What? The Italian GP thread is up and the Belgian race hasn't even taken place? Well, spoiler alert, Lewis took pole in Spa and won the race at a canter, Bottas was second and Max was third.
So, on to the temple of speed. A fixture of the F1 calendar since the first World Championship season (with the exception of a moment of silliness in 1980 when they went to Imola) Monza has given us the two fastest Grand Prix in Championship history.
1971, the days when the Monza low drag spec. was to take all the wings off and just drive round slip streaming the other cars until you got to the end. No chicanes, no compulsory tyre stops, no DRS, just balls out from start to finish. Chris Amon put his Matra on pole with a lap at over 156mph. Amon has the reputation of being a very unlucky driver and this race wasn't to be any different as he only finished 6th. The final laps are stunning to watch as the cars buzz around taking and overtaking one another again and again. Peter Gethin won the race in the BRM at an average speed of a smidge under 151mph and the first 5 cars crossed the line within 0.6 seconds of one another.
A few other oddities about 1971. Emerson Fittipaldi drove a four wheel drive, gas turbine engined Lotus 56B but it wasn't a Lotus it was entered by World Wide Racing. It was the first race for motor cycling World Champion Mike Hailwood. He led at various points, eventually finishing 4th. An English driver wouldn't win again until James Hunt stood on the top step in Holland in 1975.
2003, the time Michael Schumacher stood (almost) without equal in F1. Although he was being pushed hard by Juan Pablo Montoya in the 2003 season and before the race in Monza hadn't won a race since Canada. There were some games before the race as those using Michelin tyres had to cope with a small rule change on tyre widths which allowed the Bridgestone runners to get back on terms. Schumacher and Montoya pushed each hard through the race but Michael was just too quick. Even with two pit stops for tyres Schumacher averaged 153.8 mph for the race. This at a circuit with three chicanes to "slow the cars down".
What chance a new race record in 2019? The cars are fast enough, Kimi's pole lap in 2018 was 163.8 mph
. Can we avoid a safety car?
Enjoy one of the shortest races of the season (about 1 1/4 hours) at the most historic circuit on the calendar.
So, on to the temple of speed. A fixture of the F1 calendar since the first World Championship season (with the exception of a moment of silliness in 1980 when they went to Imola) Monza has given us the two fastest Grand Prix in Championship history.
1971, the days when the Monza low drag spec. was to take all the wings off and just drive round slip streaming the other cars until you got to the end. No chicanes, no compulsory tyre stops, no DRS, just balls out from start to finish. Chris Amon put his Matra on pole with a lap at over 156mph. Amon has the reputation of being a very unlucky driver and this race wasn't to be any different as he only finished 6th. The final laps are stunning to watch as the cars buzz around taking and overtaking one another again and again. Peter Gethin won the race in the BRM at an average speed of a smidge under 151mph and the first 5 cars crossed the line within 0.6 seconds of one another.
A few other oddities about 1971. Emerson Fittipaldi drove a four wheel drive, gas turbine engined Lotus 56B but it wasn't a Lotus it was entered by World Wide Racing. It was the first race for motor cycling World Champion Mike Hailwood. He led at various points, eventually finishing 4th. An English driver wouldn't win again until James Hunt stood on the top step in Holland in 1975.
2003, the time Michael Schumacher stood (almost) without equal in F1. Although he was being pushed hard by Juan Pablo Montoya in the 2003 season and before the race in Monza hadn't won a race since Canada. There were some games before the race as those using Michelin tyres had to cope with a small rule change on tyre widths which allowed the Bridgestone runners to get back on terms. Schumacher and Montoya pushed each hard through the race but Michael was just too quick. Even with two pit stops for tyres Schumacher averaged 153.8 mph for the race. This at a circuit with three chicanes to "slow the cars down".
What chance a new race record in 2019? The cars are fast enough, Kimi's pole lap in 2018 was 163.8 mph
. Can we avoid a safety car?Enjoy one of the shortest races of the season (about 1 1/4 hours) at the most historic circuit on the calendar.
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