Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d’Italia 2012 preview

Only several days after the highly entertaining Belgian Grand Prix at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Formula 1 fraternity has moved swiftly on to yet another equally historic circuit. This weekend, the wonderful Autodromo Nazionale Monza plays host to the 81st running of the Italian Grand Prix.

First held back in 1921 (a race won by Jules Goux) the Italian Grand Prix has played host to some of the most iconic moments in the history of the sport, and has been a part of the Formula 1 World Championship every year since its inception back in 1950. Although the Monza circuit has undergone several redesigns since the first official race back in 1950, the circuit has hosted every running of the event apart from the 1980 Italian Grand Prix which was held at Imola.

Prior to the inception of the official Formula 1 World Championship, the Italian Grand Prix was hosted at several other circuits, such as Valentino Park, Milan, Livorno and Brescia. However, the majority of all the Italian Grands Prix have been held around the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Built back in 1922 by architect Alfredo Rosselli, the original circuit also feature a 30 degree banked oval, which played host to a series of races known as the Monzanapolis back in the 1950s. The legendary oval was used several times as part of the F1 race, and was won by Sir Stirling Moss and Phil Hill on two separate occasions when the oval track was used in 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961.

Although the oval track still remains to this very day, the Formula 1 cars race on a modernized version of the original circuit, which features 11 turns (the least of the season), and consists of a total length of 5.793km (3.600 miles). Veteran of the sport Rubens Barrichello currently holds the official lap record, set back in 2004 of a 01:21.046. However Juan-Pablo Montoya recorded a even quicker time during the same race weekend, which unfortunately didn’t count which consisted of a 01:19.525.

This weekend sees Formula 1 visit Monza with the repercussions of last time out in Belgium still reverberating around the paddock, after Romain Grosjean’s one race ban for causing the opening lap incident between himself, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez. With the race stewards at Spa-Francorchamps imposing a one race ban, Lotus have called upon the services of reserve driver Jerome D’Ambrosio to fill his place. This weekend will also see the HRT of Pedro de la Rosa reach the milestone of 100 races, after the Spaniard made his debut back in 1999 with Arrows.

Like with many circuits on the 2012 F1 calendar, Michael Schumacher currently holds the record for the most amount of victories recorded at the Italian Grand Prix, with five wins throughout his lengthy career (’96, ’98, ’00, ’03 and ’06). All of these victories came with local heroes Ferrari, whose adoring Tifosi masses visit the race weekend in their droves in unrelenting support of the Scuderia. It’s Ferrari who have the mot amount of victories as a Constructor at the Italian Grand Prix, with a staggering 19 victories recorded at the race (’49, ’51, ’52, ’60, ’61, ’64, ’66, ’70, ’75, ’79, ’88, ’96, ’98, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’06 and ’10).

This weekend will see local ex-F1 driver Emanuele Pirro reprise his role as the FIA driver steward, a role previously held by Eliseo Salazar at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend. Throughout Pirro’s three seasons in F1, he was only able to finish once at his home race at Monza. Since F1, Emanuele Pirro has enjoyed a very successful career in sportscar racing with a stunning five Le Mans victories, two Sebring 12 Hours victories and a victory at the Daytona 24 Hours.

This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix will also feature two DRS zones, in similar fashion and similar locations as last season. With the high-speed nature of the Monza circuit, DRS isn’t always required to complete an overtake, but it’s unquestionable that the device makes overtaking a lot easier. The first zone is naturally located on the start/finish line, with the activation zone positioned just 115 meters after the finish line. This will provide an excellent overtaking opportunity into the tight turn 1 and 2 chicane. The second DRS zone is situated just 210 meters after turns 4 and 5 (Curve di Lesmo), and will offer yet another perfect passing opportunity into turn 7 (Variante Ascari).

The last time a Ferrari driver prepared to compete in the Italian Grand Prix leading the Drivers’ Championship was Michael Schumacher back in 2004, one race after he clinched his record breaking seventh Drivers’ Title. Fernando Alonso enters this weekend leading the Drivers’ Championship, however the Spaniard is in hot pursuit by the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. With the adoring Tifosi masses willing Alonso to win this weekend, it would be a brave man to snatch victory away from the Scuderia in their own back yard.

This, coupled with the sheer uncompetitiveness of the 2012 season, offers us with a mouthwatering Italian Grand Prix around one of the most legendary circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. Ferrari are the most successful team on Italian soil, however will they end the weekend victorious? There’s only one way to find out...

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