F1 |Gp USA, THE POINT by Gian Carlo MINARDI ” Mercedes’ undisputed supremacy. Ferrari indecipherable”

The third last round of the Formula 1 world championship has been archived under the sign of Mercedes that was the protagonist of a supremacy that was never questioned with Bottas who won first set pole position and then achieved the win and with Hamilton who put his hands on his sixth world title.

This grand prix must make Ferrari think, especially in light of next season in which there will be only minor changes and these final rounds could represent the first design of the forces in the field next season. Ferrari said goodbye to Austin with Leclerc’s fourth place who however paid a gap of 52” from the leader and with Vettel’s retirement due to a failure. This was surely a step backwards from what we have seen in this second part of the season. It was a heavy null score for Vettel who now finds himself in fourth place on the ladder and behind his team mate. This year’s ladder could influence the hierarchy within the team.

The people at Maranello must understand, amongst other things, what did not work, especially in the first stint when both drivers paid the large gap compared to its direct rivals Mercedes and Red Bull. Once more they struggled to interpret these tyres that have a minimal difference from one mix to another.

It was another positive weekend for Albon who brought home important points after a race aimed at recovering, for Ricciardo’s Renault and the two McLaren drivers. In qualifying we saw a good compaction of the times, something that was not respected in the race with only seven drivers covering all the laps.

Two weeks and then Formula 1 will go to Brazil for the penultimate round.

Gian Carlo Minardi