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It's that time again, with the start of the Italian Grand Prix no less than 1 day away. The Monza circuit is famous throughout motor racing, and has hosted a round of the Formula 1 World Championship in every single season bar one - when the race briefly moved to Imola in 1980.
The home of Ferrari, Italy has only ever had 2 Formula 1 World Champions - Nuvolari and Ascari. This year their hopes will rest not only with the mighty Scuderia Ferrari, but with Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella as well.
Monza is notoriously hard on both brakes and engines, with cars reaching speeds of 360km/h at the end of the start straight, following the giant sweeping turn Parabolica. Numerous chicanes have been added to what was essentually an oval in the beginning, but these didn't slow Michael Schumacher from setting the fastest average speed ever recorded for a Grand Prix last year, at some 247km/h. 2003 saw Ferrari finally return to form after the humiliation of Hungary, with Schumacher winning narrowly from Montoya and Barrichello. Ferrari will be looking to repeat the feat this year, and will no doubt be hungry having lost in Belgium.
McLaren goes to Monza looking set to challenge Ferrari yet again, riding high from their impressive win in Belgium. Whether the Mercedes-Benz will have the power and the consistency to match Ferrari may very well determine the result for their weekend.
Williams are still without Ralf Schumacher, insurance clauses meaning he won't be racing before China. Montoya pushed Schumacher right to the end here last year, and won in 2001, the only non Ferrari driver to do so in recent years. Antonio Pizzonia will once again be replacing Schumacher. Following their double DNF that has seen them fall back into McLaren's clutches, Williams will be keen for a good points haul.
BAR have faded a little from their impressive form in the earlier half of the season, and with Button feeling more and more certain that his move to Williams will be approved, BAR could do with a good result to boost their spirits, and their points tally as they try to close in on Renault.
Renault were another team to suffer at Spa, Trulli finishing 9th after yet another uninspired performance, Alonso spinning out on his own oil while leading. The team maintains an 8 points margin to BAR in the Constructors race, but things are getting tight.
Sauber benefitted from the heavy casualty rate at Spa and will be hoping for similar circumstances in Monza, and that their Bridgestones stand up to the huge loads of the circuit.
Tyres will once again be a large determining factor, and following the number of Michelin failures at Spa, Bridgestone must be optimistic.
All teams should have their setups well and truly finalised before the event begins, with no less than 18 cars running at Monza last week over 3 days.
Some other interesting news revolves around Ford and Jaguar, with Ford apparently wishing to either sell the team to Red Bull magnate Dietrich Mateschitz or change the team to be officially Ford branded.
The FIA has also released a package of 3 different rule proposals for changes in 2005, however the date for agreement was apparently 6th September, and with no official word yet, the world remains in the dark as to just what Formula 1 will look like in 2005.
Post away.
The home of Ferrari, Italy has only ever had 2 Formula 1 World Champions - Nuvolari and Ascari. This year their hopes will rest not only with the mighty Scuderia Ferrari, but with Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella as well.
Monza is notoriously hard on both brakes and engines, with cars reaching speeds of 360km/h at the end of the start straight, following the giant sweeping turn Parabolica. Numerous chicanes have been added to what was essentually an oval in the beginning, but these didn't slow Michael Schumacher from setting the fastest average speed ever recorded for a Grand Prix last year, at some 247km/h. 2003 saw Ferrari finally return to form after the humiliation of Hungary, with Schumacher winning narrowly from Montoya and Barrichello. Ferrari will be looking to repeat the feat this year, and will no doubt be hungry having lost in Belgium.
McLaren goes to Monza looking set to challenge Ferrari yet again, riding high from their impressive win in Belgium. Whether the Mercedes-Benz will have the power and the consistency to match Ferrari may very well determine the result for their weekend.
Williams are still without Ralf Schumacher, insurance clauses meaning he won't be racing before China. Montoya pushed Schumacher right to the end here last year, and won in 2001, the only non Ferrari driver to do so in recent years. Antonio Pizzonia will once again be replacing Schumacher. Following their double DNF that has seen them fall back into McLaren's clutches, Williams will be keen for a good points haul.
BAR have faded a little from their impressive form in the earlier half of the season, and with Button feeling more and more certain that his move to Williams will be approved, BAR could do with a good result to boost their spirits, and their points tally as they try to close in on Renault.
Renault were another team to suffer at Spa, Trulli finishing 9th after yet another uninspired performance, Alonso spinning out on his own oil while leading. The team maintains an 8 points margin to BAR in the Constructors race, but things are getting tight.
Sauber benefitted from the heavy casualty rate at Spa and will be hoping for similar circumstances in Monza, and that their Bridgestones stand up to the huge loads of the circuit.
Tyres will once again be a large determining factor, and following the number of Michelin failures at Spa, Bridgestone must be optimistic.
All teams should have their setups well and truly finalised before the event begins, with no less than 18 cars running at Monza last week over 3 days.
Some other interesting news revolves around Ford and Jaguar, with Ford apparently wishing to either sell the team to Red Bull magnate Dietrich Mateschitz or change the team to be officially Ford branded.
The FIA has also released a package of 3 different rule proposals for changes in 2005, however the date for agreement was apparently 6th September, and with no official word yet, the world remains in the dark as to just what Formula 1 will look like in 2005.
Post away.
I do my best to make things as interesting as I can. I always commentate races for myself and I'm always proud when I pick a driver/event before either ITV commentator lol.
