ONLINE AROUND THE WORLD ON F1 GP

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1 ONLINE AROUND THE WORLD ON F1 GP MONDAYs >> Issue 227 >> MONDAY SEP Formula 1 WEEK.com with the support of what pressure? Did victory in Monza hand Hamilton the world title? follow us: 1

2 Justin Wilson

3 Italian Grand Prix September 4, 2015 Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 145mm, 1/800 sec f/2.8 OPENING SHOT

4 Italian Grand Prix September 4, 2015 Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4S Shot at 200mm, 1/320 sec f/10 OPENING SHOT

5 Italian Grand Prix September 4, 2015 Photographer: Patrik Lundin, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 400mm, 1/160 sec f/2.8 OPENING SHOT

6 Italian Grand Prix September 4, 2015 Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 66mm, 1/100 sec f/14 OPENING SHOT

7 Italian Grand Prix September Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 27mm, 1/800 sec f/8 OPENING SHOT

8 Italian Grand Prix September Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 24mm, 1/2000 sec f/4.5 OPENING SHOT

9 F1 >>> news peace declared in tyre war Pirelli arrived in Monza faced with another crisis on its hands following two apparent failures during the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Sebastian Vettel's race was all but ended in Belgium while running third when his right rear gave up the ghost on the penultimate lap. It came two days after a failure of Nico Rosberg pitched him sideways down the road on the approach to Blanchimont. Around such a high speed circuit the drivers were up in arms, with Vettel being especially critical of both Pirelli and the governing body's response to the Rosberg incident. "If Nico (Rosberg) tells us that he didn t go off the track then he didn t go off the track, same with me - I didn t go out of the track, just out of the blue it explodes and as I said, if this happens earlier " Vettel's comments left Bernie Ecclestone rather unhappy and summoned the German, along with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg, to his motorhome in the Monza paddock on Friday where he gave them a stern talking to. The message was clear; tow the party line or shut up about it. "If you sell me something, and it doesn t work, I complain to the person I bought it from, I don t complain outside," Ecclestone told Motorsport.com by way of explanation for the meeting. "I want them to think, and if any of them have got problems, they should talk to the people that are making the problems. That s all. They understand." But it didn't end there. The Eccelstone led Formula One Management issued a media statement throwing its supporting Pirelli, a most unusual move given his typical modus operandi is all publicity is good publicity. "We are entirely satisfied that Pirelli was not at fault for any tyre-related incidents during the 2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix," the FOM statement read. "Pirelli has offered to provide to each car a single set of tyres to last for an entire Event. While we know that they would be very capable of it, a race with no pit stops would be less exciting. "Thank you, Pirelli, for helping us to deliver excitement to Formula One fans!" The release referred to Pirelli's findings following an investigation into Vettel's Belgian retirement. "Microscopic analysis, carried out on a large number of the tyres after the second free practice session, showed no signs of fatigue or integrity issues," Pirelli's statement declared. "The same result was confirmed for the tyres used during the race, which were crosssectioned and analysed in Milan. Some of the tyres used in the race were subjected to a further laboratory fatigue test, passing all the assessments conclusively and confirming that there was no structural degradation or problem on-track." The report went on to blame the two failures during the Belgian Grand Prix on 'external factors', suggesting an especially dirty circuit was the most likely cause. "External factors are demonstrated by a total of 63 cuts found in the tread of the Formula One tyres used over the course of the Spa weekend," the report claimed. "In the previous 15 events (10 races and five test sessions) an average of only 1.2 cuts per event were noted. All this indicates an anomalous amount of detritus on the track in Spa, with a consequent increased risk of encountering a foreign object." Pirelli's findings were also accepted by the FIA which said that it was "satisfied with the thoroughness of the investigation and Pirelli's conclusions as to the reasons for the tyre failures." But the drivers were less convinced, and while Vettel had cooled down from his Belgian outburst he continued to drive the issue until gagged by Ecclestone. "Pirelli has been supportive and very open in the discussions, so I think that's the most important thing and we need to make sure that we learn from that," the Ferrari driver said in Monza. "It is not acceptable to have a blow-out at that sort of speed, out of the blue," he added. "That's what I said also after the race, so there's nothing really to add. But, as I said before, I think the investigations that have been going on, the stuff that obviously has been analysed and talked about, explains some of it, maybe not all of it yet but it's still ongoing and obviously, as I said, the most important thing is that we make sure that we make progress." Changes to minimum tyre pressures were made for the Italian Grand Prix. Initially suggested to be as high as 5psi they, Pirelli eventually managed to talk the teams around to just a single PSI ahead of practice. However, that any increase was necessary suggests doubt from the Italian company, which on the one hand was claiming there were no issues with its tyres while on the other wanting to change things to protect themselves. This all comes at a time when tyre tenders are being considered. With both Pirelli and Michelin having submitted applications Ecclestone's reaction could be seen as a bargaining chip against Michelin. By publicly backing Pirelli it mounts pressure on Michelin to present a more attractive package, while the failures will no doubt be used in Ecclestone's favour against Pirelli. 9

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11 F1 >>> news WEEK.com MANAGING EDITOR Chris Lambden EDITOR Mat Coch CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Formula 1: Mike Doodson Paolo Filisetti (F1 Tech Editor) Sean Kelly Social Media: Ernie Black Photography Sutton Motorsport Images Keith Sutton Mark Sutton, Daniel Kalisz, Mirko Stange, Dirk Klynsmith Published by Grand Prix Week Ltd 61 Watling Street, Towcester Northants NN12 6AG United Kingdom Publisher Chris Lambden ADVERTISING Richard Partridge Ph: Mob: Mark Sutton mark@sutton-images.com SE Asia, Australasia GPWEEK (Australia) publisher@gpweek.com wilson death sparks fresh canopy calls The death of Justin Wilson in an Indycar accident last month has seen renewed calls for increased protection for the drivers of open wheel racing cars. Wilson was struck on the helmet by debris from another car, causing severe head injuries which ultimately claimed the popular Brit's life. The incident shared startling similarities to the incident which ruled Felipe Massa out for the second half of the 2009 season after he was struck in the head by debris, and the incident which claimed Henry Surtees' life in a Formula 2 crash the same year. Advances in safety over the decades have seen a dramatic drop in fatal accidents but drivers of open wheel cars remain susceptible to debris striking their heads. Wilson's accident, coming so closely after the loss of Jules Bianchi who also succumbed to head injuries, has prompted a rethink when it comes to driver safety. The FIA has long been looking into solutions such as a fighter jet style canopy over the driver, while Mercedes has proposed a halo style design which effectively adds an additional roll hoop just forward of the driver's head. Both solutions have sparked heated discussion with some claiming it defies the very nature of open wheel cars and others asserting that it's time to put tradition to one side in the name of safety. "This shouldn't happen at this time in motorsport," McLaren's Jenson Button said in Monza. "It's not the 70s, we should know better. "I was one of many drivers that said 'this is open cockpit racing, it should stay as open cockpit racing'," he added. "But I Accessible via the GPWEEK APP CLICK on the appropriate provider (right) think we've all had enough now. It's time to do something serious about it, not just changing the headrest on the cars and things. I think you've got to get a canopy on the car of some sort. We can't have this happening as much as it has. "Since Henry Surtees, there have been a lot of head injuries that have ended up with death, so it's got to be changed "I personally feel that it needs to happen sooner rather than later and I think in Indycar it needs to happen because they seem to have a lot more issues than we do." If one closed cockpit saves one life, it is worth doing it," agreed Fernando Alonso, but not everyone shared their opinion. When we sign up we know there is still some risk involved and there could potentially be some danger but that is in the DNA of racing in motorsport," argued Nico Hulkenberg. We shouldn t sterilise the whole thing, make everything too clinical and overprotect the whole thing. That s also not good for the sport and might make things a bit more unattractive. "We re in a time where we ve had too many fatalities," added Lewis Hamilton. "While it has been lot less than it was years ago, it s still too many. We shouldn t have had any. Maybe it doesn t have to be closed," he suggested. "There are different mechanisms we can have, with people exploring ideas. While the canopy debate has come and gone in the past, this time discussions are more serious. This time the outcome could forever change the shape of open wheel racing. 11

12 Briefly confirmation imminent Set to join the grid next season, the Haas F1 team has reaffirmed its desire to announce its driver lineup later this month. Esteban Gutierrez and Jean-Eric Vergne are among the favourites, though American Alex Rossi has also been linked to the team. save monza A petition did the rounds of the Monza paddock, gaining signatures in support of the Italian Grand Prix at the circuit. Without a contract for next season, and with Bernie Ecclestone demanding more money for the right to host the event, the race is currently facing a very real threat. Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button all signed the petition. Allison staying put Ferrari technical director James Allison has signed a contract keeping him with the Scuderia until His previous deal was set to expire at the end of this season, but with the team's upturn in performance since his arrival the squad offered the former Benneton and Renault man a new deal. williams back in black Announcing its interim financial results for the first six months of 2015, Williams Grand Prix Holdings, which includes the F1 team, announced increased revenue of almost 20million over the same period in engine developments Mercedes and Ferrari both arrived in Monza with new marque remains one step ahead. engines, both having used development tokens in The new Ferrari engine saw the Maranello squad use their pursuit of performance. three of its tokens, which on the pace shown in qualifying The Italian Grand Prix is the most important race of the look to have been well spent. year when it comes to engine performance, leaving most It leaves just Renault and Honda with tokens to spend. teams looked for ways to gain additional performance. With neither engine being especially competitive tensions Both Mercedes and Ferrari, which already hold a between supplier and their respective teams have only considerable performance advantage over the Renault and increased as the season has worn on. Honda power units, moved the goal posts even further Paddock rumour claims Honda boss Yasuhisa Arai and ahead by debuting new development power units. McLaren's Eric Boullier are no longer on speaking terms For the Renault-shod teams, who accepted their fate as the relationship between Honda and the team grows early, that meant taking new engines in Italy to minimise ever frostier. their performance difference while reaping rewards of Arai bravely fronted the media in Monza, triggering what fresher engines come Singapore. can only be described as a brutal press conference as he Mercedes elected to use all seven of its remaining was forced not only to back track on comments he made development tokens to debut a revised unit for Lewis suggesting his engine is 25bhp up on the Renault, but also Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. But while Hamilton was able refuse to apologise for the engine its provided McLaren to use the new power unit for the race, Rosberg was this season and admit the Japanese giant had lost face forced to revert to the unit he'd raced in Belgium when a throughout the ordeal. coolant leak in final practice contaminated his new engine. At Renault an updated engine is planned, but is Rosberg's pace in qualifying duly suffered and he fell understood to have been delayed until the US Grand Prix into the clutches of the improved Ferrari duo of Kimi at the end of October - three grands prix away. It seems Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, suggesting Ferrari's too little too late for Red Bull which is expected to switch step forward merely brings it up to the standard to Mercedes power for 2016 with Toro Rosso reverting to of Mercedes previous model and that the German its traditional Ferrari supply. DECEMBER finish in 2016? The 2016 Formula One season could run until and the fact there is no contract currently in place. December, according to reports emerging over the Other changes saw the Russian Grand Prix moved to Italian Grand Prix. May with the Malaysian Grand Prix being pushed back A number of changes to the 2016 calendar are to September, a week after Singapore. expected, including a later start date and a more However, according to reports all that could change compressed season as a whole. It's also expected to with organisers of the Singapore Grand Prix unhappy feature a record 21 races, with the inclusion of a new that the Malaysian event is on the following weekend. race in Baku, Azebaijan - optimistically labelled the While logistically having the two events back-toback made sense there is concern in Singapore that European Grand Prix. Finding its way into the media's hands in April, the consecutive races in the region would detract from the initial draft calendar also listed the Italian Grand Prix, appeal of both. despite protracted negotiations over the event's future It's also understood teams were unhappy with the F1 >>> news proposed calendar as it limited their window with regards to the compulsory two-week shut down during the summer. According to Autosport, Bernie Ecclestone's solution is to move the Malaysian Grand Prix from the week following Singapore to the end of the season. Events in the middle of the year would then be shuffled along to open a three week break between the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix, thereby appeasing both the teams and the promoters of the Singapore race. Just what Abu Dhabi thinks about losing the coveted final race of the year remains to be seen. 12

13 F1 >>> news Partridge was built by Camper & Nicholsons in Gosport, England, in She was designed by J Beavor Webb and launched on June by Miss Nora Lapthorn. Nora was the daughter of Edwin Lapthorn, who was in charge of the Ratsey and Lapthorn sail loft in Gosport. In 1991 Partridge was moved to Groves and Gutteridge in Cowes. Patterns were made for the gear and cast at Wessex Castings Techniques. Harry Spencer made the standing rigging from galvanized steel and 72 blocks were made by Nick Smith at Ryde. She had a 1997-built Lister Petter Alpha engine with four cylinders producing 40hp installed. She took to the water again in May Originally the hull had been spotted lying at Tollesbury an the River Blackwater in The vessel was then lifted onto a low-loader and transported to Shalfleet on the Isle of Wight. All that was known of her history was that the vessel had once been called Tanagra, and a previous owner had removed a deck beam with Harry 1885 carved into it. In the Lloyd s register of 1923, a yacht of similar length and date was found to match the hull at Tollesbury. The original name was given as Partridge, built at Camper & Nicholsons in Gosport. The records at Lloyd's included the yacht s first entry certificate. This gave a full specification of her construction materials and scantlings, plus mid-ships section, stamped by the Lloyd s surveyor s office in Southampton, showing lead keel, floors, planking, bilge stringers, shelf, deck beams and deck. The full length keelson featured in the plans was found in the hull in 1979 and the rebuild then took place over the next 18 years. In 1999, Partridge was put on a cargo ship in Southampton and shipped to Majorca in Spain, off-loaded and within a month had won the Conde de Barcelona in Palma. Partridge went on to win prizes and awards at Monaco Classic week, Cannes, and Saint- Tropez on the Cote d Azur. A full photographic record relives the life of Partridge in the Mediterranean and takes the reader back in time to the day she was found on the River Blackwater in the Essex marshes. The owner of Partridge is Jean-Raymon Boulle. Peterv Saxby, Alexander Laird and he, together with many craftsmen, volunteers, friends and family, have through their love and passion for Partridge, kept her afloat and given her a new lease of life. In 2014, she won the prestigious Rolex Trophy in Saint-Tropez. not-so-silly season Two seperate driver announcements in the leadup to the Italian Grand Prix have all but ended the silly season for this year. For a time it had looked as though we might face one of the biggest shake-ups in recent years with a number of drivers from top teams rumoured to be on the move. But when Ferrari confirmed Kimi Raikkonen it allowed Williams to keep Valtteri Bottas in what will be an unchanged lineup for the Grove squad. Also staying put is Nico Hulkenberg, Force India confirming he'd inked a new deal heading into Monza. It's expected Sergio Perez will remain alongside him, though whispers linking him to whatever the Lotus team becomes next season offers a slither of hope that there may be just a little silliness left. The latest announcements firm up all the leading teams. Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams have now all signed their drivers while it's expected Red Bull will retain Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Should Force India hang on to Perez, and the fact Sauber locked in its drivers for 2016 some weeks ago, it really only leaves McLaren and Lotus with any serious question marks. Lotus' driver situation is unlikely to be resolved until more is known about its future - with varying rumours claiming Renault is keen on buying it to having already completed its acquisition of the squad. McLaren's plans are also unclear. While Fernando Alonso will almost certainly be with the team next season comments from Jenson Button have suggested he may not. Asked in Monza about the 2016 season he refused to be drawn, and sounded like a man who would rather retire than face another season like

14 OPINION the fia boobed on this one OPINION MIKE DOODSON Over the years there has been the occasional memorably nail-biting wait for the F1 stewards to make up their minds about the eligibility of the winning car. Ever since a freshly clued-up FIA started taking the ambiguity out of the hazy old regulations in the 80s, though, the tendency has been to allow no leeway at all. As long ago as 1985, Alain Prost's winning McLaren was thrown out at Imola because it was two kilos underweight on the post-race weighbridge. It took two hours to settle that one, and I don't think the McLaren boys greatly helped their case by claiming that Prostie was legit because the TAG Turbo V6 had burned more than that weight in fuel while being trickled round on the slowing-down lap! At Monza on Sunday it took the men in blazers a good three hours from being informed pre-race that both Mercedes cars had one tyre each at an illegally low pressure to the moment when they delivered their verdict to rule that the Silver Arrows were kosher after all. I should mention here that I wasn't at Monza on Sunday (I was at home, watching the BBC's deferred highlights on TV). But given that the discrepancies Lewis Hamilton 0.3psi under the new 19.5psi minimum, Nico Rosberg 1.1psi under had been recorded on equipment which had been certified accurate, this should have been a cut-and-dried case which needed only moments to decide. It was a pity that nobody had a camera in the Stewards' room, because I guess there were some bizarre scenes as loopholes were juggled and fine print decoded. If we are to believe the testimony which Benz boss Toto Wolff offered to the BBC, the dilemma facing the four good men and true was that they had incontrovertible evidence to support both the complete innocence and the abject guilt of Mercedes in the supposedly mundane procedure of putting air into rubber. This confusing evidence was, I presume, offered by the most important witness available, namely Pirelli. Wolff says that the pre-race pressures of his two cars was measured as showing legal by his technicians "under the supervision" of Pirelli. But the FIA informed Wolff that some minutes later, when its own operatives checked the same tyres on the grid, after the assembly lap, the pressures on one rear wheel of each car were below the permitted minimum. The FIA men, too, had made their measurements in the presence of Pirelli personnel. The explanation for the variation is, of course, that when the first check was done, the tyres had just come out of their heated blankets. By the time the FIA inspectors turned up on the grid with their gauges, however, the tyres had been standing unblanketed long enough for them to have cooled down a bit. However, following the final assembly lap, complete with all that side-to-side steering malarkey, the tyres had warmed up enough (we may safely assume) to restore pressures to the legal approved minimum as the drivers lined up on the grid. One imagines that the hours of agony suffered by the stewards were spent in deciding whether it was safe to make the above assumption, which would have resulted in Mercedes being absolved; or whether the concrete evidence of under-inflation took precedence because the FIA is the sole final arbiter in such matters. Back in the Middle Ages, before motor racing was invented, the governing body (it was the Catholic Church) used to conduct similar discussions, also involving learned men, into exactly how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. It is plain, now, that the new 'minimum pressure' rule is deeply flawed for the rather obvious reason that tyre pressures are dependent on the temperature of the tyre, and can therefore vary quite widely. As an unusually talkative Lewis Hamilton told the BBC post-race, every team worth its competitive salt runs as close to the legislated limits as it possibly can. If you want to win, you can't allow the opposition a scrap of leeway. That is the very essence of any competition in which technology is involved, yet the pen-pusher in Paris who drafted the rule was plainly unaware of it. It was with this compulsion to improve his competitiveness in mind that Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari took some ill-fated risks at Spa two weeks ago, with unhappy but otherwise harmless consequences. Perhaps Ferrari can be forgiven for running its tyres with rather less air in them than recommended by Pirelli, because it improved lap times and because others were doing the same. But Seb was well out of order when he claimed, in defiance of what millions of F1 fans were seeing on their TV screens, that he was not running off-track at Raidillon and elsewhere. Having publicly abused Pirelli about the quality of its tyres at Spa, Seb was given cause to recant when Pirelli produced evidence before Monza which indicated that the track surface at Spa had been unusually dirty, with sharp carbonfibre shards which can only have come from clashes between competitors in lowercategory races. I'm not convinced that accidents will be reduced by the imposition of minimum tyre pressures, but I do believe that Pirelli's views deserve our attention. It is common sense, not excessive fussiness, for the tyre company to demand, for example, that circuits be properly cleaned over the course of a race weekend. Meanwhile, Formula 1 has to put the ignominy of the Monza fiasco behind it. The FIA will have to re-visit its new rule, introduced so hastily after the tyre failures involving Messrs Rosberg and Vettel in their separate incidents at Spa two weeks ago, in order to ensure that compliance can be checked under specific standard conditions. It won't be easy but it will probably present fewer practical difficulties than those confronting the scrutineers charged with enforcing the fixed rideheight rules which the old CSI introduced in 1983 with the aim of eliminating ground effect. Someone overlooked the fact that the chaps delegated to check the ride-height would need to be able to run alongside the cars and whip out a ruler at speeds of up to 180 mph. The teams got away with that one. In the interests of safety, we can only hope that a practical solution is found to ensure that Pirelli's recommendations are enforced in future. Lives, we must not forget, are at stake. 14

15 OPINION OPINION CHRIS LAMBDEN Are these people dense? Can they not see what is immediately in front of their nose? Are they trying to drive fans away? Those are the questions I found myself asking yet again as the Italian GP weekend bumbled along through qualifying, the six rear grid positions made up of all the four Renault-powered plus two Honda-powered cars, all carrying ludicrous grid position penalties. Was that a 50 yes 50 place grid spot penalty for Daniel Ric? 35 for Verstappen? This really is getting ludicrous Does anyone I mean ANYONE involved in the running of F1 think that the public, which ultimately pays their salaries, has a nano-second s interest in this? Can they not see that they got it wrong? That this is the ultimate waste of time for qualifying? That we re all collectively shaking our head? Seriously? Okay, so they ve stopped people taking carry-over points to the next race, and the next race, but that really is only a tiny part of the problem. But hey, it shows they can do something if they really want to; if it really is nuts. My problem, you see, is I don t hear any rumours or news to the effect that this whole ridiculous system is going to change for next year. Same as I don t hear any real thoughts on how the F1 show is going to be significantly pepped up. Gosh, this is becoming a bit of a broken record isn t it? But you ve only got to surf the punter forums to see how the fans are getting turned off. Nothing, it seems, can be done without teams unanimous approval. Well that s that then. Self-interest rules in F1. Status quo. And with Ferrari going with Kimi for another year (was the buy-out cost of Bottas from Williams the clincher there?), and Force India re-signing Hulkenberg, there s not even the anticipation of any new drivers in the serious teams to look forward to. All that s left is the ongoing debate about whether Red Bull will get Merc penalty shootouts and the f1 dilemma engines, and how long Dietrich M is going to put up with this crap. You have to feel for the real racers like Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, DC and Co who are fronting the various TV feeds and who you can almost see biting their collective lips. Cheers to Martin for exclaiming penalties belong in football about as close as he s been able to come to direct criticism. Anything too much more from any of them and they may be watching from the sofa next year! As GPWEEK has opined before, the solutions aren t rocket science. Available engine numbers clearly (force majeure) have to be increased before any penalties come into force. At the same time (yes, boring repetition by me I know), someone get the teams to agree to take a punt increase the fuel flow limits (and tank size) by a healthy slab (100 percent would be good), the horsepower will jump with it, and we may have some seriously exciting cars that aren t described by the drivers as too easy to drive. That might prove a challenge for some of the engines and there may well be the odd blow-up. It ll cost a little more. But what is going to be the long-term cost to F1 if the show continues to attract the criticism currently circulating out there? Gosh (this is written early on Monza race day), I hope Kimi, or Sebastian, or both, get those red cars off the line before the Silver Arrows, or I might just get an early night! POSTSCRIPT: They didn't, but I did hang in there and the post-race highlight turned out to be whether Lewis' tyres had been pumped up or not. Yes, really... I rest my case. 15

16 OPINION challenging tradition OPINION mat Coch Editor During the week a news story out of the US has caught my attention. At the heart of the matter was the subject of gay marriage, but that in itself wasn t what caught my eye. Instead it was the ferocity and passion of the arguments from both sides. For those that haven t seen it, a county clerk has been found in contempt of court because she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Gay marriage in the US was legalised in June, but the clerk felt it encroached on her religious belief. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that are, and I m not here to enter that debate, what proved fascinating was reading the comments below each article. It would be fair to say opinion was split, with some defending the clerk and her right to object on religious grounds while on the other side of the ledger it was argued that issuing the licences was her job and if she refused to do it she should be sacked. What s all this got to do with motorsport and Formula One I hear you ask? Following the death of Justin Wilson the debate surrounding closed cockpits has come to the fore once again. It s a topic that incites the passion of fans, drivers, pundits and everyone else. There are a million passionate opinions but no obvious answers. It s such a divisive topic because it cuts to the heart of what open wheel racing is all about. Historically, Formula One has always been for open top cars. Since the sport s inception a century or so ago, and the advent of formula racing, that has been the standard. Of course over time things have changed. The sight of drivers hanging out the side of their cars as they cornered are long gone. Drivers now wear helmets, rather than leather skull caps and fire suits rather than t-shirts and bow ties. There are safety cells, tethered wheels and crash structures, every single one designed to make the sport safer. Externally there have been significant changes too. The circuits are safer with vast tarmac run off areas replacing the grass verges which once bordered the circuit. Once upon a time drivers would drop a wheel off the circuit, often deliberately, to kick stones up at the chasing car to give themselves a little breathing space. There is absolutely no doubt that thanks to advancements over the decades the sport is safer than it has ever been. Formula One went more than two decades without a fatal accident and in that time we witnessed some horrific crashes Robert Kubica at Canada springs instantly to mind. The sport has come a long, long way to the point it is all but unrecognisable from its early years. It has progressed and developed and things that were once a drivers worst fear are brushed aside without a second thought. Fire isn t the hazard it once was and it s rare that a driver misses an event or season because he stuffed it in the hedge and injured himself or the car failed and injured him, as was often the case. Of course the sport remains dangerous. We all know that and the drivers accept that when they get in the car. The argument now is whether that danger is part of the sport and therefore acceptable or whether we should be working towards an environment which is completely safe. And so the subject of canopies has emerged, and I don t know how to feel about it. I m a traditionalist, I look back at the history books with rose tinted glasses and long for a style of racing that was extinct long before I was born. At the same time I don t want to lose friends to the sport. I want my cake and to eat it, and I don t think that's unique to me. Jenson Button said much the same thing when he spoke about closed cockpits in Monza. From his voice it was clear the topic was close to his heart and he was not alone. Daniel Ricciardo seemed almost angry at the situation, that head injuries have become almost common place in modern motorsport. I don t know what the answer is but I do know looking into the future of the sport is a must. It is imperative that we, as a motorsport community, agree upon what is acceptable. Is it still acceptable that, occasionally, we will lose drivers to this sport? Is that more acceptable than sanitising it and removing all elements of mortal risk? Whatever happens next cannot please anyone. It will reshape our sport for the forseeable future, but such is the march of progress. Image: Andries van Overbeeke 16

17 THE MOMENT... McLaren may have swept all before it in 1988, but at that year's Italian Grand Prix it was Ferrari which took centre stage. Gerhard Berger won an emotional 1-2 for the Scuderia, its first victory since the death of team founder Enzo Ferrari. (Sutton Images archive Over 900,000 images available online for search and print order)

18 THE MOMENT... Before the chicanes were introduced, Monza was a frighteningly fast circuit which in 1971 produced one of the closest finishes in history. Peter Gethin took the flag for BRM ahead of Ronnie Peterson's March while the top five finishers were covered by just six tenths of a second. (Sutton Images archive Over 900,000 images available online for search and print order)

19 F1 >>> ITALY No pressure... 19

20 Lewis Hamilton's victory in Monza will spark discussion, and not because of his performance but for the merry song and dance that went on post-race. It is a shame that the race will be remembered that way, as the race Mercedes won when it shouldn't have, rather than being rememberred for the day Hamilton absolutely demolished opposition. It's a shame because Hamilton's performance was as good as he's delivered all season. He was calm and in control, and clearly so relaxed he was thinking much further into the future mid-race by asking what he could do to save his engine. He simply had so much performance in hand that nobody else in the race, not even his teammate, posed even the slightest threat. That had been the story since the cars where rolled out of the trucks. Hamilton slapped more than a little sense into the field on Friday morning when he went more than a second faster than Sebastian Vettel. His advantage was eroded by the time qualifying rolled around but there was still plenty left in the world champion's pocket. Victory sets Hamilton up nicely for the championship. He enjoys the largest points advantage he's had this season thanks to Nico Rosberg watching the final lap from the bleachers. Provided his car holds together, on current form 2016 will be Lewis' third title. Rosberg was unlucky. Though he didn't have the pace of his teammate all weekend he'd managed to limit the damage heading into the penultimate lap, only for his engine to expire. So close but so far. The engine was already long in the tooth. While Hamilton had raced a brand new unit, which included all the latest developments, problems in final F1 >>> ITALY 20

21 F1 >>> ITALY practice forced Rosberg to revert to the motor he used in Spa. After two long, high speed races that stretch the engines to breaking point, the Italian Grand Prix proved about eight kilometres too long for the Mercedes. If it's any saving grace the problem which forced the switch has proved not to be terminal, so Rosberg will have a comparatively fresh engine for Singapore, but that does nothing to make up for the points lost in Italy. Up to that point Rosberg had put in a solid performance. He was baulked off the start by the stricken Kimi Raikkonen and was forced to swerve around the Ferrari at a crucial moment in his start. The lateral load needed to avoid Raikkonen robbed Rosberg of the forward bite he needed to stave off the likes of Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. While the Force India offered little resistance it was only through pit strategy that Rosberg leapfrogged Massa and Bottas, but by that time Hamilton and Vettel were long gone at the front. Perhaps had Rosberg's engine not cried enough he could have launched an attack on Vettel in the final lap. He'd spent the second half of the race gradually inching his way closer to the second placed Ferrari but the failure thwarted that challenge. Vettel's race was lost somewhere in the middle of proceedings. Short of Hamilton's ultimate pace he nevertheless opened a comfortable margin of his own back to the two Williams in the opening half of the race. He was anonymous for the most part and it was only when Rosberg began to close towards the end that he suddenly became a factor in the race after what had been a fairly lonely afternoon for the German. His teammate wasn't so lucky. Though the jury is out as to whether Raikkonen's poor start was human error or technical mishap it had a significant impact on his race. From the front row to dead last took him little more than five seconds as the lights went out, making his race one of recovery. An aggressive opening lap went a long way to repairing the damage, he was 14th at the end of lap one, but he would progress only as far as fifth, behind the two Williams. Raikkonen's problems eased the path for Mercedes as rather than having to defend against two Ferraris, and potentially two strategies, the Finn was immediately taken out of the equation. He trailed the two Williams by more than 20 seconds by the flag, 43 seconds off the back of his teammate. While Rosberg and Raikkonen created the interest in the first half of the race, things calmed down to a rather more predictable sequence of events 21

22 in the second half. The only real interest came courtesy of the two Williams drivers, who battled for third place in the final laps. It left Massa to proclaim that he was too old for all that after the race, though television coverage successfully managed to avoid showing as much of the dice as possible. Daniel Ricciardo climbed from 19th into the top ten, taking Marcus Ericsson heading into the Parabolica on the final lap to steal eighth. Daniil Kvyat in the second Red Bull was tenth, and while the results are far from what the team expects they should be treated as a success given both drivers had engine changes in Ricciardo's case two of them. Almost within sight of the flag, and with a battle with his teammate shaping up, Fernando Alonso was force out of the race, though given he would have been squabbling for 14th it hardly seemed a disaster. Joining Alonso and Rosberg on the sidelines were the two Lotus', both of which were eliminated at the first corner. Though they both struggled around for the opening lap they retired soon after Pastor Maldonado with a broken floor and Romain Grosjean with damaged rear suspension. Both drivers had been innocent parties in the first corner scrum, the result coming as a rather too sudden bump back to earth following the high of Grosjean's third place in Belgium. With Monza the last of the true power circuits things will likely look slightly different in Singapore. Red Bull, with fresh engines, should be stronger for a start with Williams more than likely struggling in comparison. McLaren too should have a more competitive weekend, though that's not difficult. The Mercedes will be strong, as they are everywhere, but the hotter conditions should play to the strengths of the Ferrari. F1 >>> ITALY 22

23 QUALIFYING F1 >>> ITALY FORMULA 1 Round 11 ITALIAN GP Qualifying Pos Driver team Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS 1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1: : : Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1: : : Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1: : : Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1: : : Felipe Massa Williams 1: : : Valtteri Bottas Williams 1: : : Sergio Perez Force India 1: : : Romain Grosjean Lotus 1: : : Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1: : : Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1: : : Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1: : Felipe Nasr Sauber 1: : Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1: : Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1: : Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1: No time 3 16 Jenson Button McLaren 1: Fernando Alonso McLaren 1: Will Stevens Manor 1: Roberto Merhi Manor 1: Max Verstappen Toro Rosso No time 1 Q1 107% Time 1: No surprises That Lewis Hamilton was on pole was about the only thing that made sense on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton utterly decimated the field in opening Friday, and while his advantage had shrunk as the weekend wore on it was entirely expected that the Mercedes driver would claim his seventh successive pole. What wasn t expected was just how close the Ferrari s would get, and that the leading red car would be that of Kimi Raikkonen, not Sebastian Vettel. While not unduly bothering Hamilton s grip on top spot they did get close enough to pose Mercedes a few nervous moments leading into the race. That was especially so given the fact Nico Rosberg was just fourth fastest following an engine change but also because Ferrari had typically shown itself to be better off the line than the Mercedes. Rosberg s engine change was also unusual. Mercedes have an almost unblemished reliability record, meaning a failure tends to catch the attention all the more. Perhaps it s the result of a development engine having been introduced in Monza, perhaps it was just bad luck, but whatever the case it hurt the German. Still, it made for a fascinating moment after the session when Niki Lauda attempted to blame Rosberg s efforts on a poor handling car while Rosberg pointed the finger directly at the engine. Of course Ferrari had updates too, it had used three of its tokens and on the evidence of qualifying one could suggest they ve more or less kept pace with the Mercedes power unit. That s supported by Rosberg s performance and subsequent comments, suggesting Ferrari is a generation behind Mercedes in the development race. But if Mercedes and Ferrari have made progress, what does that say of Renault s efforts? The French manufacturer locked out the final two rows of the grid to make the worst ever performance for Dietrich Mateschitz s two teams. Combined, they suffered 150 places worth of grid penalties for various engine changes, not to mention the fact Max Verstappen was made to trundle down the pit lane after his engine cover exploded in the first session. Of course they were putting on a brave face but the simple fact of the matter is in 18 months Red Bull has gone from the front of the pack to the rear. That ll change in future races, no doubt, but it made for a particularly unhappy Christian Horner. Daniel Ricciardo went desperately looking for positives. An engine failure in final practice saw the team change his engine in a new record, shaving 20 minutes of their previous best he boasted. Still, it s difficult to see how that is a positive when a brand new engine went pop and left the team with no option but to bolt on the only other engine it had. The Australian s trademark smile is increasingly looking like a grimace. 23

24 QUALIFYING F1 >>> ITALY Nothing about the Italian Grand Prix up to that point had been positive for either Red Bull or Toro Rosso. Carlos Sainz found the gravel at the Parabolica in opening practice while Verstappen dropped a wheel off in second practice to find the kitty litter at the Ascari chicane. Neither Ricciardo nor Daniil Kvyat had shown any real pace, the weekend living up to the expectation that it would be the toughest of the season for the Renault powered cars. Still, for all four cars to start behind both Manors and both McLarens must have come as a particularly rude awakening. Two silly mistakes cost Marcus Ericsson a stronger starting spot. He d made it into the final phase of qualifying but had baulked Nico Hulkenberg in the first session and was demoted three places. It was an open and shut case really, and while the argument stands that both drivers progressed so in the grand scheme of things the baulk proved meaningless, to the letter of the rules it was a deserved penalty. Still, it took the total grid penalties to 11, split between seven cars. QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION 24

25 Italian Grand Prix September 5, 2015 Photographer: Patrik Lundin, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 850mm, 1/1000 sec f/11 PASSING SHOT

26 Italian Grand Prix September 5, 2015 Photographer: Patrik Lundin, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/6400 sec f/2 PASSING SHOT

27 Italian Grand Prix September 4, 2015 Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/2500 sec f/2.8 PASSING SHOT

28 Italian Grand Prix September 6, 2015 Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 24mm, 1/250 sec f/22 PASSING SHOT

29 Italian Grand Prix September 5, 2015 Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/1000 sec f/2.8 PASSING SHOT

30 F1 >>> ITALY Poor start self inflicted, says Ferrari By the time the field reached the first corner, Kimi Raikkonen had fallen from the front row of the grid to stone cold last. The Finn was left stranded on the grid as the lights went out, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas doing well to avoid the stricken Ferrari before he eventually got the car going. The incident might have spirited a strong recovery drive from the former world champion, but that comes as little consolation for a race that had promised so much on Sunday morning. Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene wasn't pointing fingers at Raikkonen for the poor getaway, but suggested the early indications were that it was the result of human error rather than a technical malfunction. "If it is a technical issue we will let you know," said the Ferrari boss post-race. "Looking at the moment on the images on television, it looks lke he was struggling a bit, or messing a bit, with a finger to follow the procedure." Raikkonen though was adament he had followed the correct procedure as he pulled up in his grid slot, and his fiddling with the steering wheel came as he attempted to recover the car. " The engine stalled when I let the first clutch go," he explained. "As far as I understood I did the correct things but we can see a problem with the second clutch - the way it is was not in the correct place. I am pretty sure I did everything correct as always, but I don't know exactly." Having dropped to the back of the pack within seconds of the start, Raikkonen climbed back to 14th by the end of the first lap - helped by contact at the first corner which eliminated both Lotus' and saw Carlos Sainz stop with a puncture, while Max Verstappen vanished to serve his drive-through penalty. Raikkonen eventually climbed back to fifth place, a position the team is satisfied with but laments the startline error which robbed them of strategic options to challenge Mercedes for the win. "Being positive, he had a fantastic qualifying and today into the race, starting from that position, he was doing very, very good overtaking and we were happy," Arrivabene claimed. "If you ask me what was the ideal situation, the ideal situation was to see Kimi passing first at the first curve. "We have to be happy. But we have a driver who is second, we are still second in the constructors' championship. Fine." "We finished fifth but when you start in second place and end up last in the first corner, it is not ideal. So, it was a bit disappointing," added Raikkonen. "Whatever it was, it triggered the anti stall and after a few seconds I was in last place. After that we did the best we could but we were quite disappointed the race was okay." Teammate Sebastian Vettel enjoyed a comparatively lonely race to second place, 25 seconds adrift of race winner Lewis Hamilton. Late in the race he came under increasing pressure from a closing Nico Rosberg, only for his Mercedes engine to expire and leave Vettel in an uncontested second place. 30

31 F1 >>> ITALY Disappointment amid uncertainty The future of the Lotus team remains under a cloud following the Italian Grand Prix. Its transporters only arrived in Monza on the Wednesday before the race after being impounded at Spa-Francorchamps following the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Rumours circulated heading into the weekend that Renault would make an announcement over its future in the sport, and to confirm that it had taken a majority share holding in Lotus. It was also suggested former world champion and team boss Alain Prost would become a minor shareholder with the team's current owners also remaining on in a reduced capacity. That announcement never came and instead Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado struggled on as best they could - as did the rest of the team. Their race lasted just a single lap after both cars were eliminated in an opening corner crash. Maldonado damaged the floor on his car when he was forced into avoiding action while a tap from Felipe Nasr on the rear of Grosjean's car ended the Frenchman's day with suspension damage. It's weekend hadn't gone smoothly at all, and torrential rain on Friday night served only to kick the team while down. Water leaked into the team's tyre blankets, shorting out a number of sets and leaving them with just three sets for each car, curtailing its running in final practice and potentially jeopardising it for the race. However an unlikely knight in shining armour came to the rescue as Sauber, Toro Rosso and Ferrari all loaned the Enstone squad blankets. "We were down to three sets per car, which firstly stopped us running properly in P3, because we could only heat one set and then had to get our qualifying tyres on heat. It really would have limited us in qualifying," trackside operations director Alan Permane told Motorsport.com. "Sauber, Ferrari, and Toro Rosso all lent us sets I can't thank them enough for that really. We would have been stumped without it." For a sport with a reputation for persistent infighting it was a welcome piece of good sportsmanship, especially considering Toro Rosso and Sauber are direct rivals to the team. 31

32 F1 >>> ITALY Mercedes calm under pressure It was somewhat ironic that, after some drivers kicked up a fuss in Belgium about the tyres that they should come back to again dominated the headlines in Italy. Lewis Hamilton's win was anything but assured immediately after the race when it was revealed his car had started with an illegally low pressure in the right rear tyre. The team was summoned to the stewards and the matter investigated for some time post race before Hamilton was eventually confirmed as the victor. Hamilton's left rear had been found to be 0.3PSI under the minimum 19.5PSI when it was measured on the grid, just prior to the race start. As part of the technical regulations, the penalty Mercedes faced was exclusion from the race, which is what many in the paddock expected would happen. But an hour after the race Hamilton was confirmed as the official winner of the Italian Grand Prix when stewards accepted the argument presented to it by Mercedes. "Having heard from the Technical Delegate, the Team Representatives and the Pirelli Team Tyre engineer, the Stewards have determined that the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli when they were fitted to the car," read a statement from the FIA. It added that the tyres had been out of their blankets for some time and those blankets hadn't been turned up to the maximum permitted temperature as outlined by Pirelli. As such it was perceivable that the pressure could have dropped as the tyre cooled, and not because the team had tried to pull a fast one. "As Mercedes-Benz, our number one priority is to operate our car within the prescribed safety limits and this is not something we would ever take a chance on," assured Mercedes' head of motorsport Toto Wolff. "We worked very closely with Pirelli since Spa to help define these limits for the race weekend in Monza, and we saw today that there were no problems in a very high-speed, hardfought race." Hamilton's final margin of victory was 25 seconds, having increased in the final laps after his team instructred him to push hard to open the gap - "dont' ask questions, just execute," he was ordered. "We will explain later." With Nico Rosberg failing to finish - whose tyres were 1.1PSI down on the minimum starting pressures on the grid - he now moves 53 points clear in the drivers championship. 32

33 Stat Wrap with Sean Kelly THE POLESITTER WINS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX FOR THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE SEASOn HAMILTON HAD ONLY WON BACK-TO- BACK RACES ONCE SO FAR THIS YEAR (CHINA/BAHRAIN) 40 WINS IN 160 STARTS FOR HAMILTON, COMPARES TO SENNA'S 41 WINS IN 161 STARTS HIS 81ST PODIUM TODAY MOVES HIM AHEAD OF SENNA FOR FOURTH ON THE ALL-TIME LIST BEHIND ALONSO (97), PROST (106) AND SCHUMACHER (155) HAMILTON WON BY 25 SECONDS LAST TIME A WINNING MARGIN AT MONZA WAS THIS BIG WAS IN 1998 (SCHUMACHER BEAT IRVINE IN FERRARI 1-2 BY ) LEWIS HAMILTON ONLY HAS ONE PREVIOUS GRAND SLAM IN HIS CAREER (WIN, POLE, FASTEST LAP, LED EVERY LAP), AT THE 2014 MALAYSIA GP HAMILTON LEADS THE CHAMPIONSHIP BY 53 POINTS HE ONLY LED BY THIS MUCH IN 2014 AFTER WINNING THE DOUBLE- POINTS ABU DHABI GP (67 POINTS) THIS WAS HAMILTON'S 50TH START FOR MERCEDES VETTEL BECOMES THE ALL-TIME LEADING POINT SCORER IN F1 HISTORY ON 1796 FERRARI HAVE NOW SCORED 17 PODIUM FINISHES HERE SINCE 2000, AND 65 OVERALL MASSA TAKES A SECOND CONSECUTIVE Some facts you may have thought of, and most you certainly didn t know about the ITALIAN GP! PODIUM FINISH AT MONZA, BOTH YEARS WITH WILLIAMS BOTTAS HAS NOW FINISHED 25 CONSECUTIVE RACE STARTS, THE LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK RAIKKONEN IS FIFTH DESPITE BEING LAST INTO TURN 1, HIS BEST RESULT IN THE LAST FIVE GRANDS PRIX MASSA MOVES AHEAD OF RAIKKONEN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AS A RESULT PEREZ HAS A SECOND CONSECUTIVE TOP SIX FINISH, SOMETHING HE HAS NEVER DONE BEFORE IN HIS CAREER HULKENBERG IN P7 FORCE INDIA HAVE 14 POINTS from monza, THEIR BEST RACE OF THE SEASON ERICSSON SCORES FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE RACE, A DISTINCTION HE SHARES ONLY WITH HAMILTON AND DANIIL KVYAT KVYAT REMAINS AHEAD OF HIS TEAM- MATE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP SAINZ FINISHES 11TH, ENDING A STREAK OF FOUR CONSECUTIVE RETIREMENTS ROSBERG'S ENGINE FAILURE IS MERCEDES' FIRST MECHANICAL RETIREMENT OF THE 2015 SEASON ALONSO S RETIREMENT IS HIS SIXTH FOR THE YEAR BOTH LOTUSES RETIRED FROM THE RACE BEFORE THE END OF LAP 2 FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON FORMULA 1 Round 11 ITALIAN GP F1 >>> ITALY Pos Driver COUNTRY Team TIME/LapS PTS 1 LEWIS HAMILTON GBR MERCEDES 1:18: SEBASTIAN VETTEL GER FERRARI s 18 3 FELIPE MASSA BRA WILLIAMS s 15 4 VALTTERI BOTTAS FIN WILLIAMS s 12 5 KIMI RAIKKONEN FIN FERRARI +1: SERGIO PEREZ MEX FORCE INDIA +1: NICO HULKENBERG GER FORCE INDIA +1 lap 6 8 DANIEL RICCIARDO AUS RED BULL +1 lap 4 9 MARCUS ERICSSON SWE SAUBER +1 lap 2 10 DANIIL KVYAT RUS RED BULL +1 lap 1 11 CARLOS SAINZ ESP TORO ROSSO +1 lap 0 12 MAX VERSTAPPEN NED TORO ROSSO +1 lap 0 13 FELIPE NASR BRA SAUBER +1 lap 0 14 JENSON BUTTON GBR MCLAREN +1 lap 0 15 WILL STEVENS GBR MANOR +1 lap 0 16 ROBERTO MERHI ESP MANOR +1 lap 0 17 NICO ROSBERG GER MERCEDES DNF 0 18 FERNANDO ALONSO ESP MCLAREN DNF 0 RT ROMAIN GROSJEAN FRA LOTUS DNF 0 RT PASTOR MALDONADO VEN LOTUS DNF 0 Points Drivers: Hamilton 252, Rosberg 199, Vettel 178, Massa 97, Raikkonen 92, Bottas 91, Kvyat 58, Ricciardo 55, Grosjean 38, Perez 33, Hulkenberg 30, Verstappen 26, Nasr 16, Maldonado 12, Alonso 11, Ericsson 9, Sainz 9, Button 6 Constructors: Mercedes 451, Ferrari 270, Williams 188, Red Bull 113, Force India 63, Lotus 50, Toro Rosso 35, Sauber 25, McLaren 17 33

34 F1 >>> ITALY THE NUMBERS 2009 (Monaco) The last time Kimi Raikkonen qualified on the front row in a Ferrari. His most recent front row start with Lotus was the 2013 Chinese GP 8 Lewis 2008 (Brazil) The last time there was no Red Bull in Q3 Hamilton can tie Ayrton Senna s record of eight consecutive pole positions ( ) at the next race, in Singapore Out of 160 Lewis Hamilton has 40 wins in starts Out of 161 Ayrton Senna had 41 wins in starts 2Total number of laps completed by all Lotus drivers in the Australian, British and Italian Grands Prix combined 13 and 14 Marussia saw both its cars start in the first 14 on the grid for the first time in team history 1.4 Seconds Monza is a circuit notorious for the lack of progression in laptime during a race. Lewis Hamilton s best lap was only 1.361s quicker than his first flying lap of the race on lap two 16.6 Km/h Fernando Alonso s straightline speed deficit to the fastest car in qualifying This weekend marked 45 years since the loss of Jochen Rindt in qualifying at Monza. It was on Clay Regazzoni s 31st birthday, and Regga took his maiden Grand Prix victory the next day Sebastian Vettel became Formula 1 s all-time leading point scorer, although when the world championship started, there were only 8 points for a win, and points were only awarded down to fifth place, with a bonus point for the fastest lap Total number of grid penalties assessed this 168 weekend 34

35 TECHNICAL F1 >>> ITALY MERCedes spends its tokens wisely... TECHNICAL PAOLO FILISETTI Technical Editor The Italian GP is, as usual, a special race, due to the unique layout of the track that requires a one-off set up, compared to the rest of the calendar of course with the exception of Monaco that, aerodynamically, sits exactly on the opposite side, requiring in fact the highest downforce levels of the entire season. Here, at the other extreme, all the teams adopt the lowest downforce configuration possible hence most of the changes seen on the cars were mainly focused on that target. In particular it was interesting to note how Mercedes, which had already worked very actively in Belgium a fortnight ago, adopting a deeply sinuous rear wing, introduced here an evolution of the same element, sporting a deeply revised main profile, endplates and flap. In particular, the latest version of the wing now features a less sculpted profile, that in fact results in the conjunction of three sections: the central one is flatter compared to the arched profile of the Belgian version, while the side sections are connected higher to the endplates, so as to reduce the drag generated in this area even though of course such a layout implies a reduced amount of downforce, that is recovered by the higher top speed reached on this track. As well, the chord of the main profile was dramatically reduced compared to the Belgian version, together with revised endplates featuring just four short slits. Of course Mercedes, didn t bring just a revised aero package to Monza the Brackley-based team introduced its third Power Unit (PU), deeply revised using all the seven remaining development tokens for the current season. The PU was revised in its combustion chambers but also in many other areas connected with the top side of the ICE. This evolution seems to be not just focused on increased performance research for this season, but it also it paves the way for the early version of next season s engine. Ferrari on the other hand reached Monza, with a similar aero layout to the one adopted in Spa, just reducing the aero refinements to some bits and pieces, aimed at fine tuning both the aero setup of the car but at the same time also its mechanical dynamics. What was in fact astonishing was the almost perfect dynamic set up the cat sported, especially running over the kerbs, but also in the fast corners, with a very smooth behaviour and the car almost glued to the tarmac. The font wing was the same version utilised in Belgium, of course just differing from that one in terms of flap angle. This element played a pivotal role in making the aero balance of the car, together with the rear wing, consistent and stable. On the PU side Ferrari, introduced its fourth PU, spending three of the seven tokens that were still available on its development. The remaining tokens probably will be used in a fifth engine (incurring a penalty) in the very last races, given that the championship will most likely be already decided at that time. 35

36 Seen at Monza F1 >>> ITALY 36

37 The pre-race ceremony included a flyover as the national anthem climax, the planes paiting the sky with the colours of il Tricolore. PASSING SHOT

38 After his car went into anti-stall at the start, Kimi Raikkonen battled his way back through the field to finish fifth. PASSING SHOT

39 All four Red Bull backed cars joined the McLaren's of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso on the back three rows of the grid. PASSING SHOT

40 Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas enjoyed a tense scrap in the final laps over the final podium spot, with Massa just holding on over his teammate. PASSING SHOT

41 Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel claimed a popular second place in his first visit to Monza for the Scuderia. PASSING SHOT

42 Fans celebrate under the podium following Lewis Hamiton's victory in the Italian Grand Prix. PASSING SHOT

43 NEXT UP SINGAPORE... One of the most popular races on the calendar, Singapore has been the scene of some of the most controversial moments in recent F1 history. PARTING SHOT