The Formula 1 competition has officially gone on vacation after last Sunday’s Belgian GP, for a full four weeks. However, the first assessments of this championship can already be made, where, apart from Red Bull, there seems to be a lot of balance among the other top teams. What could be done to have a more competitive Formula 1 championship in the coming years? Gian Carlo Minardi expressed his views on the subject to the Pit-Talk microphones. The former team principal of the eponymous Faenza team talked about opinions rather than any specific advice to give to Liberty Media CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“I don’t have any advice to give (to Stefano Domenicali), but I certainly have my own opinions. I don’t see why F1 should be limited to ten teams when, at the international level of the FIA, there are potentially twenty-two spots available on the grid. I lived through a period of “prehistory,” but many years ago when I entered F1, there were more teams than the ten present at the moment. And a team had to earn its place on the field by finishing in the top ten for the distribution of prizes resulting from the commercial rights of the circus.” – the eponymous Formula One team founder explained.
“I believe it should still be that way! I don’t see why anyone wanting to enter F1 should be prohibited or financially penalized… Rather, the team should be penalized if it is unable to stay in the top ten… Just entering F1 without certain benefits entails significant costs that further penalize a team…”
Gian Carlo Minardi also spoke about having a more consistent championship (no double standards, so to speak) in terms of the decisions made by the stewards… That is, Formula 1 should always have the same team of stewards in every GP.
“Another point is to make the decisions made by the sports stewards more consistent. I believe that right now, F1 needs a team that is always the same, repetitive, and objective in its decisions, not subjective. So the guidelines for a GP with penalties or no penalties must be repeated and clear for everyone. The regulations must be the same for everyone.”
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
“Then I would add one more thing: the schedules. Right now, we don’t have uniformity in the schedules from one GP to another! Honestly, it’s not easy to stay updated when you knew that at a certain time, you had the practice sessions, at another time, the qualifying, and at yet another time, the race.”
Certainly, the opinions expressed by Gian Carlo Minardi are shared by many other passionate people in this sport. Perhaps during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Minardi will relay the same words to Stefano Domenicali… Now more than ever, F1 needs stability, as well as a return to its past in all respects… It would be a right recipe to restore Formula 1’s prestige to that of a few years ago.
Leave a Reply