Grand Prix 2010 Italian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

After the shenanigans earlier this week, Ferrari and their drivers will be pleased to be back at the home of the tifosi where no doubt they will get the usual adulatory worship heaped upon them.

Monza is what is commonly referred to as a power circuit so Red Bull once again won't be able to take advantage of their trick aero package. Even if it weren't such a high speed circuit, it's highly likely that most, if not all, of Red Bull's advantage will finally be nullified by the new bodywork tests to be introduced by the FIA this weekend.

McLaren have already stated that they have had to make changes to their floor so one would presume that several of the other teams will have to also. There has been a lot of talk of articulated planks, which is now assumed to be the key to Red Bull's design, so will Christian Horner once again claim the car is unchanged?

After McLaren's impressive performance at Spa they will be hoping to repeat that here and to cement their claim on both championships.
They won't have it all their own way though.

The Italian GP Preview thread confirms that traditionally Ferrari have been strong here so they too will be looking for a good result. With a bit of luck they won’t have to resort to coded messages or drivers lining up outside the grid box to engineer a good result for their championship contender.

Force India and Renault must also fancy their chances after their respective results at Belgium 2 weeks ago.

The weather forecast currently shows uninterrupted hot, dry and sunny weather for all 3 days so that’s at least one variable out of the mix.

Whatever happens, it's going to be a pivotal grand prix for the run in to the season finish.
 
Using Spa as the barometer i cant see Ferrari getting ahead of Either Mclaren,either Force India, or Kubica.

I can't imagine Massa is in the best frame of mind knowing He's never going to win a race ever again unless Alonso has some sort of failure.
 
I hope Mclaren can push home a 1-2 this weekend, then defend like mad the small lead it it gives them in the WCC for the rest of the season.
 
Grizzly said:
I hope Mclaren can push home a 1-2 this weekend, then defend like mad the small lead it it gives them in the WCC for the rest of the season.

It will depend on who Red Bull decides to back for the rest of the season. If Webber extends his lead over Vettel and RB get behind him then McLaren will have a tough time in the closing races but what is more likely to happen is that Webber will get good results but Horner will continue to back Vettel which will ultimately lead to them losing out in both championships.
 
Renault will be the suprise package in Monza.Their car is improving at faster rate than the others.McLaren have already said that they have had to redesign their floor due to the new tests.
This could also apply to other teams as well of course so could be a few suprise results in store this weekend.
Wonder if any teams might fail scrutineering with these new tests.
 
I am not at all sure if I am looking forward to this race and all the unknown quantities...

It seems to me that although it has been an outstanding season thus far (a real roller-coaster ride), the Red Bull qualifying performances, the flexing front wing and the elusive and covert comments from Christian Horner all collude to make me feel uneasy and unfulfilled. I kind of feel that were it not for the incompetence of their drivers there would be no championship to speak of! Even Michael Schumacher in his present guise would have made it a cakewalk... :bored:

It's all part of the rich tapestry but I prefer my wall coverings a little less busy. :givemestrength:
 
Hopefully I should actually get to watch this race if I get the chance. With all these late changes to the car design and with the lack of testing it's highly likely as was the case with the Pre Silverstone revisions to the McLaren cars that at least one team will be caught on the hop. All these variables are certainly helping to keep the championship alive at this stage of the season.

Though not really his biggest fan I'd almost like to see Webber take the title this year given that he has proven he can really do the job and do it while under a fair bit of pressure created by his own team.

I thought that the new teams would be left for dust at Spa but they seem to have made huge strides catching up to the back of the pack. From what little I did see of the times during Friday Practice I saw on a number of occasions the Lotus cars were as quick as the STRs in both Sectors 1 and 3 of the track (and that was in the Dry !!)

I've got no idea who will win on Sunday I think it's that open.
 
Its certainly been a roller-coaster getting here. Varied and hard to predict. I think i agree with Snowys sentiments. Entertained yet somehow unfulfilled. :s

F1Yorkshire said:
Horner will continue to back Vettel which will ultimately lead to them losing out in both championships.

For once I'm not sure its him in this case, more the entire team management, starting from the top with Mateschitz. Let them be their own undoing.
 
I was wondering if one thing could be cleared up for me, and that is why Renault are tipped to do well for this weekend? I know they did well last race, but they share the same engine with Red Bull who aren't favoured for this race. :s
 
Jru said:
I was wondering if one thing could be cleared up for me, and that is why Renault are tipped to do well for this weekend? I know they did well last race, but they share the same engine with Red Bull who aren't favoured for this race. :s

Monza is a very fast low downforce track.The Renault has much less downforce than the Red Bull and is consequently faster in a straight line.
The RBR 6 is a high downforce chassis design.Not only wings.
 
Jru said:
Ok, thanks for that sportsman :thumbsup: I know it wasn't the most challenging question for this forum :D

Having said that don't write RBR off.They will still be pretty fast around there.
 
Think the only thing against Renault is they have had to double their strut to support the floor so may have a slightly different performance here @ Monza if they the beefing up has reduced the flexing.

Do think we'll see the new regulations (wing load) will push RBR back for this race, could they finish 6th or 7th? With the likes of Maclaren, Renault and Force India getting ahead?
 
Just seen some onboard shots with Webber and there was very little movement on the front wing.

It looks like the beefed up tests have finally forced Red Bull to make some changes.
 
Vettel's just gone into the 1:23's & Webber is in 7th, so wondering if the changes forced on RBR won't make them go backwards but more back to the pack.
 
Hey ATL, you may find this thread a bit slow during the sessions. Most people will be on Chat,

A few things that I noticed. VMM were running the most wing with their f-duct. RBR were about 10 kph faster than VMM, but Vettel was very close to Buttons lap time.

Also RBR seemed to stay on low fuel runs for the whole session (at least for Vettel) where as McLaren switched to high fuel.

I'm not sure what we can take from this, but I'm pretty sure that RBR will still be up there come race day.
 
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