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| A picture from the old part of the track (the loop). |
Are you ready for the Italian grand prix and the Monza track? This is one of the most legendary tracks in F1 history and it is also Ferrari's home grand prix.
Several Formula One legends have died on this track. The list is long so I shall mention just a few.
- In 1955 the Ferrari legend and two time world champion Alberto Ascari died here during a test session.
- Wolfgang von Trips and 14 spectators were killed after he collided with Jim Clark in 1961.
- Jochen Rindt was crowned as the Formula One world champion at the end of the 1970 season. Unfortunately he had passed away before that at Monza. The points were enough to make him the champion.
- The best Swedish F1 driver ever lived was Ronnie Peterson. He died in a hospital after a serious crash at the start of the 1978 Italian grand prix.
The Monza track has changed several times over the years. At first it looked like this:
This was in 1922-1933 before the F1 series even existed. The track was 10 kilometers with 4.5 kilometers in the loop and then 5.5 kilometers on the road track.
Later in 1935-1937 the track was changed and looked like this:
In 1950 the Formula One series started and Monza was the last race on the calendar. The race was won by Nino Farina even though Juan Manuel Fangio had been faster all weekend. Fangio got pole position and set the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately he retired due to a gear box failure and Farina won the race and the first championship. The track was again different and it looked like this:
In 1955 it looked again like it did in the beginning (with the road- and loop-part). After 1969 the oval part was not used anymore and the track looked about the same it looks today.
The fastest lap on the combined track was set in 1960 by the American F1 world champion Phill Hill. The record was 2.41.400 and the time was set with a Ferrari.
The fastest lap on the modern track is made by Rubens Barrichello in 2004 and also with a Ferrari. The current record is 1.21.046 and the reason why it is so much faster is that "the loop" is no longer in use.
Last year Lewis Hamilton won in Monza before Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.
Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen had some problems in the race. Vettel had to retire because of the problems with his alternator and Kimi's Lotus had no speed to compete with the others. Lotus was not good at tracks like Monza but he was still 5th.
Romain Grosjean had got a penalty in Spa so he got replaced by Jerome D'Ambrosio. He had a chance to show everybody his skills but couldn't keep up with Räikkönen at all.
Sergio Perez really showed that he is a competitive driver when he overtook several "super drivers" with his Sauber and took the second place at the end.
Alonso made the Ferrari fans very happy when he took the third place and spoke in Italian on the podium. He even took one of the TV cameras and filmed the crowd with it. That was some good entertainment for them and for us others as well.
And now it's time for my guesses and here they are:
Pole position: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
Race:
- Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
Fastest lap: Mark Webber, Red Bull
Surprise: Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso
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