|
The final
European event on the
Formula 1 calendar is a very
important one for Scuderia
FerrarI, it being
the home race for the
Maranello-based team. The
Scuderia makes the short
trip to the Royal Park of
Monza in good form, after
Kimi Raikkonen gave Ferrari
its first win of the season,
ten days ago in Belgium.
However, the main talking
point over the weekend is
likely to be the driver of
car number three, as Giancarlo
Fisichella, another star of
the Spa-Francorchamps
weekend, now has the honour
and indeed the
responsibility of being an
Italian driver in a Prancing
Horse car at the historic
and atmospheric Monza
circuit. By his own
admission, driving a Ferrari
Formula 1 car has always
been a dream of his. Since
being released from his
Force India contract, the
Roman driver has had
sessions in Ferrari’s static
simulator to acclimatise to
the F60 cockpit environment
and has been extensively
briefed by the engineers, to
be as well prepared as
possible for the weekend
ahead.
The two
F60s, running the same
chassis as in Spa, have no
technical updates for this
race, apart from the fact
they will run
Monza-specification wings,
as this circuit requires the
least downforce of any track
on the calendar. The high
speed characteristics means
that KERS will be
particularly advantageous
here, as is confirmed by the
fact that some teams, who
either abandoned KERS
earlier in the year, or had
never used it so far, are
contemplating using it here.
Apart from the fact the
power boost is useful on the
long straights, the other
feature of KERS at this
track is that the heavy
braking required for the
chicanes means that
“topping-up” the power is
actually more efficient here
than at other circuits,
making the whole system
extremely effective, more so
than at fast tracks without
too much heavy braking.
In recent
years, riding the kerbs, an
essential part of a quick
lap at Monza, especially for
qualifying, was not
Ferrari’s strong point.
However, take the “b” out of
“kerbs” and you have KERS,
which our drivers can rely
on for some lap time
advantage, which should
allow them to take a more
gentle approach to the
kerbs.
As we have
seen in recent races – and
the performance of our new
driver, Fisichella, taking
pole and finishing second in
Spa is a prime example – it
is almost impossible to
predict which team might
have the upper hand this
weekend. Indeed, even
Ferrari’s victory in Belgium
was far from being a
foregone conclusion. On top
of this, Monza lap times are
usually very close from the
top to the bottom of the
grid and, as this year
generally, the entire field
has been very bunched up, a
combination of these two
factors means that Saturday
afternoon’s Qualifying could
produce the most
unpredictable grid of the
entire year, decided by
hundredths of a second.
High speeds
also mean this track puts
engines to a hard test and
on this front, the Scuderia
is in good shape, within the
eight engines per season
rule. With five races
remaining, Ferrari is on
target to meet the programme
established at the start of
the season, whereby it could
run more efficiently,
running engines over lower
mileages for the final part
of the year, running an
engine cycle based on one
engine for two races. Tyre
useage has been critical for
everyone this season, with
different compounds and
track temperatures playing a
key role in overall
performance. Bridgestone is
bringing the same types of
tyre to Monza as was used in
Spa-Francorchamps. However,
at the moment, there is some
chance of rain on Saturday,
just to add a further
unknown to the equation.
Coming to a Grand Prix,
having won the previous
race, is always good for
team spirit and the Scuderia
had a further boost to
morale, with the good news
from Brazil, that Felipe
Massa successfully underwent
a plastic surgery procedure
on Monday morning and that
his recovery is proceeding
apace. Last night in
Maranello, all the drivers,
Badoer, Fisichella,
Raikkonen and Schumacher
attended the World Premiere
of an exciting new car,
available to selected
customers, the 458 Italia.
However, from tomorrow
onwards, all the focus will
be on the F60 at Monza.
The F60 is named to mark 60
years of F1 competition for
Ferrari and this year will
also be the sixtieth running
of the Italian Grand Prix,
the fifty ninth at Monza
(Imola the only anomaly in
1980.) On seventeen of those
occasions, a Ferrari driver
has stood on the top step of
the podium, the last victory
being Michael Schumacher’s
in 2006, although a Ferrari
engine powered Sebastian
Vettel to victory last year.
Kimi has been on the podium
twice in Monza, with a
second place in 2006 and a
third in 2007. Fisichella
secured a third place finish
in 2005.
ItaliaspeedTV:
Italian Grand Prix Preview: Giancarlo Fisichella (Italian
version)
|
