2018 Italian Grand Prix review

First of all it was a very interesting starting grid with Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen on pole. I was sure that this would motivate him enough to give everything he's got and more. The Iceman took his best start of the season and stayed in front. His teammate Sebastian Vettel tried a little too much and smacked into Lewis Hamilton. Of course he blamed Hamilton for the crash... He dropped to the back and had to pit. This was clearly not Hamilton's fault because he was already ahead of Vettel... or if you disagree then please send me a message and explain your point of view. 

On lap 4 Hamilton overtook Räikkönen for the lead and when we all thought that Hamilton would fly to the distance the Iceman took the lead back!! I loved that! Finally we see some real racing for once! All it takes is a 4 time world champion and the oldest driver out there. At this point I was cheering for  Räikkönen and not because he is a Ferrari driver but because he is the legendary Iceman! Never really been a Ferrari fan. I love the cars but not the team. I mean look what they did to Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa for example! They are doing it to Räikkönen as well... everybody were saying before the race "how will Ferrari screw up Räikkönen's race this time so that Vettel gets ahead?". Räikkönen was lucky Vettel spun!

Räikkönen could have won the race easily but the tyres were too damaged. He could have saved the tyres more if he could have driven in the lead for a longer time. His tyres got bad when he had to drive behind Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas for too long.

Mercedes had a much better race compared to Ferrari, better tactics and scored more points. Just a pity they had to use Bottas as Hamilton's help. Bottas could have fought for the win as well but they kept him out longer to slow down Räikkönen.

Bottas had some drama with Max Verstappen when they had a slight collision. It was clear that it was Verstappen's fault and he got a 5 second penalty. He has done that move before as well and got a penalty for that time too so why not learn from your mistakes? Because of this Bottas moved ahead of Verstappen in the final results and was on the podium.

Räikkönen was chosen "driver of the day" and I couldn't have agreed more.

And now it's time for my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen took pole for the first time this season.

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen was 2nd and Bottas was 3rd.
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - WRONG. He was 4th.

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Surprise: Keep an eye on Esteban Ocon - He was surprisngly bad compared to his teammate.

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - RACE

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - PRACTICE 3

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - PRACTICE 1 & 2

2018 Italian Grand Prix preview

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 (in a race) 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 (in a race) was set 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.

If we talk about wins then Michael Schumacher is the king of this track. He has won this race 5 times. From the current drivers the king would be Lewis Hamilton. He has won on this track 4 times before and I am sure he will win again this weekend.

Sebastian Vettel took his maiden victory in Monza back in 2008 with Toro Rosso. That was strange if you ask me! To win a race with the former Minardi now known as Toro Rosso. Everybody were sure that Heikki Kovalainen would win the race but he couldn't get pass Vettel and stayed 2nd.

And now it's time for my predictions and here they are:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Keep an eye on Esteban Ocon.

FORMULA 1 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE