehabilitation of Formula 1 and I like this very much. To be applauded, as always, is the competence of the extraordinary English public.

The unpredictability of Silverstone with its highs and lows made us rejoice even more for Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s win on Saturday, his first in Formula 2. A win that came in even more particular and complicated conditions compared to what we saw on Sunday.

He showed us all his worth, reminding me of drivers of times gone by. Hats off to him.

Gian Carlo Minardi

As previously announced, qualifying was the most exciting and fascinating part of the weekend in Monte Carlo.

 

One qualifying session was run on the cusp of thousands and hundredths of a second. In Q2 we had 15 cars within little more than nine tenths of a second. Between Norris, first, and Albon ninth, there were barely 484 thousandths of a second, with even the first four (Norris-Verstappen-Piastri-Leclerc) within 93 thousandths.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, together with Oscar Piastri in particular, did an excellent job. The Australian confirmed he is a driver of excellent quality with the right class to make people talk about him in the near future.

Leclerc took Ferrari’s first win of the season, and he did it with a perfect race in his Monaco, perfect from the first to the last of the 78 laps. Perfect also in the two starts, managing to stay in front of an excellent Piastri, second in the McLaren. A good sign in view of Montreal, another track where overtaking is not easy.

After the first catastrophic lap, characterized by three collisions with the consequent red flag, the second start was clean, and all were very good at not making other mistakes, lapping strongly. Certainly, without variables Monte Carlo confirmed it is a Grand Prix with little to tell. Overtaking is practically impossible as was shown by the Russell-Verstappen tussle. These cars are too long and wide for the Principality’s narrow streets, but they gave us exceptional laps, just avoiding the guardrails without making mistakes. This is the beauty of Monte Carlo.

As I said before, the start was conditioned by three very different collisions.  Sergio Perez punctured his left front wheel after a collision with Oscar Piastri, rightly readmitted into the race following the red flag waved before the conclusion of the first lap.

A Red Flag caused by the incredible collision between Kevin Magnussen and the blameless Sergio Perez that also involved Nico Hulkenberg. Once again Magnussen messed it up in a big way. Luckily nobody got hurt.

The third collision, perhaps the most serious because it was between two teammates, saw Ocon and Gasly as the protagonists. As often happens, Esteban Ocon did not hold back, especially when it involves a teammate. He will rightly be penalized next weekend. Luckily for him Gasly managed to go back onto the grid, giving the team a point and tenth place.

For the first time we saw a Red Bull in difficulty, which paid the price with both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. Following a very small mistake in qualifying, the Dutchman could not manage to go beyond sixth place on the grid. It is a Red Bull that is suffering, and when you suffer it is easier to make mistakes.

Yuki Tsunoda was also very good, eighth across the finish line and the first of the others, after the giants Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes. Four very important points for both him and the team which consolidates sixth place on the ladder. He has singlehandedly took the team higher by nibbling four points away from Aston Martin.

Just as good was Alexander Albon, ninth across the finish line. He gave Williams their first two points of the season, leaving only Sauber.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Miami gave us Lando Norris’ first win. An auspicious result not only for McLaren and its fans, but also for all of Formula 1 and for the continuation of the world championship, above all with the arrival in Europe and on tracks that are “as real” as they are historic, such as Imola.

It was a hard-fought grand prix up to the end as shown by the tight gaps: Verstappen (2^nd) finished 7” behind Lando, and Leclerc (3^rd) little more than 9”.

The contact between Oscar Piastri and Carols Sainz cost the Spaniard a 5” penalty, going from 5^th place (16” from the leader) to Perez’s advantage. Once it would have been filed away as a simple race contact, but to conform with the guidelines adopted this season (certainly stricter), they decided to punish the Ferrari driver. Especially in view of the damage suffered by the Australian.

McLaren made (on Norris’ car) many updates that gave more than positive results. We are now waiting for Ferrari’s response. In Miami they already introduced some updates with positive results in anticipation of the important package expected in Imola. Red Bull remains the car of reference, even if it seems to have lost the peace of mind that has constantly distinguished them in recent seasons due to the well-known internal issues. Verstappen, author of the double pole position, the win in the Sprint race and second place in the race remains the fixed point. I think that the Dutchman wanted to satisfy without taking excessive risks.

The other highly awaited team in Imola in two weeks is certainly Mercedes. From what we hear their championship should start right from the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit. With sixth place, despite a car that was not at the highest level, they showed that they had not won 7 world championships by chance, and making the others pay a high price.

This race’s result opens many grand scenarios in view of Imola, with a battle for the win open to two or three teams. Miami gave us an important compaction of the performances.

I should point out that, contrary to what was said in the TV commentary, there are still tickets available for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I hope that Sunday’s result could be a good omen. Supported also by the excellent performance of the Racing Bulls with fourth place – in qualifying and the Sprint race – signed by Danile Ricciardo and Tsunoda’s seventh place in the race. Results that have consolidated the team in sixth place on the ladder-

The weekend also gave us the first positive result for Alpine, which is recovering and growing, with Estaban Ocon tenth behind Fernando Alonso.

The negative note of this weekend, and not just this one, is Kevin Magnussen. Probably the moment has come for a change within the Haas team, both because he is constantly slower than his teammate and because he incurs a penalty in every race. He lost more points on the license that what he has gained in the championship. He seems confused. There are a lot of drivers who, despite winning titles, are “parked” because there are no seats for them in F1. Honestly, between now and the end of the season, I do not see continuity for some drivers now on the grid.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Imola Circuit in two weeks to cheer and support your favourites and to experience a weekend of Motorsport with an intense race programme.

Gian Carlo Minardi

We have left the first fifth of the championship behind and the forces in the field are emerging. Red Bull confirmed it is in command, and unapproachable at the present time. Behind it, Ferrari consolidates second place ahead of McLaren and Mercedes which, at the present time is the “big” most in difficulty at the moment.

They must certainly roll up their sleeves because even today both Russell and Hamilton suffered. Compared to the seven times world champion, Russell manages to make better use of his car. However, it must be considered that the most important developmental steps will be introduced by the Teams only from Imola. It will be interesting following the weekend at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit starting from Friday.

After the debacle in Melbourne, Verstappen and Red Bull came back ahead of everyone, showing all their worth (even if it was never in doubt). In the 51^st lap Verstappen also set the fastest lap of the race,

However, a consideration must be made.

Last year the Japanese GP was held in the month of September as the sixteenth round of the world championship. Barely six months later it is incredible to see the developments and the improvements made by all the teams:

In addition to having made the fourth pole of the season, he improved his time by almost seven tenths of a second compared to 2023 (1.28.197 against 1.28.877);

Carlos Sainz (fourth in qualifying) went from his best time in 2023 of 1.29.850 (Charles Leclerc had set 1.29.542) to 1.28.672.

Therefore, Ferrari improves in both qualifying and above all in the long run, managing to halve the gap, even if it is still not enough to worry the leader. Precisely Leclerc built his comeback by managing the tyres very well covering 27 laps with the “yellows” before passing onto the hard “whites”. He went well beyond the window indicated at the start by Pirelli. Once again Sainz demonstrated his quality: with the same car, he is second to none.

We are watching a demanding world championship in which the slightest slip is enough to end up in the rear. On a major track such as Suzuka we saw qualifying with eight cars enclosed within 7 tenths of a second (between Perez – second – and Leclerc eighth there were barely 532 thousandths of a second) and a very technical and tactical race certainly conditioned by the red flag.

In the final laps of the GP Oscar Piastri and George Russell made themselves the protagonists of a fight for seventh position (which ended with the advantage of the Mercedes driver) with Russell finishing in the sights of the marshals. The British driver was certainly aggressive in a point of the track where two cars do not pass, but he was right to try and it was correct not proceeding with a penalty.

Having said goodbye to Japan, the next round will be in China, Shanghai on April 21^st, which returns to the calendar after 5 years and hosting the first Spraint-race. The last appearance dates back to 2019.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Regardless of the top two on the ladder (Verstappen and Perez), we are faced with a very tight championship in both qualifying and the race, In the end the choice of Leclerc (who opted for a higher aerodynamic charge) paid off, finishing less than 18” from the winner Verstappen, also taking out the fastest lap, taking it away from Lewis Hamilton in the final lap.

This too is a result to be read as a positive sign since it was achieved with medium tyres that had already done 35 laps. In conditions with low fuel Ferrari showed that it has taken a step forward compared to last year, while on a full fuel load it is not yet on a par with the competition.

An excellent performance also by Piastri, as well as Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), while Mercedes under performed with Russell and Hamilton.

Very good Oliver Bearman on his debut in Formula 1 at the wheel of the Ferrari. In qualifying he missed out on Q3 by barely 36 thousandths of a second and in the race, he took seventh place. It was an incredible result considering the very little time available to him. He too set his best performance in the race in the final lap. A positive result for both Ferrari and FDA.  At this point some considerations are necessary.

It was also a positive weekend for Sergio Perez who finished barely 8” seconds from his teammate (which became 13” with the 5” penalty). A noteworthy improvement compared to the opening race of the season.

Tenth place by Hulkenberg is to be highlighted. This is a track that does not penalise those who have load problems and the Ferrari engine has certainly helped them. The situation at Alpine is very different.

Unfortunately, the result did not completely surprise me, since it is a team that has been subject to changes and strong instability for some months. Factors that then had consequences on the results on the track, Alpine/Renault are certainly not in F1 to be in the tail-end…

Gian Carlo Minardi