Grand Prix 2014 Italian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Ciao e benvenuto l'introduzione per il Gran Premio italiano di Monza 2014.

Silverstone, Interlagos, Monza. These illustrious names are the circuits where the sounds of the engines are drowned out by the noise of the fans. Few motorsport arenas can boast of an atmosphere to rival the ancient coliseum of Rome and Monza has always been a pilgrimage for the legion of rosso clad Tifosi.

Monza is synonymous with Ferrari yet this year the prancing horse seems to be more of a lumbering donkey. What effect will this have on the Tifosi and their embrace of the F1 circus this September?

The answer is probably no effect at all.

The reason for this is the love for motorsport shown by the Italian fans ever since the tracks creation in 1922. The sea of red running down to the Parabolica and back along the main straight indicate the devotion of Ferrari fans of all nationalities who are united under a single banner.

Few circuits have been captured on film as much as Monza, many of the sports iconic images and videos were taken at this magnificent race course and you can chart the history of the sport along the twists and turns of the tarmac. It’s also a record breaker, in 1971 the top five drivers finished within 0.61 seconds. A feat only made possible by the lack of chicanes during that era. Phenomenal speeds for the period were also set in those most dangerous of years.

Monza has always produced a mixture of triumph and tragedy, Fangio, Stewart, Lauda, Andretti & Scheckter all secured drivers championships at this circuit while Ascari, von Trip, Rindt & Peterson all lost their lives here.

Only 3 drivers have won at Monza and won the championship in the last 20 years, Senna, Schumacher & Vettel. With Rosberg on top in the championship, will winning this race mean he adds his name to the list or will the Monza jinx strike again.

As for this years race, it would have been hard to see past a Mercedes powered victory due to the long straights but after Ricciardo finished on top in Spa does engine power still have the advantage over aerodynamics?

Whatever happens in the championship we are in for an exciting weekend of racing!

 

[Incubus]

But they did the same thing last year though. In a way that's kinda frightening because the natural downforce generated by their chassis must be so good that they can afford to take all the wing off and still not lose out too much in the slower sectors.
In terms of aero their chassis might very well still remain the best on the grid.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I think you will find the fastest car out there on Sunday will be the Williams it probably won't be the quickest but it will be the fastest..

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

The most amazing thing about the RBR at Spa was both launches off the grid .... someone at Viry had them elastic bands wound up tightly in that little Renault

 

[Incubus]

Either that or one area where Renault are still quite good at is that of fuel efficiency, allowing Red Bulls to start a few pounds lighter than non-Renault-powered cars.

 

[sushifiesta]

We don't seem to be getting the fuel usage graphics any more but that didn't seem to be the case in the early races from what I remember Incubus .

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Yes, what happened to the fuel usage graphics? I guess they show them when the only possibility of excitement is of someone running out of fuel. Fortunately the races have been a lot more interesting recently.

 

[gethinceri]

I think (hope) that they realised how irrelevant they are.

 

[FB]

There was something during the race about fuel usage per lap and there was very little to choose between the various cars and engines. The cars still only do about 7 mpg even with all the hybrid stuff.

 

[Greenlantern101]

They showed fuel usage graphics at least once during Spa. I remember it as I was thinking 'who cares'.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'm just glad that fuel saving hasn't turned out to be the massive pain in the arse I at first thought it was going to be....

 

[Incubus]

We don't seem to be getting the fuel usage graphics any more but that didn't seem to be the case in the early races from what I remember Incubus .

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Have to say I never quite got the hang of that nor paid too much attention towards the top-left side of the screen. They didn't actually show how much fuel was n the car at any given time?

 

[Mephistopheles]

When ever I see the fuel usage graphic I just think yeah, and....

 

[teabagyokel]

I enjoyed the time it said BOT 0.0. I thought that was awesomely fuel efficient for Williams.

 

[sushifiesta]

Incubus It showed how much fuel each car had used so far based on data from the FIA fuel sensor that they all have to carry now. The only interesting thing that came out of it was that some teams seemed to be under fuelling their cars, so using just 90kg out of the maximum allowance of 100kg. From what I remember Williams did this at one of the races.

In fact, perhaps that's why the graphics aren't being showed so much any more. The graphic showed the "percentage" of fuel used (amount of fuel used divided by 100kg), but that tells you nothing about how much they have left to use if some drivers have 90kg and others have 100kg. I don't think the FIA has any way of knowing how much fuel is put in to start with.

 

[Incubus]

Thanks sushifiesta . That's what I meant, they really weren't that relevant since a car that has less fuel to begin with... will consume less fuel also since it has less fuel and less weight to carry.

 

[Mephistopheles]

There is obviously a cut off point with that equation....

 

[Andyoak]

Going back a few posts, Red Bull have always complained about Renault being under powered: it's just gamesmanship.

 

[RasputinLives]

That is probably the case but its gamesmanship based on fact. The Renault has not had the grunt of the others down the straights in recent years which leaves their cars struggling in the pack. It was one of the reasons Williams were so quick to change after such a short time of using them and its worked for them.

 

[Monkeyhead]

Incubus It showed how much fuel each car had used so far based on data from the FIA fuel sensor that they all have to carry now. The only interesting thing that came out of it was that some teams seemed to be under fuelling their cars, so using just 90kg out of the maximum allowance of 100kg. From what I remember Williams did this at one of the races.

In fact, perhaps that's why the graphics aren't being showed so much any more. The graphic showed the "percentage" of fuel used (amount of fuel used divided by 100kg), but that tells you nothing about how much they have left to use if some drivers have 90kg and others have 100kg. I don't think the FIA has any way of knowing how much fuel is put in to start with.

In Malaysia the fuel data seemed to indicate that the Williams cars had been saving fuel at the beginning of the race, but when the race progressed, it became clear that they had been underfuelled, which was interesting indeed. It turned out that the fuel limit wasn't as much a problem as expected.

 

[Kewee]

Il_leone.

Horner joked that to do the same in Monza they might just take the wing off completely.

That's what Rindt did all those years ago. Not a good idea I would suggest. I'm sure the design team at Red Bull know Monza's history and dangers.