2011 Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia

[ghskilla]

Italian Grand Prix
(September 9-11, 2011)
P1 - 9/09 10:00 - 11:30 Local Time
P2 - 9/09 14:00 - 15:30 Local Time
P3 - 9/10 11:00 - 12:00 Local Time
Qualifying - 9/10 14:00 Local Time
Race - 9/11 14:00 Local Time
Convert to your time here​

Discuss your thoughts about the 2011 Italian Grand Prix here.

Red Bull has regained ground in the Belgian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton's chances at the championship seem to dwindle. Will Sebastian Vettel keep the lead or will he start to lose his ground?

Hamilton is now hoping for glory in this race as he needs to gain more points for his shot at the title.

The factory Mercedes team looks to be in good shape for the race at Monza, as team driver Nico Rosberg explains:

“I'm really looking forward to the weekend in Monza,” Rosberg stated in the countdown to the 13th round in the F1 2011 World Championship. “We learned at the last race in Spa that our car can be competitive at high-speed tracks, and we definitely took a step forward there."

Straight line speed and low downforce is a key factor in Monza, but also is understeer. So in this case, this is a place where the Red Bulls, with their high aerodynamics and downforce, will be put to the challenge by rivals McLaren and Ferrari. Expect to see some good battles, and also expect Mercedes to somehow make a surprise with their great straight line speed. Look out for other Mercedes-powered teams, they might make a good show, too.

We are in for a very good weekend.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
The Gran Premio Santander d'Italia
(The Grand Prix of Italy)
Held in the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, in Monza, Italy.

Map of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza


Rubens Barrichello's Onboard Lap Record: 1:21.046 *Commentary by Martin Brundle.

Distance: 5.793 km (3.6 mi)
Laps - 53
Total Distance: 306.720 km (190.58 mi)

Last year's standings -
1st - Fernando Alonso Spain [Scuderia Ferrari]
2nd - Jenson Button United Kingdom [McLaren-Mercedes]
3rd - Felipe Massa Brazil [Scuderia Ferrari]

Current Drivers' Standings (Top 10)
________________
1.Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault - 259
2. Mark Webber - RBR-Renault - 167
3. Fernando Alonso - Scuderia Ferrari - 157
4. Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes - 149
5. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 146
6. Felipe Massa - Scuderia Ferrari - 74
7. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 56
8. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes GP - 42
9. Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 34
10. Nick Heidfeld (replaced by B. Senna) - Renault - 34
________________

Current Constructors' Championship Standings (Top 5)

RBR-Renault - 426
McLaren-Mercedes - 295
Scuderia Ferrari - 231
Mercedes GP - 98
Renault - 68​

Expected Weather: Friday seems to be a mostly sunny. Good news for Practice Sessions. High is an 80(F) and low 62(F) with 10% chance of rain. Saturday is expected to be sunny, high 81(F) and low 62(F) with no chance of rain. Sunday has sunny, with the highest temperature expected to be 82(F) and a low 63(F), and like Saturday, no chance of rain. Normal race weekend weather.


*On a side note, Robert Kubica, last year's Renault driver, has had a successful surgery after the Belgian Grand Prix. We hope to see him soon.

 

[F1 fan]

I presume you intend to edit the first post?

 

[ghskilla]

I presume you intend to edit the first post?

Just did, my friend.

 

[TheBook]

*On a side note, Robert Kubica, last year's Renault driver, has had a successful surgery after the Belgian Grand Prix. We hope to see him soon.

That's definitely good news. 👍

I've noticed that a lot of the midfield teams (Force India jumps to mind) seem to do really well here; I wonder if maybe one of them could shove one of the top three teams off the podium.

 

[Akira AC]

Isn't this a bit too early, I see this threads about Wednesday or Thursday.

Anyway, my hopes(rather expectations) goes to button, maybe he will get lucky this time. The forecast indicates clear skies for the weekend, therefore RB will have a bit more chances.

Also looking forwards to see Ferrari strategy, is their "home" after all.

 

[ghskilla]

Isn't this a bit too early, I see this threads about Wednesday or Thursday.

Anyway, my hopes(rather expectations) goes to button, maybe he will get lucky this time. The forecast indicates clear skies for the weekend, therefore RB will have a bit more chances.

Also looking forwards to see Ferrari strategy, is their "home" after all.

It's Monday here, but in other parts of the world, it's Tuesday, so I think this is the right time for it. It's on the 1st thread. It says you can make a thread about a specific race at Tuesday in the week of the event. It'll be another Red Bull win, I'm sure of it.

 

[Ardius]

I've noticed that a lot of the midfield teams (Force India jumps to mind) seem to do really well here; I wonder if maybe one of them could shove one of the top three teams off the podium.

Its a track where all teams except the smallest bring Monza-specific wing packages, which can favour some teams over others. Monza suits cars that handle well with low-downforce and so naturally any car that goes fairly well at Spa tends to go well at Monza too.
In Force India's case they had a car with great low-downforce handling in 2009.
STR in 2008 had a mixture of luck, gambling and having two of the best drivers in the world.

So don't always expect midfield teams to do well, but certainly you can expect a different result from most other tracks due to the bigger difference in downforce configuration.

The interesting thing this year though is that DRS is now involved, which might make a higher-downforce setup more useful..sort of like Button's f-duct high downforce setup in 2010.

 

[YellowG1]

Hoping to see Senna and Hamilton have a good result here. The track doesn't seem toally conducive to RBR so maybe Ferrari or McLaren can snatch a win here. Let's see how many drivers survive that first chicane on Lap 1.

 

[F1 fan]

Just did, my friend.

Sorry. Could just see a flame war ensuing if you didn't fix the first post.

Looking forward to Monza. Always a good race. The championship is long gone though. We can have a good battle for second place, but if Vettel doesn't end up as champion this season, I'll wear one pair of boxer shorts and one pair of socks for seven days straight then upload a video to youtube of myself eating them.

Hoping to see Senna and Hamilton have a good result here. The track doesn't seem toally conducive to RBR so maybe Ferrari or McLaren can snatch a win here. Let's see how many drivers survive that first chicane on Lap 1.

I think those days are behind RBR. Remember how close Vettel came in Canada? He also won at Spa. Those two are tracks they have previously struggled at. Not saying a Red Bull will win at Monza, but they'll be closer than you may expect.

 

[Peter.]

Not really. Red Bull somewhat lucked into the win at Spa, the mixed condition qualifying meant that the Red Bull with its superior downforce would be on top, and the straightline speed disadvantage canceled out somewhat. In the race, his rivals all suffered bitter luck, Lewis crashed, Alonso was hopeless on the mediums, and Button qualified way down the grid.

If all goes normal here, then McLaren and Ferrari will have the edge on Red Bull, even Mercedes might. There is simply nowhere at this track where Red Bull may have a significant advantage, or at least not one big enough to outweigh their straightline speed disadvantage compared to McLaren and Ferrari.

 

[EDK]

Isn't this a bit too early, I see this threads about Wednesday or Thursday.

Really, this crap needs to just stop. Every damn week, the thread comes up, and then someone pops in with a comment saying they think it's too soon.

You follow it with a comment on the race, so you were apparently ready to discuss it.

Why the fuss?

 

[niky]

But... but... it's not Tuesday here in California yet!

Honestly... international dateline people. Put it as the second time on your cellphone or watch... put it as the time on your computer. Then you'll know when Tuesday really begins.

-----

Considering this place is like Spa, I'm expecting McLaren and Ferrari to have a leg-up on RBR this weekend. RBR had tremendous luck in Spa, but they'll need even more tremendous luck to pull it off here.

Then again... that team is full of surprises. Even when things go wrong at Red Bull, they still go right. This is their second potential championship... and their third season in front-running form... and they're looking spectacularly good this year, with fewer of the pitstop and strategy muck-ups that seem to be hounding everyone and no retirements at all, so far in this season.

Think about that... all the top-tier teams have had three to four retirements over the first half of the season... Red Bull have had none. Part of this may be due to being out in front all the time, but given Mark Webber's poor starts and Vettel's aggressive driving, you'd expect at least one or two... but none? Red Bull Racing's outdone itself this year, completely.

 

[ghskilla]

I think I went overboard with the first post

On another note, people bring speculation about how Red Bull have a disadvantage here against Ferrari, McLaren, maybe even Mercedes, but what do you think will happen? Do you think Red Bull will win, get a 1-2? Will Vettel head to pole position and try and stay away from the pack? I personally think McLaren will pull up a surprise with their Mercedes-powered engines, which can give good straightline speed.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

speculation about how Red Bull have a disadvantage here against Ferrari, McLaren, maybe even Mercedes

Red Bull were supposedly going to be at a disadvantage at Spa because of the high speeds associated with the circuit.

It didn't happen.

 

[IceMan PJN]

Anyway, my hopes(rather expectations) goes to button, maybe he will get lucky this time.

Well, Button is McLaren's good-luck driver, so he does have that on his side. Maybe Hamilton will be coming up beside Vettel and the two collide, spinning and spraying debris in front of Webber who ends up T-boning one of them and Alonso runs over debris, blowing a tire and smashing into a wall, leaving Button to cruise to victory.

 

[Peter.]

Red Bull were supposedly going to be at a disadvantage at Spa because of the high speeds associated with the circuit.

It didn't happen.

Because Red Bull's rivals all got off on the wrong feet, while everything seemed to go right for them.

 

[ghskilla]

Red Bull were supposedly going to be at a disadvantage at Spa because of the high speeds associated with the circuit.

It didn't happen.

Hamilton retired, Jenson started at 13th, Alonso was left hopeless with the mediums, Massa is... well Massa. LUCK. Red Bull have it, but you can't stay lucky forever.

 

[Anghammarad]

This is the first race of the season where I can say:

"Alonso will win it comfortably"

without it entirely being a joke.

 

[niky]

If Hamilton hadn't come together with Kobayashi and Alonso hadn't missed the pit opportunity that provided, then Red Bull would have lost that race.

As it is, the cards are stacked against the Bulls at this time... unless they have some more tricks up their sleeves... a good upgrade or two would be nice.

Then again... the team has been uncommonly lucky and extremely competent at handling races, so a Red Bull victory isn't unlikely, though a Red Bull 1-2 would take a lot of doing.

 

[hellnback]

10 years since I travelled from New Zealand to it...

 

[C-ZETA]

Red Bull were supposedly going to be at a disadvantage at Spa because of the high speeds associated with the circuit.

It didn't happen.

Spa is also pretty twisty, you might find.

Monza will be tougher as there's less corners, none of which are relatively fast paced, so Red Bull will struggle here more. Ferrari and McLaren should have a good battle at the front here, just like the good old times of the late 90's.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Spa is also pretty twisty, you might find.

True - but some parts, like Raidillon and Blanchimont are very, very fast. The Red Bulls had very little trouble with them.

 

[F1 fan]

This is the first race of the season where I can say:

"Alonso will win it comfortably"

without it entirely being a joke.

Not really. You could have said it before Australia hoping they were sandbagging in testing. You would have looked very smart if you said it before Silverstone too.

 

[Seismica]

Red Bull were pretty quick in the speedtraps at Spa, Certainly faster than Mclaren. Last year the Red Bull was quite draggy because they always piled on the downforce, and the F-duct they had wasn't as good as Mclaren's to counteract that. This year though they have a more efficient car, no doubt down to their blow diffuser. Red Bull learnt last year that a lower downforce setup pays dividends at Spa during the race, whereas Mclaren kind of went the other way on that one (Though to be fair a lack of dry testing probably effected their choice of aero setup significantly). We'll have to wait and see if Mclaren's straightline speed in Spa was down to their setup or the car overall.

I'll just clarify that there was not a big problem with Renault engines last year. The Renault car was great in a straighline, it's just that Red Bull were perhaps running with too much drag on the car, or even something to do with the exhaust positioning. Don't underestimate them, they will be extremely strong here.

Ferrari tend to produce very low drag cars and they always run well at Monza. But, I feel because the medium tyres are used they will not challenge for the victory. They will most likely finish behind Mclaren/Red Bull but ahead of Mercedes/Force India/Renault. They will be right there in qualifying though, i'd take a guess at Alonso for pole, providing it's dry. I think the strategy will let them down though, which is a shame.

As for Mclaren, they do not seem to have the straightline speed advantage they had last year. Infact, Mclaren's advantage seems to be in the corners since they sorted out balance issues relating to their blown diffuser and unique open sidepods making the rear wing work more. We'll see how it goes, but I think that they will struggle in qualifying. They'll come good in the race though, providing they don't have any problems.

I think Vettel or Hamilton will take the win here, it's a difficult one, but I think it will come down to strategy as there will be very little between them pace wise.

 

[YellowG1]

I think I went overboard with the first post

On another note, people bring speculation about how Red Bull have a disadvantage here against Ferrari, McLaren, maybe even Mercedes, but what do you think will happen? Do you think Red Bull will win, get a 1-2? Will Vettel head to pole position and try and stay away from the pack? I personally think McLaren will pull up a surprise with their Mercedes-powered engines, which can give good straightline speed.

My guess is:
1. Vettel
2. Webber
3. Hamilton
4. Button
5. Alonso
6. Rosberg

I expect Vettel will qualify first and drive away from the pack and there will be some shenanigans at the first chicane, hopefully NOT involving Hamilton for once.

 

[C-ZETA]

Anyone expecting double DRS here like Europe and Canada? Clearly there is nowhere better to use such a system than here. If it's already been confirmed consider me stupid

 

[Roo]

Anyone expecting double DRS here like Europe and Canada? Clearly there is nowhere better to use such a system than here. If it's already been confirmed consider me stupid

There's two seperate DRS zones - the first is on the start/finish straight, with a detection point on the exit of Parabolica; the second is on the straight from the second Lesmo to the Ascari chicane, the detection point being between the two Lesmos.

 

[C-ZETA]

There's two seperate DRS zones - the first is on the start/finish straight, with a detection point on the exit of Parabolica; the second is on the straight from the second Lesmo to the Ascari chicane, the detection point being between the two Lesmos.

Yep, I'm stupid. And that's pretty much where I would have expected them to be as well.

 

[Akmuq]

Looking forward to Monza. Always a good race. The championship is long gone though. We can have a good battle for second place, but if Vettel doesn't end up as champion this season, I'll wear one pair of boxer shorts and one pair of socks for seven days straight then upload a video to youtube of myself eating them.

Ever since Turkey or so when it was obvious Vettel would be sticking to the top each race, I've just seen each race as an exhibition instead of a championship-importance race. The championship battle situation is a shame, but the racing quality, especially when it's someone putting the fight up to Vettel, has more then made up for it. Let's just hope we get both next year.

 

[F1 fan]

Ever since Turkey or so when it was obvious Vettel would be sticking to the top each race, I've just seen each race as an exhibition instead of a championship-importance race. The championship battle situation is a shame, but the racing quality, especially when it's someone putting the fight up to Vettel, has more then made up for it. Let's just hope we get both next year.

Added excitment? It'll definitely make up for the sky bill.👍