2018 Italian Grand Prix - Monza, 31 Aug - 2 Sep

[MtthsMlw]

Tire Choices


2017 Results
Qualifying


Race




2017 Pole Lap


2017 Race Highlights

[Just_a_fan]

Unless it rains, Vettel pole and win.

[godlameroso]

Oh it's going to rain, mostly on Friday, but we may see a stray shower here and there Saturday and Sunday.

[zibby43]

Major aero update for Mercedes this round.

With the lack of slow-speed, traction-limited sections on this track, I expect the Silver Arrows to be considerably stronger here.

With Bottas in play as well, regardless of what happens in quali, this weekend is going to be much, much closer than last weekend. And much closer than most people realize.

[giantfan10]

Major aero update for Mercedes this round.

With the lack of slow-speed, traction-limited sections on this track, I expect the Silver Arrows to be considerably stronger here.

With Bottas in play as well, regardless of what happens in quali, this weekend is going to be much, much closer than last weekend. And much closer than most people realize.

So whats this major update supposed to do? take drag and downforce off the car just like ALL the other teams will be doing? more word games by Mercedes is what this is in my opinion.
ALL teams will be bringing an aero update to Monza AKA their low downforce Monza package.

[dfegan358]

Qualifying very important here. Still think Ferrari got an edge in qualifying. If Vettel can get pole will be hard to beat.

[dfegan358]

Surely Ferrari have some update up their sleeve also for their home race ??

[Zynerji]

Kimi is good here as well..

Going to be a very close one. I hope it stays dry and we have a race-long fight for the lead.

[Shrieker]

Ferrari and Vettel come here as clear favorites after such a strong showing last weekend.

Let's see if Merc can come up with something to balance the scales.

[JonoNic]

Hamilton has shown how much influence he has by making one post Belgium race statement, so he will probably try and use this influence again in the near future. He's lost a performance advantage that he currently has no answer to Ferrari's pace.

Whiting has realised this and therefore nipping it in the burt before it gets out of control.

I'm hoping for more on track battles rather than a war of words.

[BwajSF]

All the Merc Tracks Ferrari Has been the Car to Beat.. SilverStone, Canada n now SPA too.. And based on the reaction of the Mercs Team and its drivers.. It looks like they pinned thier hopes on thier Spec 3 and it didnt a match for Ferrari.
Monza "The Temple Of Speed" Should be a very close battle swinging it in Ferrari's Favour... The TIFOSI have been very loyal and waiting for a 1 2 from long time.. This year is the best chance Ferrari has even got in the Last Decade to deliver to thier expectation.. If its a 1 2 in Monza for Ferrari it will also be a tribute to Fans as Well as Sergio Marcionne..
All the Play for......
Bring it on Monza.........

[zibby43]

So whats this major update supposed to do? take drag and downforce off the car just like ALL the other teams will be doing?

Yeah, it is. And guess what? Mercedes (Hamilton, specifically) ran quite a bit more downforce than Ferrari at Spa, which hurt Merc's performance in S1 and S3. The rear wing spec alone was a strikingly clear indicator of the setup differences.

Merc had to run the extra downforce to help mitigate traction issues.

Those traction issues will be much less significant because of Monza's layout, which is good news for Merc, because they can run levels of downforce more similar to Ferrari, which, in turn, should help chip away Ferrari's straightline advantages.

Finally, to my understanding, the upgrade goes beyond just a Monza spec package. So I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[iotar__]

Ferrari will annihilate the competition with their ~0,7 s power advantage.

https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/19638 "Mercedes to discuss Valtteri Bottas support role after Monza"

After? Discuss it? Bottas has been a support driver blatantly this whole season. Team orders (Ger), sitting duck (GB), tow driver (Spa), moving chicane (Hun). These are the last four races and they openly lie about it ?

[WaikeCU]

Hamilton has shown how much influence he has by making one post Belgium race statement, so he will probably try and use this influence again in the near future. He's lost a performance advantage that he currently has no answer to Ferrari's pace.

Whiting has realised this and therefore nipping it in the burt before it gets out of control.

I'm hoping for more on track battles rather than a war of words.

He's also the guy who deployed the safety car, which was rather late when everyone saw a safety car was needed. Why should he even need to intervene? Sounds more like he's helping Ferrari deflect Hamilton's accusations. I still remember how at the start of the season that 'party mode' on the Merc was the talk of the paddock. Did he intervene back then?

Could also be psychological games by Hamilton. I think he's well aware that he's running way more downforce than that Ferrari and that going first into the headwind can have a massive impact on speed difference with cars in his slipstream. Either he's sour about losing out or he's realistic about his chances at Spa. So the whole accusations thing about Ferrari having illegal tricks on their car can be seen as mindgames in tricking Ferrari thinking they have the upper hand on speed when it could be not.

What will have the biggest psychological effect? Ferrari winning on a Merc track or Ferrari losing on home soil?

Either way we all know what Hamilton is capable of after a setback.

[MtthsMlw]

Ferrari will annihilate the competition with their ~0,7 s power advantage.

How do you get this number? I would say Vettel Pole but not by more than 2 tenths.