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Formula 1
VARSHA: Forza Monza
The best way to experience Monza is not from a grandstand seat, but on foot...
Of the 10 fastest races in F1 history, nine have taken place at Monza. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Well, that was some start to the Formula One World Championship stretch run, wouldn’t you say? Last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the first of nine races over 13 weeks in a season-ending dash across five continents, gave us a collection of heart-stopping moments, juggled the contenders, and cut Fernando Alonso’s points lead among drivers nearly in half. The Ferrari ace was lucky that was his only injury in the first-turn cartwheeling among five cars that made Romain Grosjean of Lotus the first driver parked by the FIA since 1994, replaced for this weekend’s race by Jerome d’Ambrosio. Grosjean’s one-race suspension is harsher than normal, because the race he will miss is the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza, the last of the circuits on the current calendar that also appeared on the inaugural F1 schedule in 1950 along with Silverstone, Monaco and Spa.
In fact, Spa and Monza have been paired on the schedule for so long that we tend to think of them as sister circuits, which is kind of silly, since the two tracks are so different in both style and substance. Whereas Spa is located deep in the Ardennes forest, Monza is on the edge of the buzzing city of Milan. Spa is potatoes, Monza is pasta; Spa is walloon, Monza is italiano; Spa has a small casino, Monza has La Scala; Spa rolls and sweeps like a carnival ride, Monza is flat as a crepe, the only elevation change being the dip under the concrete banking of the oval track featured in the movie “Grand Prix,” but unused since 1969.
One thing the two tracks do have in common is raw speed. Of the 10 fastest races in F1 history, nine took place at Monza; the 10th at Spa. But here again they are very different: where Spa requires surgical-driving precision, Monza calls for a blunt instrument: pin the wings back, plant your right foot, and aim between the trees. The all-time record for top speed at a Grand Prix is 229.9 miles per hour by Antonio Pizzonia driving a Williams-BMW at Monza in 2004, and Juan Pablo Montoya went 231.3 mph testing a McLaren-Mercedes the following year. There are three chicanes to keep the cars below Mach 1, but while Spa’s Eau Rouge may be the most intimidating corner in F1, Monza’s final curve, the Parabolica, isn’t far behind. Sebastian Vettel’s pass around the outside of Alonso’s Ferrari in the high-speed Curva Grande last year, flat in sixth gear with his left-side wheels in the grass, had us out of our chairs in the broadcast booth.
Another commonality between Spa and Monza is history. The best way to experience the track is not from a grandstand seat, but on foot. Like Spa, the sound of the engines ricochets through the trees, making it easy to imagine yourself transported to another time. Pick any era, because Monza ranks with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile (you can look it up) among the world’s oldest racing circuits still in use.
The atmosphere at Monza, however, is different. More romantic, let’s say. As the Italian Grand Prix unfolds this weekend on SPEED, we’ll mention the tifosi, the diehard Ferrari fans from around the world on a pilgrimage to watch their beloved cars in action. Part of what sets Monza apart, at least for me, is that the track’s awesome history, heavy on triumph and tragedy, is treasured by those you meet within the old Royal Park walls. I’ll never forget walking the pit lane with Derek Bell, whose hall of fame career came largely in sports cars but whose resume also lists plenty of races in open-wheel Ferraris. As we headed for the shops in the infield, the old fellow checking credentials at the gate looked up and lit up. He had instantly recognized Bell as a Ferrari pilote, with all the privileges pertaining thereto. His excitement was one of the most purely human moments I’ve ever experienced at a racetrack.
That little anecdote may help explain why Vettel struggled to contain his emotions last year at Monza, where the podium extends out over the pit lane that quickly fills with thousands of fans after the checkered flag. Looking out over a sea of adoring faces, fans wearing Ferrari red but roaring nonetheless in tribute to a great victory, you could see from Vettel’s stunned expression and watering eyes that he was just coming to realize this wasn’t say, Malaysia or Korea; he was the focus of something very special. It was at this moment that my colleague Steve Matchett said it best: for all his achievements with Red Bull, the young World Champion was getting a taste of how it must feel every day to be a part of the mystique of the sport’s greatest team.
This weekend, we get to witness that mystique again at Monza.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
In fact, Spa and Monza have been paired on the schedule for so long that we tend to think of them as sister circuits, which is kind of silly, since the two tracks are so different in both style and substance. Whereas Spa is located deep in the Ardennes forest, Monza is on the edge of the buzzing city of Milan. Spa is potatoes, Monza is pasta; Spa is walloon, Monza is italiano; Spa has a small casino, Monza has La Scala; Spa rolls and sweeps like a carnival ride, Monza is flat as a crepe, the only elevation change being the dip under the concrete banking of the oval track featured in the movie “Grand Prix,” but unused since 1969.
One thing the two tracks do have in common is raw speed. Of the 10 fastest races in F1 history, nine took place at Monza; the 10th at Spa. But here again they are very different: where Spa requires surgical-driving precision, Monza calls for a blunt instrument: pin the wings back, plant your right foot, and aim between the trees. The all-time record for top speed at a Grand Prix is 229.9 miles per hour by Antonio Pizzonia driving a Williams-BMW at Monza in 2004, and Juan Pablo Montoya went 231.3 mph testing a McLaren-Mercedes the following year. There are three chicanes to keep the cars below Mach 1, but while Spa’s Eau Rouge may be the most intimidating corner in F1, Monza’s final curve, the Parabolica, isn’t far behind. Sebastian Vettel’s pass around the outside of Alonso’s Ferrari in the high-speed Curva Grande last year, flat in sixth gear with his left-side wheels in the grass, had us out of our chairs in the broadcast booth.
Another commonality between Spa and Monza is history. The best way to experience the track is not from a grandstand seat, but on foot. Like Spa, the sound of the engines ricochets through the trees, making it easy to imagine yourself transported to another time. Pick any era, because Monza ranks with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile (you can look it up) among the world’s oldest racing circuits still in use.
The atmosphere at Monza, however, is different. More romantic, let’s say. As the Italian Grand Prix unfolds this weekend on SPEED, we’ll mention the tifosi, the diehard Ferrari fans from around the world on a pilgrimage to watch their beloved cars in action. Part of what sets Monza apart, at least for me, is that the track’s awesome history, heavy on triumph and tragedy, is treasured by those you meet within the old Royal Park walls. I’ll never forget walking the pit lane with Derek Bell, whose hall of fame career came largely in sports cars but whose resume also lists plenty of races in open-wheel Ferraris. As we headed for the shops in the infield, the old fellow checking credentials at the gate looked up and lit up. He had instantly recognized Bell as a Ferrari pilote, with all the privileges pertaining thereto. His excitement was one of the most purely human moments I’ve ever experienced at a racetrack.
That little anecdote may help explain why Vettel struggled to contain his emotions last year at Monza, where the podium extends out over the pit lane that quickly fills with thousands of fans after the checkered flag. Looking out over a sea of adoring faces, fans wearing Ferrari red but roaring nonetheless in tribute to a great victory, you could see from Vettel’s stunned expression and watering eyes that he was just coming to realize this wasn’t say, Malaysia or Korea; he was the focus of something very special. It was at this moment that my colleague Steve Matchett said it best: for all his achievements with Red Bull, the young World Champion was getting a taste of how it must feel every day to be a part of the mystique of the sport’s greatest team.
This weekend, we get to witness that mystique again at Monza.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
Spanish Grand Prix
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