In search of balance
The victory achieved by Carlos Sainz in Melbourne and which paved the way for a splendid one-two for Ferrari seems to have given some oxygen back to a Formula 1 that was held hostage by undisputed dominance of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The curiosity now, however, is to see if the Milton Keynes team will have to work hard in Japan too or if everything will return to the normality of the last two years.
However, the challenge to Red Bull supremacy is not the only sporting theme of this start to the season. The first three GPs of 2024 have shown a starting grid clearly divided in two. A year ago, after the third round of the season, all 10 teams had already entered the points zone and the gap between the fifth and sixth teams (McLaren and Alpine in that case) was just four points. Currently however only seven teams moved up the rankings and the fifth force – Aston Martin – is 19 points ahead of the sixth, RB.
Minardi's recipe
Who knows very well about teams that have to fight for survival at the back of the grid is Giancarlo Minardi, for years an iconic figure in the paddock with the team that bore his name. Minardi, who since the end of 2020 has been appointed President of the Board of Directors of 'Formula Imola', the company that manages the Enzo e Dino Ferrari International Autodrome in Imola, pointed the finger at the Budget system Capwhich in his opinion should be rethought.
“To restore some balance, the cost of the pilots should be included within the budget cap – suggested Minardi in an interview given to Corriere dello Sport – they are fundamental elements for performance, why leave them out? In fact, it is being discussed for the new Concorde Agreement (of 2026).”. If this proposal were accepted, the pilots market could take a very different turn, with the compensation of some top drivers which should probably be revised significantly downwards.
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