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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 big bumps also make it necessary for the cars to have stiff settings. DHL Jordan Honda is hopeful that its car and engine package will deliver results at Monza; home race for Giancarlo Fisichella, who venerates the legendary circuit as a temple of speed. The Autodromo Nazionale’s history is rich and includes one of Jordan Grand Prix’s three race victories among the many exciting memories that the track holds. Heinz-Harald Frentzen scored the team’s most recent win in 1999 and the result made him a contender for that year’s Drivers’ Championship. Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Test Engineering, said, “Monza is a fantastic circuit for atmosphere. You can’t help but be stirred by the experience of being in Italy with the passion from Ferrari fans, as it’s terrific to be among people who enjoy and love the sport so much. “The circuit itself is quite difficult given that the driver doesn’t have as much influence as he does at other tracks. He’s got a throttle pedal and horsepower at the rear wheels and he just has to be on full throttle for the maximum time possible to get the lap time. Usually there are significant gaps between teams but the gap between drivers is small because the driver influence is marginal.
The Italian Grand Prix in Monza got off to a damp start today following torrential rain which flooded parts of the circuit during an overnight thunderstorm. The heavy rain left some car parks impassable while floods inside the vehicle tunnels meant that the circuit access points had to be revised this morning.
Michael Schumacher was quickest in this morning's first free practice session, setting a time of 1:22.869 to head Juan Pablo Montoya by almost one second. Ralf Schumacher was third in the second Williams ahead of Pedro de la Rosa's Jaguar and Jarno Trulli's Renault.
The Ferrari team dominated today's practice sessions, World Champion Michael Schumacher emerging quickest with team mate Rubens Barrichello in second spot. Giancarlo Fisichella was the third fastest Bridgestone runner, his Jordan Honda back in 11th position with team mate Takuma Sato 14th.
Montoya pipped Michael Schumacher to the fastest time of Saturday practice by a hundredth of a second. The first session was red flagged half way through when Rubens Barrichello's engine went, leaving oil on the track. Jordan had a trouble-free morning which was spent working to find the best way of maximising the potential of their Bridgestone tyres.
Juan Pablo Montoya stole pole position from World Champion Michael Schumacher in a thrilling qualifying session which saw the Williams team eclipse Ferrari on home ground. It would have been an all-Williams front row but on his final run Michael Schumacher managed to beat his brother Ralf with a time 0.021s quicker.
Giancarlo Fisichella maximised the EJ12’s potential in today’s qualifying in Monza by opting for a double timed-lap strategy to get the best out of the Bridgestone tyres and he finished 12th. Unfortunately Takuma Sato’s first and second flying laps were spoilt by errors and on his final outing he collided with Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren and the session was stopped. The team’s swift efforts to prepare the T-car for Sato were in vain, as when qualifying re-started there was insufficient time for the Japanese to return to the garage.
The FIA have laid the blame of Saturday's red-flag collision between Takuma Sato and Kimi Raikkonen firmly with the young Finn, with the issue of the following statement: "The Stewards of the Meeting received a report from the Race Director, stating that the Driver of car number 4 (Kimi Raikkonen) caused a collision with the driver of car number 10 (Takuma Sato) during the qaulifying session. Both drivers and their representatives were summoned. Having heard the explanations of both drivers and viewed video evidence, the Stewards of the Meeting decide to impose a penalty in accordance with Article 119 of 2002 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations to delete the fastest qualifying time of the Driver of car number 4 (Kimi Raikkonen) for causing a collision contrary to Article 53 of the aforementioned regulations." The penalty demotes Raikkonen one place to sixth on the grid, while Jaguar's Eddie Irvine moves up to fifth.
Ralf Schumacher headed the warm-up times in his Williams with team mate Juan Pablo Montoya in third spot behind the quickest Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello. World Champion Michael Schumacher was fourth quickest.
Rubens Barrichello claimed a superb victory in today's Italian Grand Prix, using an aggressive 2-stop strategy to overcome team mate Michael Schumacher and fend off a determined challenge from Williams. For DHL Jordan Honda the race saw Giancarlo Fisichella put up a superb fight for Championship points, running a very late one-stop strategy. This saw him momentarily in fifth position but he ultimately finished 8th, hot on the heels of David Coulthard's McLaren and the 6th placed BAR Honda of Olivier Panis. |
