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Formula 1 Heineken Gran Premio D'Italia (Italian GP) 2020 race start, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. Image credit to F1. 2021 Italian GP Preview, Italian Grand Prix Preview.
After Max Verstappen cruised to a dominant home victory at Zandvoort to re-capture the Driver’s Championship lead, round 14 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship heads to the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy for the Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken D’Italia 2021 the second home Grand Prix for Ferrari where the “Tifosi” will be in their droves. This will be the 91st Italian Grand Prix since 1921 and the 87th time that the event will be held at Monza. This will be the second Grand Prix of the year that features the Qualifying Sprint format and concludes the second back-to-back-to-back series of triple headers in the 2021 calendar.
2021 Italian GP Preview – A look at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Built in the Royal Villa of Monza Park in its woodland setting, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a permanent racing circuit located near the city of Monza, North Milan in Italy. The circuit has played host to the Italian Grand Prix since the sport of Formula 1 began in 1950 with the exception of 1980 where the race was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola) in San Marino while the Monza circuit underwent refurbishment. The site has three tracks including the Grand Prix circuit, the 2.405km (1.494 mile) short circuit and a 4.250km (2.641 mile) high speed oval with steep banking which has been unused for many decades. The main features of the Grand Prix circuit include the Curva Grande, the Lesmos, Variante Ascari and Parabolica.
The first track was built from May 15 to July 1922 and financed by the Milan Automobile Club. The original circuit was 10km (6.25 miles) long with a flat banked oval section and a road circuit all combined into one. Since then, it has continuously undergone many modifications and changes due to driver and spectator safety reasons.
The 1.6L turbocharged V6 hybrid engines displayed speeds of up to 360 kph (223 mph) in 2016. The circuit is mostly flat but has a gradual gradient from the second Lesmo up to the Variante Ascari. Due to low aerodynamic profile needed, with its resulting low downforce, the grip is very low, and understeer is a more serious issue than at other circuits on the calendar. However, oversteer is also present in the second sector, requiring use of a very distinctive opposite lock technique. Since both maximum power and minimal drag are key for speed on the long straights, only drivers with enough power or aerodynamic efficiency are able to challenge for the top positions. The drivers are full throttle for nearly 80% of the lap due to its long straights and fast corners.
The modern Grand Prix layout is 5.793km (3.900 miles) in length with 11 corners and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 306.720km (190.597 miles) in length with 53 laps in total.
Rubens Barrichello holds the fastest lap record with a 1:21.046 set at the 2004 event in his Scuderia Ferrari F2004.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most victories at the Italian Grand Prix with five to their respective names.
Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful constructor at its home Grand Prix with 20 victories.
2021 Italian GP Preview – Onboard Pole Position Lap of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza from last year’s event, set by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W11 EQ Performance racer. The seven-time world champion posted a blistering 1:18.887. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f1PtJV0vIs
2021 Italian GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2020: Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri-Honda. 2019: Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari. 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2017: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1.
2021 Italian GP Preview – Tyres
With the Autodromo Nazionale Monza featuring some of the F1 calendar’s fastest straights and the teams running a low downforce/drag setup, F1’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli will be bringing with them the white-branded P Zero C2 Hards, the yellow-marked P Zero C3 Mediums and the red side-walled P Zero C4 Soft tyre compounds along with the green-marked Intermediates and blue-branded Full Wet compounds in case of rain.
With high energy loads up to 4.5g and all forces at work encouraging heat build-up through the tyres and big impacts with the kerbs, the tyre compound and structure is tested to its limits throughout the lap and is more demanding than a slow circuit. With a low downforce setup used at Monza, the drivers need to take care of the rear tyres, so they don’t provoke wheelspin especially out of the Variante del Rettifilo and Variante della Roggia chicanes.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C4 red side-walled Softs, three sets of the yellow C3 Mediums and two sets of the white C3 Hard rubber.
2021 Italian GP Preview – DRS Zones
As in 2020, there will be two DRS zones at Monza. The first zone detection point is 95 metres before turn seven with the activation point 210 metres after turn seven. The second zone detection point will be 20 metres before turn 11 with the activation point 115 metres after the finish line.
2021 Italian GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Dutch GP Race Report: Verstappen cruises to dominant victory on home soil
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drove a flawless race to claim the Dutch GP victory on home soil at Zandvoort ahead of title-rival Lewis Hamilton to re-capture the Driver’s Championship lead.
The only threat to thwart the Red Bull driver’s win arrived after his first pit-stop when he emerged behind Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, but the Finn was soon overtaken with DRS assistance.
As Hamilton ran an alternate strategy, which put him on the quicker C2 yellow-marked medium compounds but for a longer stint, Verstappen held a comfortable 2.5 second gap over his championship rival, before a late Hamilton stop ensured Verstappen secured the eventual Dutch GP victory by 20.932 seconds.
When the 72 lap Dutch GP began, pole-sitter Verstappen got a solid launch off the line to pull nicely in-front of Hamilton, who was not close enough to produce a strong threat into Tarzan corner to pass.
This allowed Verstappen to move well clear of the chasing Mercedes duo, with Bottas noticeably slower than his team-mate.
Verstappen increased to a 1.7 advantage at the end of the opening tour, which he extended to 2.3 seconds the following lap.
Also, at the beginning of proceedings, Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso soon relegated team-mate Esteban Ocon. Although the Frenchman enjoyed holding the inside line into Tarzan corner, the pairing squeezed through the next kink before Alonso dashed around the outside of the third corner on the high-line to take seventh place.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi was also overtaken by the double world champion, having to lift his Ferrari-powered C41 racer when he was muzzled onto the grass by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz before nudging the rear of Alonso, whose A521 entry was on settled over the bumps on the rundown to turn six.
It was a procession then onwards, as Verstappen’s lead reached 3.2 seconds on the eighth tour before Hamilton went onto a two-stop strategy and began pushing his C3 side-walled softer tyres.
The seven-time world champion was initially 0.4 seconds quicker in his F1 W12 EQ Performance racer to cut the gap down to 2.8 seconds, but it then stabilised at 2.9 seconds as Verstappen was ordered to respond to Hamilton’s charge.
Hamilton stopped on the 21st lap, swapping the softs for mediums, but was delayed with a slower change to his front-right and emerged in third place behind team-mate Bottas.
Red Bull reacted to Mercedes and pitted Verstappen a lap later, also putting on the medium rubber, but a solid stop gained the Dutchman a valuable second and rejoined with a ten second deficit to now-race leader Bottas.
Hamilton took the fastest lap as the title-rivals closed down Bottas, with the Finn struggling on his softs, but with the potential to try and thwart Verstappen with the instruction to “defend the race win”.
The Red Bull driver closed to Bottas’ rear on lap 30, and when the latter ran wide at the turn 11, Verstappen could close and capitalise with DRS assistance for the lead on the main-straight.
Bottas moved immediately to the inside at the second corner to give Hamilton second place, with the reigning world champion 1.5 seconds off Verstappen.
Mercedes brought Bottas in on lap 32, for a set of medium tyres before he was held by a second at the third corner when he had to squeeze between the wall and the spin from the lapped Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton made his next stop on lap 40, putting on another set of scrub mediums, emerging 2.3 seconds behind his Mercedes team-mate before Verstappen again pitted a tour later.
Red Bull changed his strategy, putting the Dutchman on a fresh set of the C1 white-branded harder compounds, and returned to the track 2.9 seconds in-front of Hamilton.
From there Hamilton complained over the radio about his tyres and called to put early, whilst Verstappen established a solid three second gap.
Bottas was delayed further by a slow five second precautionary stop with five laps remaining in response to a vibration. However, it gave the Finn an opportunity to take the bonus fastest lap point.
Bottas clinched it by eight tenths, which then forced team-mate Hamilton to pit on the second-to-last tour for a late charge on softs to capture the bonus point.
This secured Verstappen’s Dutch GP victory, his seventh win of the season by 20.932 seconds over Hamilton as the Red Bull driver reclaimed the Driver’s Championship lead.
Hamilton was able to grab the fastest lap bonus point, taking back the title posting a late 1:11.097, which was a second quicker than Bottas’ previous benchmark.
Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly drove a quiet race to fourth, after Bottas completed the top three, whilst Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came home fifth in his 50th Grand Prix for the Scuderia.
Alonso managed to escape team orders from his Alpine team that could have called the Spaniard to let Ocon by, despite the protests from the Frenchman, as the two-time world champion made a late pass on fellow Spaniard Sainz to take sixth place.
Perez, who started from the pit-lane after installing his fourth power-train of the season, finished eighth with a late overtake on McLaren’s Lando Norris into Tarzan corner (turn one).
Perez’s race was a short fuse after the Mexican suffered a vibration on his harder compounds to force an early stop to the mediums, but the Red Bull driver was able to use the undercut to his advantage before passing McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo to setup the late fight with Norris.
Ocon eventually dropped to ninth place in-front of the McLarens, whilst Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll started where he finished in 12th place and ahead of team-mate Vettel who recovered from his early spin to wound up 13th.
A puncture dropped Alfa Romeo’s Giovinazzi from seventh to 14th place in-front of substitute team-mate Robert Kubica.
Behind Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi in 16th place, team-mate George Russell suffered a late retirement to join AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (loss of power) and Haas F1 Team’s Nikita Mazepin (hydraulics) in their respective garages.
2021 Italian GP Preview – The Situation
Max Verstappen returns to Italy sitting on top of the Driver’s Championship with 224.5 points and has a three-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton who is second on 221.5 points whilst Valtteri Bottas is a further 101.5 behind the Dutchman in third on 123 points.
Mercedes comes to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on top of the Constructors Championship with 344.5 points and a 12-point lead over nearest rival Red Bull Racing who is second on 332.5 points while Scuderia Ferrari is third and a further 163 behind the Silver Arrows on 181.5 points.
Click here for Formula 1 2021 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings
2021 Italian GP Preview – Russell signs for Mercedes as replacement to Bottas
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team confirmed that George Russell will become team-mate to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, beginning from the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship season as the sport enters its new era of rules and regulations.
This news follows from the announcement of Valtteri Bottas moving to the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN next year, after five successful seasons with the Silver Arrows.
Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017, scoring nine victories, 54 podiums and 17 poles to date with the Brackley-based outfit.
The Finn played an integral role in Mercedes winning four consecutive World Constructors Championships since 2017, and his partnership with Hamilton will be recorded as one of the most successful.
Bottas will be succeeded by Russell, who joined the Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 2017. Russell won that season’s GP3 Series World Championship and became the FIA Formula 2 World Champion in 2018, before being promoted to Formula 1 in 2019 joining Williams.
The 23-year-old Briton’s work ethic and performance have continued to impress during his three-years with the Grove-based squad. Russell is now more than ready to step up to the Silver Arrows to continue to evolve and develop his career alongside Hamilton, after signing a long-term deal with the team.
Russell said: “It’s a special day for me personally and professionally, but also a day of mixed emotions. I’m excited and humbled to be joining Mercedes next year, which is a huge career step, but it also means I’ll be saying goodbye to my team-mates and friends at Williams. It has been an honour working alongside every member of the team, and an honour to represent the Williams name in F1. Since I joined in 2019, we have worked tirelessly to push each other forward and bring the team back up the grid where it belongs. We’ve battled for every qualifying position, every point, and every tenth of a second. No matter how tough it’s been, nobody has ever given up, and that has inspired me every day. I’ve loved every moment in what I’d describe as a true heart and soul racing team, and I’ll be pushing harder than ever to make sure we end our story in the best possible way,”
“Looking ahead to next season, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely buzzing. It’s a huge opportunity and one I want to grab with both hands. But I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge; it’s going to be a steep learning curve. Valtteri has set a high bar, consistently delivering week in and week out, scoring wins, pole positions and helping win multiple championship titles,”
“My target must be to reward the trust that Toto, the team, and the board have placed in me by ensuring I play my part in continuing that success and I want to do my new team-mates proud,”
“Of course, one of those new team-mates is in my opinion the greatest driver of all time. I’ve looked up to Lewis since I was in go-karts and the opportunity to learn from someone who has become a role model both on and off track can only benefit me as a driver, a professional, and a human being. For now, though, I have nine more races as a Williams driver, and I want to make sure they are the best nine of my time with the team. Then, and only then, can I turn my attention to 2022. A huge thank you to Williams, to Mercedes and to everyone who has supported me in getting to where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without every single one of you.” Russell concluded. Credit to Mercedes AMG F1 for the quote.
2021 Italian GP Preview – Bottas signs multi-year deal for Alfa Romeo Racing
Valtteri Bottas has joined Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team for the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship season and beyond, with the Finn signing a multi-year contract for the Hinwil-based outfit.
Bottas, the nine-time Grand Prix winner, joins the team as it enters the transition of a new era of Formula One in 2022, where sweeping rules and regulation changes offer the opportunity to move towards the front of the pack.
Born in Nastola, Finland on August 28, 1989, Bottas had a solid career in the junior formulae, becoming only the second driver to win both the Formula Renault Eurocup and the Formula Renault Northern European Cup in the same year, in 2008, and following this had success winning the Masters of Formula 3 back-to-back 2009 and 2010, the first to achieve this double-triumph.
A promotion to the FIA Formula 3 World Championship saw the Finn claim four victories and the title, demonstrating he was ready to enter the pinnacle of motorsport. His F1 debut came in 2013 for Williams, where Bottas emerged as one of the brightest talents in the sport, before moving to Mercedes in 2017, replacing the retired 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg. There Bottas played a crucial role in securing four-consecutive Constructors Championships for the Silver Arrows, winning his first Grand Prix at the 2017 Russian GP and scoring another eight victories, alongside another 54 podiums in total for Anglo-German squad.
Nine victories, 17 pole positions and 63 podiums for the Finn along with being vice-champion in 2018 and 19 are a strong introduction for the Nastola native. Joining Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN allows Bottas to use his experience from being at the competitive end of the field as he helps to propel the Hinwil-based outfit up the Constructors Championship standings.
With the new rules and regulations in place for 2022, the opportunity is there for the team and driver to build and create a successful story together.
Bottas explained: “A new chapter in my racing career is opening, I’m excited to join Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN for 2022 and beyond for what is going to be a new challenge with an iconic manufacturer. Alfa Romeo is a brand that needs no introduction, they have written some great pages of Formula One history and it’s going to be an honour to represent this marque. The potential of the setup in Hinwil is clear and I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance. I’m grateful for the trust the team has put in me, and I cannot wait to repay their faith: I’m as hungry as ever to race for results and, when the time comes, for wins. I know Fred [Vasseur] well and I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team I am going to work with, building relationships as strong as the ones I have at Mercedes. I am proud of what I have achieved in Brackley, and I am fully focused on finishing the job as we fight for another world championship, but I am also looking forward to the new challenges that await me next year.” Bottas concluded. Credit to Sauber Motorsport for the quote.
George Russell is expected to be announced as his replacement at Mercedes this week.
The Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken D’Italia 2021 weekend begins Friday September 10 with Free Practice 1 and Qualifying, followed by Free Practice 2 and the 100km Qualifying Sprint Race Saturday September 11 and will the 53 lap Race Sunday September 12.
