Giancarlo Minardi on the problems of Ferrari and Max's teammates

      Giancardo Minardi, the former owner of his own team, shared his impressions of the Chinese Grand Prix on his website.…

      Giancarlo Minardi: "The Chinese Grand Prix, the second stage of the World Championship, confirmed the balance of power. McLaren scored a winning double, and George Russell, who performed well, climbed back onto the podium ahead of Max Verstappen and a pair of Ferraris.

      Compared to what we saw a week ago in Melbourne, there are positive signs for Ferrari, but I am convinced that in the race, even without the problems with the front wing, Leclair would not have been able to fight for victory. But Lewis Hamilton won the sprint for the team, starting from pole position.

      I believe that the difference in efficiency between the sprint and the Grand Prix explains the main problem of the SF-25 – this car must drive very low to be competitive. Qualifying for the sprint and a sprint in which you need to drive only 100 km with less fuel on board show the strengths of the Ferrari car, while Sunday's race shows the weaknesses.

      In the race, in order to avoid excessive wear on the control bar, Ferrari is forced to increase the suspension height, sacrificing the efficiency of the car. However, this did not help them avoid disqualification of both cars, albeit for different reasons.

      Red Bull has a completely different problem. Once again, only one driver is achieving results, Max Verstappen. I can't imagine why his teammates are having such problems with the car. It is probably very difficult to control and is completely built for Max, who uses a special style of piloting. It's hard to find another explanation when Racing Bulls cars are faster and better than Lawson at the wheel of a Red Bull.

      Racing Bulls managed to negate the excellent work of the team and the drivers by using the wrong strategy, which led to them remaining outside the top ten even after the disqualification of Ferrari. They lost important points in favor of their direct competitors.

      Once again, I want to congratulate all the newcomers. In particular, Isaac Hajjar atoned for his poor performance in Australia, and I consider the fine imposed on Jack Duane to be excessive. Bravo to "Kimi" Antonelli – he makes no mistakes, has earned points again behind the wheel of a Mercedes, and is in fifth position overall.

      Now we are going to Japan, to Suzuka, on an old-school track that is demanding of cars and racers.

      Giancarlo Minardi