|Portimao GP| After the race: the comments

Ferrari, a definitive break up Vettel-Binotto: “we expect more from our 2nd driver”

Race results. F1 Portimao GP.

Binotto “fulminates” Vettel: ‘second driver’

“Charles is certainly very good, but we expect more from a second driver“. The second driver in question is Sebastian Vettel: a very heavy definition that Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal, gave him at the end of the Portuguese Grand Prix. An indication of how the relationship between the German and the team he will leave at the end of the season has deteriorated. Or perhaps only with his manager, who preferred Carlos Sainz from a 2021 perspective even before this World Cup began.

The German appears to be done with the Scuderia. There is little to do with a Ferrari like this, always distant from his driving style, he prefers cars glued to the ground, especially at the rear. On the other hand, the chronic lack of load exalts Leclerc, who on a new track for almost everyone has exalted himself by taking a 4th place and then kept in the race, unlike what could have been assumed as soon as the engines were switched off Saturday afternoon.

Question of driving style: Leclerc-Vettel.

SF1000 (and also SF90) does not match the driving style of Sebastian Vettel. The German driver, in fact, won the 4 championships in a high-downforce Red Bull. That car, designed by Adrian Newey, had the blown diffuser has major innovation. Concisely, Vettel prefers a car whose balance is shifted towards the rear compared to Leclerc. Vettel’s driving style prefers the stable condition because a car which is rear limited (like SF1000) tends to be difficult to control (do you rmind Vettel’s spin?) Leclerc, on the other hand, is capable of driving with a less stable rear of the car. Like some other champions (i.e. Schumacher) he favors a very precise front (turning in phase). Unfortunatly for Vettel, most of the car with a downforce deficiency are quite unstable at the rear if compared to rivals. In fact, Vettel suffered a lot also with Ricciardo when Red Bull lost the dominant superiority on rear downforce.

Hamilton, the best ever? 92 wins are not enough.

If he fails, he gets quarreled. If he fights for reasons that are dear to him, he provokes discussion. It doesn’t even matter if he loses, wins or is destined to break a record that seemed unassailable: Lewis Hamilton will make arguments. And so, it is not even enough to have hit the 92nd center in Formula 1, beating Michael Schumacher and obtaining the same victories as Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna combined. Surely it will not be enough to have won seven titles, just like Kaiser Michael, probably not even to win eight and take another absolute record.

Is Hamilton the best driver in F1 history? Two opinions: Scheneider and Vetrov.

Bernd Schneider, DTM legend with six championships won and former Formula 1 driver: “I think at least two drivers in history have been superior to him. I am referring to Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. The Brazilian was perhaps the most concentrated but the Kaiser had the best overall package, ”Schneider told German TV Sport1. “Hamilton is the best driver with the best car, but it must be said that these records also derive from the fact that today there are more races than before. In this sense, Schumacher’s 91 victories have a different specific weight “.

Nikolay Vetrov, former manager of Sergey Sirotkin, former Williams driver: “In Portimão Mercedes won, not Hamilton. First get him to sit in a Williams, then give him the crown. Then, for heaven’s sake, he is an excellent driver, mentally strong and who drives very well. But he has a formidable car “, these are the words of Vetrov to the Russian newspaper Championnat.

Hamilton record F1 wins.

Red Bull and the power unit dilemma, BoP as solution?

Red Bull is ready to relaunch with a new idea, which involves a partial freeze accompanied by a ‘Balance of Performance’. In this way it could allow manufacturers to continue with the development of power units without going beyond a certain limit.

But how would the Balance of Performance work? The concept of BoP to be adopted in Formula 1 will obviously be different from that seen in other categories – mostly GT – and could consist in limiting the fuel allocation of each team based on their performance.

“If you calculate that the Mercedes are currently about three to five tenths faster than the others, it is easy to calculate how much less fuel must be taken from them to balance their performance with the rest of the group – the team suggested about a month ago. AlphaTauri principal Franz Tost in an interview with RaceFans – Mercedes has done a fantastic job to get this far and normally teams shouldn’t be penalized because they are faster than others. It would be unfair, but if someone asked me what I would do, I would move exactly like this ”.

Race results. Our marks to the drivers.

C. Leclerc:  He gets the best with one of the worst Ferrari F1 of all times. Final Mark: 7.5/10.

L. Hamilton:  He scores the F1 record of wins. He is two steps above Bottas. The race pace is impressive and also his tyre management. He suffered a little bit a the start in the rainy condition  Final Mark: 8.5/10.

V. Bottas:  He surprises Hamilton during the first lap. But the times he overwhelms Hamilton are like drops in an ocean. Final Mark: 6.5/10.

Ferrari: Small improvements at the technical level. The high tension between Binotto and Vettel should be something shameful for a prestigious team as Ferrari. Final Mark: 5/10.

S. Vettel: The car doesn’t match his drive style. He is surrounded by a demotivated environment and he can only get the 10th position. His relation with Binotto is getting worse race by race. Final Mark: 5/10.

M. Verstappen:  He can have a chance at the start to attack Mercedes, but he get in the middle-field. Another solitary race for him Final Mark: 7.5/10.

P. Gasly:  Stratospheric drive. That seen in Alpha Tauri is a renew driver. Will he have another chance? Rumours say Red Bull is keeping contacts with Hulkenberg. Final Mark: 8.5/10.

K. Raikkonen: When iceman feels the confidence anything becomes impossible. From P16 to P6 in the first “”slippery” lap. Final Mark: 8/10.