Italian GP: FIA preview
Monza Track Map (Click to enlarge)
Sep.8 (FIA) Italy’s Autodromo di Monza hosts round 14 of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, the last European grand prix of the season. Being one of only four venues which continues to host the Formula One World Championship since it began in 1950, Monza is always certain to provide a charged race weekend atmosphere, on account of the many Italian racing fans — tifosi — who attend every year.
With six rounds of this year’s championship remaining and a maximum of 150 driver points available under the new-for-2010 scoring system, the drivers’ world title remains wide open. However, leading protagonists McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber have opened a small gap to the other main contenders after Jenson Button (McLaren), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) all failed to score at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Constructors’ chase, meanwhile, is distilling into a two-horse race, with Red Bull
Racing edging McLaren by a single point — 330 to 329. Third-place Ferrari have 250 points.
Monza has always been noted as one of the highest speed Formula One circuits, and corners such as the Lesmos, Parabolica and Curva Grande remain challenging to the modern generation of cars and drivers. It is also noted as a ‘power’ circuit, where cars with the best engine performance tend to achieve the strongest results.
Located within the grounds of a former royal park, on the outskirts of Milan, Monza has adapted its layout many times since 1950 to keep pace with evolving Formula One safety requirements.
Circuit changes since 2009
• The areas behind the apex kerbs at turns 1 and 4 have been laid with a ramped concrete section to ensure that the chances of a car crossing them becoming airborne are minimised.
Fast facts: Italian Grand Prix
• The Italian Grand Prix has been part of the Formula One World Championship every year since 1950 and Monza has hosted more Formula One Grands Prix – 59 – than any other circuit. Only once since 1950 has Monza not hosted the Italian Grand Prix: the 1980 event was held at the Imola circuit in the Italian principality of San Marino. This year’s race will be the 61st Italian Formula One Grand Prix and the 60th held at Monza.
• Italian Grands Prix at Monza, however, date back to 1922 – the first (non-Formula One) having been held at the Autodromo on September 10, 1922. That race was won by Pietro Bordino, driving a six-cylinder Fiat 804.
• Of 97 Italian drivers to have raced in Formula One, only 3 have won the Italian Grand Prix: Nino Farina in 1950; Alberto Ascari in 1951-52 and Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
• No Italian has won the Formula One World Championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953; the last Italian to win a grand prix was Giancarlo
Fisichella, for Renault, in Malaysia, 2006.
I wonder with the high speeds and long runs at full throttle if fuel consumption will play a part in the race??