News
4th September 2014, 14:40
One race ago, few would have cited Red Bull as arguably the most relaxed of the top teams heading into the Formula 1 Gran Premio d'Italia 2014 - or that Mercedes would be walking on eggshells arriving at the 'Temple of Speed'. But after a tumultuous race at Spa-Francorchamps, it is becoming increasingly apparent that in this year's FIA Formula One World Championship, anything can happen...
That is especially true down at Red Bull, who arrive in Italy buoyed by Daniel Ricciardo's stunning victory in Belgium. The team's low-downforce configuration worked brilliantly to make them more competitive than expected, and after making hay while the sun shone at Spa, the reigning champions now go to Monza believing that miracles can happen.
"The biggest challenges at Monza nowadays are the braking zones," Ricciardo says. "The first chicane is the ultimate example: you're coming down to that first chicane at the highest speed an F1 car will reach all year and you're braking into one of the tightest corners you'll take all year.
"Added to that you're doing this with the least amount of downforce you'll have all year - which means the car tends to slide around quite a bit as well as taking longer to stop. You can't afford to lock a brake but equally you can't lose time by being too eager on the pedal. It demands that you are really focused all of the time.
"I'm not really that keen on super-long straights; I find them a little dull compared to hammering through a series of demanding corners but Monza is the exception to that. There's something about flashing through those trees in front of that massive crowd that definitely gets the pulse all the way up!
"Also the crowd in Monza is wild. Obviously it's full-on Ferrari but in the past they've always been very generous to me. I'd love to get the opportunity to stand on that brilliant podium and find out!"
But while Ricciardo arrives on a high, you can bet the feelings across at Mercedes are markedly different following the fallout from Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton's second-lap clash at the last round.
'Clear the air' talks were held at the Mercedes factory, with the team declaring afterwards that their drivers will still be free to race - although it was stressed that further collisions will not be tolerated. Rosberg admitted culpability for his part in the accident, and while Hamilton insisted both he and the German can still function as a unit, the Briton will need to close down a now-29 point gap if he is to beat Rosberg to this year's drivers' title.
As ever, then, the real proof of the pair's relationship will come in what happens on track this weekend. A front-row lockout is not altogether unlikely - and if they go steaming down into the first chicane side-by-side at 320 km/h, it's going to be a real cliffhanger...
For his part, Hamilton says his aim for the weekend is simple: "To claw back the gap in the drivers' championship. It's as big as it's been all season so I've got a lot of work ahead of me - but anything can happen in this sport. I won't give up until the flag drops in Abu Dhabi and there's still plenty of points to be won before then, so it's far from over yet."
There's an added dynamic, however: Monza is spectacularly hard on brakes, which have at times this year - notably Canada and Hockenheim - proved to be the Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid's Achilles' heel, so it'll be fascinating to see how the team performs this weekend. Were both cars to fail to finish and Ricciardo to win yet again
More... (http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2014/9/16290.html)
That is especially true down at Red Bull, who arrive in Italy buoyed by Daniel Ricciardo's stunning victory in Belgium. The team's low-downforce configuration worked brilliantly to make them more competitive than expected, and after making hay while the sun shone at Spa, the reigning champions now go to Monza believing that miracles can happen.
"The biggest challenges at Monza nowadays are the braking zones," Ricciardo says. "The first chicane is the ultimate example: you're coming down to that first chicane at the highest speed an F1 car will reach all year and you're braking into one of the tightest corners you'll take all year.
"Added to that you're doing this with the least amount of downforce you'll have all year - which means the car tends to slide around quite a bit as well as taking longer to stop. You can't afford to lock a brake but equally you can't lose time by being too eager on the pedal. It demands that you are really focused all of the time.
"I'm not really that keen on super-long straights; I find them a little dull compared to hammering through a series of demanding corners but Monza is the exception to that. There's something about flashing through those trees in front of that massive crowd that definitely gets the pulse all the way up!
"Also the crowd in Monza is wild. Obviously it's full-on Ferrari but in the past they've always been very generous to me. I'd love to get the opportunity to stand on that brilliant podium and find out!"
But while Ricciardo arrives on a high, you can bet the feelings across at Mercedes are markedly different following the fallout from Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton's second-lap clash at the last round.
'Clear the air' talks were held at the Mercedes factory, with the team declaring afterwards that their drivers will still be free to race - although it was stressed that further collisions will not be tolerated. Rosberg admitted culpability for his part in the accident, and while Hamilton insisted both he and the German can still function as a unit, the Briton will need to close down a now-29 point gap if he is to beat Rosberg to this year's drivers' title.
As ever, then, the real proof of the pair's relationship will come in what happens on track this weekend. A front-row lockout is not altogether unlikely - and if they go steaming down into the first chicane side-by-side at 320 km/h, it's going to be a real cliffhanger...
For his part, Hamilton says his aim for the weekend is simple: "To claw back the gap in the drivers' championship. It's as big as it's been all season so I've got a lot of work ahead of me - but anything can happen in this sport. I won't give up until the flag drops in Abu Dhabi and there's still plenty of points to be won before then, so it's far from over yet."
There's an added dynamic, however: Monza is spectacularly hard on brakes, which have at times this year - notably Canada and Hockenheim - proved to be the Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid's Achilles' heel, so it'll be fascinating to see how the team performs this weekend. Were both cars to fail to finish and Ricciardo to win yet again
More... (http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2014/9/16290.html)