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Arguably one of the most atmospheric venues in the F1 calendar, Monza is the closest you can get to an oval circuit. It has fast sweeping corners followed by long fast straights. The speed of the track means low downforce settings, which can make it tricky for drivers in the chicanes. Some fairly substantial bumps also make it necessary for the cars to have stiff settings. The unwavering passion of Ferrari's "tifosi" makes for a stirring atmosphere for anyone with an interest in motor racing. The circuit itself is quite difficult as the driver has less influence than at other tracks, as the race is largely about engine power and brakes. Often there are significant gaps between teams but the gap between drivers is small. The 360kph top speed is a thrill for drivers and the Italian Grand Prix is never a dull race. Nick Heidfeld finished 14th in today's Italian Grand Prix while team mate Giorgio Pantano had the misfortune of spinning off at Parabolica after his second stop. Rubens Barrichello delivered an admirable drive to recover from problems at the start of the race and take his first victory of the season, leading champion Michael Schumacher across the line. Eddie Jordan said, "Ferrari showed their brilliance yet again and with another 1-2 victory - Rubens and Michael and the whole Ferrari team have all Jordan’s congratulations. As for us, we put a huge effort into this weekend, for very little return and in very difficult circumstances so I want to thank everyone in the team for their commitment and hard work. We’ve no points to show for it but that has no reflection on the ability and dedication that everyone contributes.”
An eventful day for Jordan Ford resulted in Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano qualifying for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix in 17th and 18th positions. Pantano and his mechanics recovered well from a free practice accident this morning although the Italian did not get a perfect qualifying lap, sliding wide as he came out of the Ascari corner; while Heidfeld qualified using the spare car after encountering a gearbox problem during pre-qualifying.
Jordan consolidated work from last week’s Monza test in today’s free practice, with the drivers reporting a much-improved car balance at the Italian circuit. At the start of the second session Nick Heidfeld’s car stopped on the track due to an engine oil leak, costing the German and his engineer half of the day’s track time. Other than this solitary technical problem, the Jordan Ford EJ14s were reliable and the team is optimistic about the information collected in preparation for the race.
At the Italian Grand Prix, the latest in Bahrain’s campaign of messages is “Drugs Don’t Win”. San Patrignano (based near Rimini, Italy) is a therapeutic community for drug addicts and is Europe’s largest drug rehabilitation facility. Since its founding in 1978 by the late Vincenzo Muccioli, it has opened its doors to over 18,000 young men and women. In the twenty six years since its inception, the community’s mission has been to welcome drug addicts in need of a recovery program regardless of social standing, and political or religious orientation. The community offers its services completely free of charge to its guests, and does not accept donations from guests’ families. It receives no public funds. Andrea Muccioli, chairman of the community, said, “Formula 1 racing is a sport with many young people among its millions of fans. The decision made by Jordan and Prince Salman of Bahrain will help us further spread a strong message against drug abuse throughout the world. We wish to thank them with all our hearts”.
Jordan Ford goes to the Italian Grand Prix straight from a three-day test at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with all three drivers - Nick Heidfeld, Giorgio Pantano and Timo Glock – contributing to the programme. The team carried out almost 1500km of testing, with extensive work on Bridgestone’s tyre test programme and some preparation work for next year’s EJ15. Giorgio Pantano said, ahead of his home race, “I feel very good to be racing in Monza at my home Grand Prix. I am looking forward to it and I would really like to have a good race there because there will be a lot of people who have come to see me. As a boy I went to Monza quite a few times to watch the race and I always did quite well there in the three years I did F3000. I am happy we are going there also because I like the circuit. It’s a fast one, one of the quickest ones we race at. Testing last week was good: we mainly tested tyres for the Italian Grand Prix and it went pretty well." |
