Sven
Norm Smith Medallist
The twelfth GP of the year takes us to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. The Italian Grand Prix is steeped in tradition and also marks the end of the European leg of the Formula 1 season with the remaining 7 races in Asia and the Americas.
Here's Hamilton's preview of the track:
Circuit Name: Autodromo di Monza
Number of Laps: 53
Circuit Length: 5.793 km
Race Distance: 306.720 km
Lap Record: 1:21.046 - R Barrichello (2004)
Monza is definitely an old school race track with a fairly simple layout of straights connected by some pretty simple corners and a couple of chicanes on the straights to slow the cars down. Monza is definitely a power circuit with engines at full throttle for more than 75% of each lap. All cars will be in minimum downforce configuration for the weekend and have similar setups to those used in Canada. Brake cooling and longevity is very important at Monza, particularly if it's hot.
Drivers Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton 227
2 Nico Rosberg 199
3 Sebastian Vettel 160
4 Kimi Raikkonen 82
5 Felipe Massa 82
6 Valtteri Bottas 79
7 Daniil Kvyat 57
8 Daniel Ricciardo 51
9 Romain Grosjean 38
10 Max Verstappen 26
11 Sergio Perez 25
12 Nico Hulkenberg 24
13 Felipe Nasr 16
14 Pastor Maldonado 12
15 Fernando Alonso 11
16 Carlos Sainz Jr. 9
17 Marcus Ericsson 7
18 Jenson Button 6
19 Roberto Merhi 0
20 Will Stevens 0
Constructors Championship
1 Mercedes 426
2 Ferrari 242
3 Williams 161
4 Red Bull 108
5 Lotus 50
6 Force India 49
7 Toro Rosso 35
8 Sauber 23
9 McLaren 17
10 Manor 0
Monza is traditionally a track where Ferrari is strong, but the team hasn't won there since 2010 (Red Bull 2011, 2013, McLaren 2012, and Mercedes last year). Given the dominance of Mercedes this year, and in particular at Canada (the margin back to 3rd was over 40 seconds) I'd be tipping yet another Mercedes cake walk. Further back Ferrari, Williams and the resurgent Force India and Lotus teams look to be battling for the last remaining podium position; the Renault and Honda teams will struggle as a result of lack of power.
Here's Hamilton's preview of the track:
Circuit Name: Autodromo di Monza
Number of Laps: 53
Circuit Length: 5.793 km
Race Distance: 306.720 km
Lap Record: 1:21.046 - R Barrichello (2004)
Monza is definitely an old school race track with a fairly simple layout of straights connected by some pretty simple corners and a couple of chicanes on the straights to slow the cars down. Monza is definitely a power circuit with engines at full throttle for more than 75% of each lap. All cars will be in minimum downforce configuration for the weekend and have similar setups to those used in Canada. Brake cooling and longevity is very important at Monza, particularly if it's hot.
Drivers Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton 227
2 Nico Rosberg 199
3 Sebastian Vettel 160
4 Kimi Raikkonen 82
5 Felipe Massa 82
6 Valtteri Bottas 79
7 Daniil Kvyat 57
8 Daniel Ricciardo 51
9 Romain Grosjean 38
10 Max Verstappen 26
11 Sergio Perez 25
12 Nico Hulkenberg 24
13 Felipe Nasr 16
14 Pastor Maldonado 12
15 Fernando Alonso 11
16 Carlos Sainz Jr. 9
17 Marcus Ericsson 7
18 Jenson Button 6
19 Roberto Merhi 0
20 Will Stevens 0
Constructors Championship
1 Mercedes 426
2 Ferrari 242
3 Williams 161
4 Red Bull 108
5 Lotus 50
6 Force India 49
7 Toro Rosso 35
8 Sauber 23
9 McLaren 17
10 Manor 0
Monza is traditionally a track where Ferrari is strong, but the team hasn't won there since 2010 (Red Bull 2011, 2013, McLaren 2012, and Mercedes last year). Given the dominance of Mercedes this year, and in particular at Canada (the margin back to 3rd was over 40 seconds) I'd be tipping yet another Mercedes cake walk. Further back Ferrari, Williams and the resurgent Force India and Lotus teams look to be battling for the last remaining podium position; the Renault and Honda teams will struggle as a result of lack of power.
