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[EwanM]

Also onelapdown, Hamilton wasn't on top of his game at Monza last year, mind you Massa wasn't either, it was really Alonso that went off and hid. (probably his strongest weekend last year)

I remember my mum saying "shame about the result" expecting that because Alonso beat Hamilton I'd be dissapointed... I just said "unhappy with a McLaren 1-2 at Monza, are you KIDDING!!!"

Whenever Ferrari and McLaren are the main challengers the Italian GP is pretty much the F1 equivalent of the Old Firm derby match, and we all love it whichever side of the fence we're on.

Me being on the side of Glasgow Rangers.
And Arthur Boruc being on the other side of a Pedro Mendes wonder goal...

I'm a Partick Thistle man myself.

^ LOL Firhill - legendary

[McLaren Fan]

From F1 Live:

The Formula One circus heads for Monza's Royal Park this week to take on the Italian Grand Prix, this season's 14th round. With speeds reaching up to 350km/h, the set-up requirements are quite unique to this circuit and most teams will be running a one-time-only package.

The Honda team explains the technical demands of the venue, along with a lap description provided by reserve driver Alex Wurz.

The technical challenge:

The emphasis at Monza is on engine power and aerodynamic efficiency. As a result, the team will run a special low downforce aero package, which produces 30 percent less grip than the high downforce generated at the slowest circuits on the calendar.

From a set-up point of view, the most demanding aspects of the lap are slowing the cars from high speed and getting the power down at the exit of the corners. The introduction of the standard Electronic Control Unit this year has had a big impact in both areas of performance, so a good car balance is vital in low downforce trim in order to be quick.

The cars also run higher ride heights at Monza to allow the drivers to use the kerbs at all three chicanes.

There are two key corners on the lap: Lesmo 2 and Parabolica. Both are followed by long straights and the drivers need to get the power down before the apex of each turn to ensure a clean exit.


# Full throttle: 75%
# Brake wear: Medium
# Downforce level: Low - 1/10
# Tyre compounds: Medium / Hard
# Tyre usage: Low
# Average speed: 250kph (155mph)

Lap of the track with Alex Wurz:

"There is something very special about Monza. The setting, the noise of the Tifosi, the old banking crumbling in the background, the name - I like it all! It's the only super-fast track on the calendar and everything happens very quickly for the drivers. It takes a few laps to get used to it, even if you've been racing all year."

"In terms of driving style, Monza is an incredibly interesting mixture. On the one hand you have to be very harsh with your car by being super-aggressive over the kerbs, but you also have to treat it with respect by being very careful with the throttle because of the low downforce."

"Turn 1 is all about braking. You don't want to out-brake yourself, which can easily happen because the approach is so fast - 340kph (211mph) - and you then have to use the kerbs a lot. You must make sure that you make a clean exit because the long straight around Curva Grande follows before you're back on the brakes from high speed for the second chicane. The braking area is bumpy and you then have to jump over the kerbs very aggressively, which is fun."

"You're in fourth gear for the two Lesmos, which are both very slippery. The first one is slightly banked in your favour, so you have mid-corner understeer followed by exit oversteer. It's then very important to have a good rhythm through the second Lesmo because it's very easy to overdrive - and underdrive - the car and you need a good exit."

"Next up is Ascari, which is one of the best corners in Formula One. Braking is difficult because it's bumpy and once you've turned in, you jump over the inside kerb. You then get straight back on the power and you should aim to do the next right and left-handers just flat. If they are easy-flat, you have too much understeer or too much downforce, and if you can't do it flat you lose too much time by lifting off."

"You then brake very late into the final corner, Parabolica. You hit the brakes at about 60 metres and change down from seventh to fourth. The car is always very nervous on the entry and you have to get back on the power before the apex, at which point you don't know where you will hit the white line at the exit. It's a ballsy situation."

D.B. © CAPSIS International

[McLaren Fan]

From F1 Live:

Lewis Hamilton saw his Belgian Grand Prix victory taken away on Sunday following a controversial decision taken by the race stewards. While the McLaren Mercedes team intends to present an appeal in hopes of restoring the win, the next round of the championship is already in preparation.

With only a few days between the Belgian event and the Italian Grand Prix at the famous Monza circuit, Hamilton steered away from the controversy and concentrated on the work ahead during a Q&A session appearing on his website.

Lewis, the challenge for the world title lies ahead of you – tell us something about how you prepare for a Grand Prix weekend, particularly during this high-pressure part of the season.

"At most races, I arrive on a Wednesday or a Thursday, it's good to be chilled and relaxed when you get to the track because there's a lot of work to do. One of the first things I like to do is walk the track with my engineers. After that, we'll go through a run programme for the weekend – we'll discuss the changes we might have made in testing, what we'll be running on the car that's new and what we expect to do throughout the two free practice sessions on Friday. Then it's a bit of media work, interviews and TV stuff, dinner in the Brand Centre and an early night."

How important is the relationship between you and your race engineer?

"It's one of the closest bonds you have in racing so it's essential that you have a good, close working relationship. My race engineer is Phil Prew, and we spend a lot of the time talking together with the other engineers, looking at the data, thinking about set-up and drawing everything together so that when we get in the car, we know what we are doing and what direction we are going in."

How do you plan your opening laps of practice on a Friday?

"Well, firstly, we do a lot of work back at the McLaren Technology Centre to ensure we arrive at each track in very good shape set-up wise. That means when we hit the track on Friday morning I normally have a pretty good idea of how the car needs to be, how to find its sweet spot. It's never a good idea to make a snap judgment on the car, because the track is often dirty and slippery, but that first impression is usually pretty representative of your overall pace – I can feel if the car is going to be good or not."

What sort of changes do you make to the car?

"We make small changes to the car – usually to the front wing, the brake balance, the tyre pressures, just giving the car little hints to make it better; that's what modern F1 is about – detail changes that just improve your feel in the cockpit. It's unusual for us to make big changes, things like changing the ride-height, changing the suspension or changing the rear wing. If you make a big change and go the wrong way on set-up, it can be difficult to get back to a good baseline."

How do you know when you've driven a perfect lap?

"It's a question I'm asked quite a lot, actually. You just feel it – you can pretty much find the limit at any circuit straight away but, sometimes during the weekend, you might make a small mistake at a corner, miss an apex or run wide. The best feeling is when you're in qualifying and you manage to string it all together at once, getting every corner just right – it wasn't totally perfect, but that's the sort of feeling I got at Spa in qualifying."

"Also, you just feel so connected to the car. I can honestly say that our car just feels amazing to drive – not only does it react to every change we make to it in the garage, but it also feels really responsive to drive on the circuit. The buzz you get from being totally plugged-in to a racing car is just crazy."

What happens during a race if the car's balance doesn't feel right?

"The only things you can do really is to adjust the front-wing flaps and maybe change the tyre pressures. The rules don't let you change anything else, so you're pretty much stuck with the car you started the race with. But I don't like to change too much during the race – maybe a small turn on the front wing if the car doesn't feel perfect."

Finally, we're off to Monza next, what do you think of the place?

"All of the circuits are a challenge, but Monza is unique: you can literally feel the history of the place when you see the old banking, and it's the only track that places such individual demands on the car. It's the only place where we trim off all the downforce and run a seriously stripped-down aero package. It's the fastest circuit of the lot – we're reaching 350km/h along the main straight – and that's pretty quick. I think we'll be quick."

"I have spent many of my junior karting years racing in Italy and it is a place that is really, really close to my heart. I have some extremely great friends in Italy and so I am looking forward to being there this weekend."

D.B. © CAPSIS International

[darwin dali]

I'm finding it very hard to get motivated for this race. Normally I can't wait for the next Grand Prix, but my lack of confidence in the FIA and my ill feelings towards them have come to the fore once again. Will the Italian Grand Prix be another fix like it was in 2006 and how it almost became in 2007? I can't say no anyway.

In theory, McLaren will be the favourites for this race, but at Spa, where Ferrari were meant to easily walk away with the race, we only a tenth or two of a second faster. On top of this, consider how in Monaco and Hungary when McLaren were meant to wipe the floor with Ferrari, and how in Turkey and France McLaren were meant to be easily brushed aside by Ferrari. All of these predictions weren't really true for the most part. So, who's to say Ferrari won't have the stronger package in Italy? They seem to have found a little more horsepower from their engine, that's for sure.

I'm hoping for my boy FM: he'll run a brand new engine unlike in Spa where he wasn't 'allowed' to ever even hit the max rev of 19k rpm out of concern the engine might croak.
I also expect KR to run a smart and fast race in support of his de facto number one team mate. Toro Rosso might look very good again - they constantly rank near the top with their speed trap readings.
Very curious about the BMW Sauber boys - was NH's performance a fluke or a sign of a turn around? And what's with RK and his setup - sorted by now?
I'd be surprised if HK ran very well in Monza - his motivational status must be pretty low and/or his frustration level pretty high. LH on the other hand will be highly motivated by the Spa incident and probably will have to be careful not to overdo it, be impatient or anything like that.

[scotty]

From what i've seen so far this season, the weather has had a huge impact on the McLaren vs. Ferrari battle - i don't expect things to change this weekend either.

Kimi Raikkonen is the spoiler here too, he doesn't seem to have any intention of helping Massa out, believing (rightfully so) that he still has a chance of the title, even if it is only a small chance. Massa seemed a bit pissed off at him after Spa, so maybe some tension has built up in the Ferrari garage. That may all play into Hamilton's hands.

[f1maniac95]

I hope Mclaren beat Ferrari at their home race like last year Ferrari will be kicking themselves.

[bud]

I'm hoping for my boy FM: he'll run a brand new engine unlike in Spa where he wasn't 'allowed' to ever even hit the max rev of 19k rpm out of concern the engine might croak.

the ITV boys were talking about Massa and if he was conserving his engine in the latter stages of the race but from onboard shots with telemetry he was hitting the rev limiter even in the latter stages of the race so i dont think Ferrari were too concerned just as they said a bad batch of con rods for Kimi and Massa.

[texasmr2]

I hope Mclaren beat Ferrari at their home race like last year Ferrari will be kicking themselves.

I'm hoping for the opposite.

[Dardas]

I hope Mclaren beat Ferrari at their home race like last year Ferrari will be kicking themselves.

I'm hoping for the opposite.

I hope BMW will came up with something for this weekend.
It's RK "home ground" so let's hope for the best
His first podium was over there, perhaps he will be able to repeat it

Will he mainatin to be in front of KR at the end of season?
That would be just brilliant

[al4x]

for those who wish to talk about the upcoming race

to quote an Australian Football Legend Ted Whitten.

I hope Lewis and McLaren "stick it right up em"

even though Ted Whitten would use that war cry for Victoria when they would play South Australia in State Football i still admired the bloke

And if he does not are you going to have another tantrum after the race Bud?

if he is beaten fairly i do not lose sleep over it! if another scandal, hmmm maybe Felipe will get blocked by a car 500m up the road again like in 2006

bad memories

[al4x]

hopefully itll be cold so alonso can beat toyota and renault close in on 4th

np has a bit more experience, pull your finger out boy!

a bit peeved he crashed!

[7UpJordan]

Well Nico hasn't come out and said "this track should suit our car" instead saying Williams had a good test here a few weeks ago. This is my last hope of Williams being able to pick up any decent result this season, low downforce and tight chicanes will suit the FW30. The only "this should suit that" talk came from Nakajima saying the track should suit him. Don't know what he means by that...

[Denthúl]

I hope Mclaren beat Ferrari at their home race like last year Ferrari will be kicking themselves.

I'm hoping for the opposite.

I hope BMW will came up with something for this weekend.
It's RK "home ground" so let's hope for the best
His first podium was over there, perhaps he will be able to repeat it

Will he mainatin to be in front of KR at the end of season?
That would be just brilliant

It's entirely possible. Over the whole weekend at Spa, the ITV crew commented that of the top eight fastest cars down through Eau Rouge, McLaren were not present and BMW Sauber were up there being quite fast. I think the BMW engine is fast, but the car lacks the aerodynamic efficiency to work with it as well as it could. Maybe next year they can fix that

[dant]

A Mclaren 1,2 with anybody besides a Ferrari 3rd would do me nicely.

[McLaren Fan]

A Mclaren 1,2 with anybody besides a Ferrari 3rd would do me nicely.