Hi folks,
It’s the Italian Grand Prix this weekend - and the event at Monza is always a very special one. The circuit is steeped in history and has hosted a round of the
FIA Formula 1 World Championship every year since the series was created, with the exception of 1980.
It is also the home track for
Ferrari and given the performances put in by
Felipe Massa and
Kimi Raikkonen in Turkey last time the
tifosi will be hoping for another one-two.
The Ferraris are running very strongly at the moment and the track should suit the F2007, just like their longer wheel base car suited Istanbul Park.
Having said that though, as much as I feel it will be a Ferrari circuit, I think
McLaren will be strong there too and given the form of Ron Dennis’ team in testing last week it should be an interesting battle.
Certainly McLaren were probably left a bit in awe of how things went at Istanbul Park, especially in the race, and that may have spurred them on – although there is obviously only so much you can do in two weeks.
The Turkish GP itself however wasn’t the best. Indeed it was probably one of the most processional races we have had so far this year, which was a bit disappointing.
There were some highlights though, which produced a few talking points. None more so than
Lewis Hamilton having his lead eroded in the world championship after
that puncture.
Massa’s performance was also very notable - he did a great job. He is one of those guys when he gets everything together he can put in some really good qualifying times - and we have seen that a number of times. He is also one of those people, if he gets out in front, he tends to stay there.
Overall he has been very strong and very consistent this year – although there have been some hiccups, Hungary for example most recently.
Getting back to this coming weekend, Monza is now the only real low down-force track on the schedule and that means it is a unique challenge.
