Monza: the cathedral of motorsport. This is a venue which is as old as Formula One itself, playing host to every running of the Italian Grand Prix since 1950, bar of course 1980 where it was taken over to Imola.
Join The Roar from 10pm AEST for updates in what could be a season-defining race.
The passion is fierce at Monza, the Tifosi are always out for the blood of their rivals; being anyone not in a Ferrari.
Unfortunately this season so far, the Tifosi have not had much to cheer about, with both Ferrari drivers seemingly far from winning a race based off the current performance of the F14 T. Seemingly we can expect Fernando Alonso to push at his usual 200%, but the chance for a podium finish is unlikely considering the armaments of the competition.
Nevertheless they can still witness the Mercedes AMG duo go again at each other’s throats after tensions escalated at the previous grand prix in Belgium. Nico Rosberg during the week was ‘sanctioned’ internally by the team who have assured the public that this incident won’t repeat itself.
On paper, with its long straights and minimal corners, Monza is a circuit which will suit any Mercedes-Benz powered car. Without incident, the Silver Arrows theoretically should be able to achieve a one-two finish this weekend. But who will be number one is a completely different question.
Considering all that’s happened to Lewis Hamilton and the amount of remorse he’s received from his own team, there is a certain element of expectation that he could be favoured ahead of Rosberg as a sort of recompense for what happened in Spa.
As mentioned before, the Mercedes-Benz powered machines should have a clear advantage on the straights hence Williams and Valtteri Bottas being the prime contender for a podium finish.
Williams felt that in Belgium their strategy in the race let them down and prevented them from potentially challenging Daniel Ricciardo for the win, so with the power advantage in Monza, Williams could be a force to be reckoned with.
Similarly the other Mercedes-Benz customer teams; McLaren and Force India should be quick here but perhaps not as quick as the Williams. But still competitive enough to be inside the top fix potentially.
Our previous race winner Ricciardo comes to what is effectively his second ‘home’ race with the potential of winning three races in a row. Now don’t count Red Bull out of this one just because they don’t have a Mercedes-Benz engine. Their skinny rear-wing that was run at Spa proved to be quite effective, despite the lack of grunt from the Renault engine.
So there is still a chance of a three-peat for Ricciardo in Italy, provided there are problems with the leaders. And consider too how Monza is Red Bull’s ‘weakest’ circuit, that Sebastian Vettel is a two-time winner in a Red Bull machine, during a dry race.
And finally, Kamui Kobayashi will return to his Caterham car after he was replaced by André Lotterer at the previous grand prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks for joining me tonight for the Italian Grand Prix. We look forward to you joining us at The Roar for the next grand prix which takes place the streets of Singapore and the beautiful Marina Bay. Until then, have a good one!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
It has to be said too that Williams have had a great race tonight in terms of their battle with Ferrari in the championship. With Alonso's retirement, Bottas moves into fourth in the drivers' standings by one point. And thanks to Massa's podium they continue to lead the red team in the constructors' standings too.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
The championship lead is now cut down to 22 points. And gee it's pretty difficult to hear the driver's being interviewed on the podium with the Tifosi in the background. What an awesome atmosphere that is.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Whilst hardly mentioned, Kvyat raced from P21 on the grid back to where he qualified yesterday before his penalty kicked in to P11.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Still a few boos from the crowd for Rosberg on the podium, whilst the Tifosi cheer on the former Ferrari driver Massa who is on the podium for the first time in over a year.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
The British national anthems plays for Hamilton on the podium who picks up that much needed victory against his teammate in championship fight.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
53/53*
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Ricciardo finishes fifth ahead of his teammate Vettel and Bottas finishes in fourth. The top ten finishers are: HAM, ROS, MAS, BOT, RIC, VET, PER, BUT, RAI and MAG.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/53:CHEQURED FLAG Hamilton win's his first race since the British Grand Prix ahead of Rosberg. Massa finishes third for Willams in what is his first podium of the season.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/53: Ricciardo into the second chicane also grabs seventh place off Checo Perez. Perez then loses eighth to Button but then takes the position back!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 40/53: One Red Bull loses a place whilst the other gains one; Vettel loses fourth to Bottas and Ricciardo gains eighth over Button.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 40/53: Wheel to wheel racing between Perez and Button all the way from the first chicane to the second Lesmo corner. The Mexican continues to hold seventh place.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 38/53: Bottas finally grabs fifth off Magnussen. Meanwhile at the front, Hamilton leads Rosberg by 4.6 and Massa is trailing Rosberg by 14.2 seconds. Massa leads Vettel by 18.2 seconds. Magnussen is penalised by the stewards for forcing Bottas off the track, it'll be a 5 second stop n' go.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 35/53: The Bottas/Magnussen first chicane encounter is now under investigation. The stewards are trying to prove that the McLaren forced the Williams off the track.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 34/53: Ricciardo passes Raikkonen for P9 and take a guess where it was done.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 32/53: Perez defending very well against Button going into the first chicane. Here's something you can count at home, the amount of times the words 'first chicane' is mentioned!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 31/53: Bottas and Magnussen again into the first chicane. Bottas decides to avoid making contact and goes over the chicane but loses a bit of ground to the McLaren.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 30/53: YELLOW FLAG And this will be heartbreaking for the Tifosi as Alonso retires from the race with an apparent gearbox problem. This is the first time all season that the Spaniard hasn't scored points.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 29/53: Rosberg goes deep! He goes deep again into the first chicane meaning he had to zig-zag through the chicane and this allows Hamilton to retake the lead.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 28/53: Ricciardo takes his first stop of the race for the hard tyres now. Rosberg is told by his engineer to save fuel. Kvyat who hasn't pitted yet is in P4, after starting P21.