With top speeds reaching 350km/h, and home to Ferrari ‘superfans’, the Tifosi, Monza is one of the most thrilling Formula One venues on the calendar. Historic and quick, the drivers love it. Along with senior team members, they discuss their prospects...
Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 11th, 2008 Race - 3rd
"The Monza track is a very special one. As it is the quickest track on the calendar, the car's downforce level will be reduced even more compared to Spa-Francorchamps. Traditionally our cars are quite quick on low-downforce tracks and our performance was already good at Spa. I have a good feeling for Monza and I am looking forward to the race as I expect a lot of Italian fans to show up there."
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 10th, 2008 Race - 5th
"The speed we had at Spa-Francorchamps with lower downforce gives us hope that we could do even better at Monza with even less downforce. However, the cars equipped with KERS will probably have a considerable advantage over the long straights of this high-speed circuit. I really like the atmosphere at the Italian Grand Prix. As well as all the Italians at the track, a lot of fans will also come over from Switzerland to support us."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"As the ultimate power circuit, Monza has always provided BMW with a very special challenge. One of our highlights at the track came during the era of the V10 engines in qualifying for the 2002 race, when a BMW engine broke through the 19,000 rpm barrier and the car set a new record average speed for F1 of 259.827 km/h on its way to pole position. Now, even more than before, the main priority lies in maximising reliability, as each driver is only permitted eight engines for the duration of the season. This is an issue at Monza in particular, even though the maximum engine speed is now limited to 18,000 rpm. This circuit commands the respect of drivers and engineers alike in many different ways.
"We are aiming to build on our good results from Spa-Francorchamps - where we were competing at the front of the field for the first time in a long while - in the final race in Europe. Our strong performance in Belgium gave the whole team an extra shot of motivation for the next races, and we are confident that we are getting back into the fast lane once again."
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering
"The result at Spa-Francorchamps represented confirmation for the whole team. It was important for all involved to see that our huge efforts over the preceding weeks had paid off. Of course we want to take this upturn in form with us to Italy and post another strong result at Monza. This is the last genuine high-speed track left on the calendar. The four long straights mean that keeping the drag level low is crucial, so we run the cars with less downforce here than anywhere else during the season. This involves using a modified front wing and a new and extremely small rear wing. An additional challenge for the drivers and engineers is to give the cars a mechanical set-up which ensures good braking stability and allows the kerbs to be taken aggressively, as this is absolutely essential in setting a fast lap time here. I'm very much looking forward to the race, as there's always a very special atmosphere at Monza."
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 15th, 2008 Race -7th
“Since we no longer test at Monza before the Santander Italian Grand Prix, it will take the drivers a bit of acclimatisation to get used to running in low downforce at this high-speed circuit. It’s a real challenge to get the set-up right because there’s never an ideal compromise between speed along the straight and through the corners. It’s never easy to keep the car on the track because it slides all the time: at most tracks, you feel like the downforce is sticking you to the track at high speeds - but not at Monza, it’s like you are skating across the surface. But it’s a fantastic circuit - our car has traditionally gone well there so I am looking forward to another competitive weekend.”
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 2nd, 2008 Race - 2nd
“I’ve scored points in the last four races and can see no reason why we shouldn’t be contenders for more points at Monza next weekend. I love the place: I’ve won there in GP2, finished in the points in both my Formula One outings and I think our car will be reasonably well suited to the circuit. Like every team, we’ll be running a special low-downforce aero package in Italy - but we’ll also have the benefit of using KERS along the straights, which should give us a greater advantage over a single lap, especially in qualifying, where it will be extremely valuable. It should be fun!”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“Monza is a venue where the team has traditionally gone well and we love racing on a racetrack that’s so steeped in Formula One history. The unique high-speed nature of the track places unique demands on the cars and, like every team, we’ll arrive at the circuit with a bespoke high-speed aerodynamic package. It will be another interesting test for MP4-24 as we continue to develop the car - it will be useful to understand how it works in a low-downforce set-up. Of course, Monza is notable for being a power circuit, and, with KERS, we should see some incredible speeds - particularly during qualifying when the drivers will double-deploy KERS along the start/finish straight.”
Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President
“Together with Monaco, Monza is the most untypical Formula One track. But, whilst Monaco is a street course with the lowest average speeds, Monza is a high-speed circuit at more than 250km/h average whilst the top speed in the dry will probably exceed 350km/h this year. We have good memories of this special race in the ‘Royal Park’ and won two of the last four Grands Prix there. During the forthcoming race, we will possibly see the closest field in Formula one history. Spa has shown that the current Formula One is good for big surprises, and Monza will possibly underline this again. Our target is to continue our upward trend there. However, after Lewis’s win and second place at Budapest and Valencia, we have not been where we wanted to be even after Heikki managed to come home sixth from 15th on the grid. What remains positive: Although Lewis had an accident and therefore already retired on lap one which was not his own fault, no other team scored more points during the last four races than Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. In the remaining five races we will build on this with a healthy ambition - without seeing us being the favourites for Monza. There will be at least a handful of them which is first class for the sport.”
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