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Minardi suggests traction control on Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel

Minardi suggests traction control on Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel

  • Published on 30 Sep 2013 10:22
  • comments 0
  • By: Rob Veenstra
Former F1 team owner and boss Gian Carlo Minardi has raised doubts about the legitimacy of Sebastian Vettel's dominance in Singapore last weekend. The 66-year-old, who sold his team before the 2001 season, was trackside at the Marina Bay circuit where Vettel commandingly won.

Minardi, whose Faenza based team was subsequently sold to Red Bull and became Toro Rosso, admits he has been troubled by Vettel's often multiple-second advantage over his rivals under the Singapore floodlights. "It's not my intention to devalue Sebastian Vettel, who always manages his Red Bull in the best way," he told his website. "I just want to tell what I personally saw and heard during the three day event," Minardi explained.

He said he is concerned that, while only just ahead of the likes of Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg in the pre-race sessions, the reason for Vettel's subsequent dominance at key moments on Sunday is "not clear". Referring to the stretch leading into the first chicane, Minardi said Vettel was able to negotiate it "without making any corrections, unlike all his rivals and also his teammate" Mark Webber.

"His laptime was also remarkable in T3, which is the track's sector with the highest concentration of corners," he added. "On the same stretch, Sebastian was able to speed up 50 metres before any other driver, Webber included." But the handling of the Red Bull was not the only thing troubling Minardi. "The thing that surprised me the most was the engine's sound," he said.

"It sounded like none of the other Renault engines on track, including Mark's. It sounded similar to the engines in past seasons when traction control went into action. Furthermore, that sound was only heard when Vettel chalked up his excellent performances," added Minardi. "For example, after the safety car went in. In those moments it was more powerful (sounding) than any other engines -- Renault and the other brands. I would like to have some answers," he continued. "I don't want to blame anyone, I just want to get to the bottom of it." (GMM)
F1 News Romain Grosjean Nico Rosberg Sebastian Vettel Renault Lotus F1 Mercedes Minardi

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Date
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Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
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Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
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Albert Park
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Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
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Brazil
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Las Vegas Street Circuit
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
Spain Circuit de Catalunya
16 - Jun 18
Canada Gilles Villeneuve
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
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21 - Jul 23
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Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
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15 - Sep 17
Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit
22 - Sep 24
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6 - Oct 8
Qatar Losail International Circuit
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
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Spain Circuit de Catalunya
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
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Italy Adria International Raceway
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Italy Adria International Raceway
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FR Romain Grosjean -
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  • Country FR
  • Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (37)
  • Place of b. Geneve, FR
  • Weight 71 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
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