2020 Italian GP - Monza

[Nitrodaze]

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Last season, Charles Leclerc won this Monza race to a very jubillant Itallian crowd. One could say that was the race win that effectively shifted the love of the Ferrari team and all of Italy from Vettel to Leclerc. The Ferrari cars dominated that race emphatically, making the silver Mercedes look somewhat ordinary on that occasion. That went on, in a season that Mercedes comfortably won, even though they found themselves fighting from their back foot on most occasions. Most of us were certain at that point, that Ferrari would turn up this 2020 season and dominate it to establish themselves as the defacto dominant force and put an end to Mercedes dominance in F1.

2019 closed with an FIA investigation into Ferrari's smokey engine which resulted in what appears to be the much criticized private deal between the FIA, F1 management and Ferrari. The aftermath of that, resulted in a poor showing of Ferrari at winter testing. Ferrari has started this season mostly fighting in the midfield with Alpha Tauri and Renault.

At the last race at Spa, Ferrari had both cars qualify and finish the race outside the top ten. A race that clearly underlined the crisis at Ferrari. We head into the Monza track of Italy, which is essentially a power track, with Ferrari bracing themselves for what could be a very embarassing weekend. A weekend which Ferrari would [at least] be happy to know the Tifosi fans would not be in attendance to see the ignomity of their situation.

It is going to be a race with Mercedes powered cars dominating the weekend. Redbull may be racing on their back foot. With Racing Point likely to be giving them a harder time than usual, l suspect. We get to see the true performance of the Renault engine at this race as well. Is the Renault engine faster than [or as fast as] the Honda for instance.

This is a race in which Bottas can recover some ground in the drivers championship. Tyres may once again be a subject of discussion as high engine torques and speeds may result in high tyre wear this weekend. We can expect real competitive racing to end at around lap 45 and tyre management to continue from then on. Thanks Pirelli.

The ban on engine party mode comes into effect at this race weekend. It would be interesting to see what effects that may have on closing up the sharp end of the grid. i wonder if the Honda powered cars are going to suffer more. Ferrari already have an underpowered engine, hence l suppose this ban does not affect Ferrari much, but it will help them get within the mix of the midfield more effectively.

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Wear masks, protect yourself!

[SteveF1]

Along with Canada and Suzuka this is my favourite track. However I'm fully aware it's most probably going to be another Mercedes cruise to an easy unchallenged win.

I hope people spare a moment on Saturday to remember Jochen!

[Storm]

Last year at Monza was the first complete race my 6 year old son ever saw and became a fan of Leclerc instantly...this year, well he has not bothered much because he already knows Hamilton is winning

[The Black Knight]

Lets not forget the shambolic qualifying scenes from last year for which I still think all top ten driver’s should have been disqualified for, the exception being Vettel whom actually tried to get a qualifying lap in. Any driver that doesn’t cross the line and do their last lap should be auto disqualified imo. Load squabbling school children last year. Absolutely ridiculous shenanigans.

[Nitrodaze]

Lets not forget the shambolic qualifying scenes from last year for which I still think all top ten driver’s should have been disqualified for, the exception being Vettel whom actually tried to get a qualifying lap in. Any driver that doesn’t cross the line and do their last lap should be auto disqualified imo. Load squabbling school children last year. Absolutely ridiculous shenanigans.

I remember that one. I would not be surprised to see a repeat again this season. Overcrowding is likely to happen again during qualifying.

With a single engine mode for qualifying and the race, there is also a good chance that some might push the engine to the ragged edge. We may be treated to a few engine failures during the race as drivers take too much life from the engine during qualifying.

[truefan72]

I have zero empathy for all these F1 teams who decide to all wait until the last minute to go out and create unnecessary traffic. Many compromising their lap times.

[N4D13]

That was an interesting quali result, with Red Bull and particularly Renault being a bit more slow than I expected. At the same time, good for the Tracing Points and McLaren. I'm totally stoked with that P3 for Sainz, although it's going to be super hard to hold on to that tomorrow, particularly if he doesn't make it to the start again. :p

Good to have one Ferrari driver on the second row at Monza too. :)

[Nitrodaze]

Mercedes stuck a finger up at the meddling FIA and F1 establishment with their infective party mode ban. What a waste of time! With no party mode, Hamilton manages to break the track record. What effing time wasters!

Out of it all, only Honda appears to have suffered the most. And it did not benefit Ferrari one bit.

What a lap from Sainz? Redbull get to see what a loss Sainz has been to them as they struggle to find a replacement for him.

[SteveF1]

I'm still shocked and flabbergasted that the rules changes have been put back to 2022. it's just giving Merc another title on a silver platter.

[Nitrodaze]

I'm still shocked and flabbergasted that the rules changes have been put back to 2022. it's just giving Merc another title on a silver platter.

At this rate, l am beginning to think the rule change is also a bloody waste of time. They are messing about with all these short notice changes and are getting eggs in the face for it. If this is what the new regulation regime is going to look like, l think l shall pass on F1 from 2022. It is just a shamble.

From a spectator perspective, it did nothing to enhance my enjoyment. It only served to increase my doubt of the sanity of these crazy short notice rule changes. It is hard to understand why they introduced it? It seemed quite pointless and it turned out to be starkly pointless. What the F?

Well, l am glad Redbull got the shitty end of the stick on this one. Because it appears to be their idea to ban party mode.

[Nitrodaze]

It also turns out that the Renault engine is faster than the Honda engine afterall. Renault has stuck a finger up at Redbull as well it would seem. This is just one race, Redbull would be back at the next race l think.

[Bagwan]

At this rate, l am beginning to think the rule change is also a bloody waste of time. They are messing about with all these short notice changes and are getting eggs in the face for it. If this is what the new regulation regime is going to look like, l think l shall pass on F1 from 2022. It is just a shamble.

From a spectator perspective, it did nothing to enhance my enjoyment. It only served to increase my doubt of the sanity of these crazy short notice rule changes. It is hard to understand why they introduced it? It seemed quite pointless and it turned out to be starkly pointless. What the F?

Well, l am glad Redbull got the shitty end of the stick on this one. Because it appears to be their idea to ban party mode.

First of all , we don't know yet if the engine modes Merc is using will result in less longevity for them .
Or , if the Honda in the back of the Bulls is slow , or if it is just that the high rake concept is just that much slower on the speed focused tracks like this one .

I don't like messing with the rules mid-season either , but at least give it a little time to see if it really has any effect that could be seen as positive .
I know , far fetched , but it could happen .

[Nitrodaze]

First of all , we don't know yet if the engine modes Merc is using will result in less longevity for them .
Or , if the Honda in the back of the Bulls is slow , or if it is just that the high rake concept is just that much slower on the speed focused tracks like this one .

I don't like messing with the rules mid-season either , but at least give it a little time to see if it really has any effect that could be seen as positive .
I know , far fetched , but it could happen .

Yeah yeah Baggie.

The rake on the redbull is no excuse. The Mclaren ahead of them has a rake as well. This track is all about power and they haven't got enough. As far as the rules go, it is dead in the water. It would not have a different effect anywhere else. As you don't need party mode much on twisty circuits with slow corners.

[zako85]

The fastest Mercedes still qualifies almost a full second ahead of the next non-Mercedes. That's all we needed to know about the "evil" party mode.

[truefan72]

The Mclaren comeback is complete! This is special ...so far

[truefan72]

Stupid Magnussen causing issues. I’m interested to know when that pit lane was closed.

[Tazio]

Wow!! McLerc! :eek:

[Tazio]

Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, :dork: Gonna really hurt "The Boss"? :angel::wave:

[Tazio]

Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, Red flag, :dork: Gonna really hurt "The Boss"? :angel::wave:
10 second stop go, 10 second stop go! :dork:

[truefan72]

This is a joke. Hamilton was already in the pit entrance when the red flag came on. Besides it makes no sense to close the pit entrance in the first place. The whole situation is shambolic. Almost as if it was designed to nerf Hamilton. Its ridiculous

[Tazio]

This is a joke. Hamilton was already in the pit entrance when the red flag came on. Besides it makes no sense to close the pit entrance in the first place. The whole situation is shambolic. Almost as if it was designed to nerf Hamilton. Its ridiculous
Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry! I don't think so! ;)

[Tazio]

His team screwed him, and he didn't notice the red! Both of them were at fault!

[Tazio]

Standing start, standing start!:roll:

[Tazio]

The Boss knows he screwed up!

[truefan72]

Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry! I don't think so! ;)
Yeah. But the entire thing is still a joke. That car could have been pushed behind the barrier. Smh

[truefan72]

Another stupid decision by the F1 strategists. Why not leave him out for another lap and gain more time?

[truefan72]

Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry! I don't think so! ;)
Yeah. But the entire thing is still a joke. That car could have been pushed behind the barrier. Smh

[truefan72]

Awesome win for Gasly. Well deserved. For those who doubted his Ability. This is vindication on the highest order. And yeah awesome for Alpha Tauri. A new #1 Italian team. Shame there is no massive crowd to cheer him on. Sainz and Mclaren a great p2 and p4 with Norris. They are truly back. Also a great p3 for stroll and Racing point. Hamilton was on full damage control with a p7 and fastest lap. Proud of his fight back.

[truefan72]

On the flip side. Another day to forget for Ferrari. Binnotto is toast. Bottas blew it today. Messed up his start and couldn’t pass Norris. Clearly showed why he is a #2 driver. He could have closed the championship right up. But he had nothing.

[N4D13]

Bloody hell, I feel that Sainz got mugged. The fun thing is that had it not been for the pitlane being closed, then he'd (most likely) have finished P2 either way, just behind Hamilton this time. But it feels really unfair that Gasly and Stroll got ahead of Norris, Ricciardo, Ocon and so on.

Also, what the fuck, Valtteri Bottas.

[truefan72]

His team screwed him, and he didn't notice the red! Both of them were at fault!

indeed. And he took responsibility for it in his post race interview. A tough day in the office.
But damage control nonetheless. Verstappen and Bottas had nothing today. And I'm sure Verstappen is a bit miffed not even scoring any points.
I'm glad RBR didn't score anything today as it pegs Horner down a notch with their stupid complaints and architects of the party mode bans.
He continues to be the biggest d!ck in F1 and has only ended up hurting his team as Verstappen relied on it to drag that car high up the order in qualy, which then helped his race.
Plus he had the audacity to claim that Mercedes are favoring Hamilton to the detriment of Bottas, when his team goes out of its way to do that with Albon. SMH

[truefan72]

Bloody hell, I feel that Sainz got mugged. The fun thing is that had it not been for the pitlane being closed, then he'd (most likely) have finished P2 either way, just behind Hamilton this time. But it feels really unfair that Gasly and Stroll got ahead of Norris, Ricciardo, Ocon and so on.

Also, what the fuck, Valtteri Bottas.

timing is everything. Adjusted it should have been Sainz, Norris Ricciardo
Gasly and Stroll got super lucky with the timing of it all.
Sainz really wanted that win. But he should be please with p2.
Mclaren is really on the rise and his move to Ferrari looks awful right now.
although i must say that Ricciardo might be having some doubts about leaving a resurgent Renault team too,
alonso licking his chops. lol

[Bagwan]

So , speaking of engine modes , Merc didn't have the fast car like they've had before this race .
It kinda looked to me that they've turned the baseline up a little and created an overheating issue , to add to the fact the car doesn't like to follow others .
That seems like a positive result .

And , though the Bulls had a difficult time , Honda still won the race .


That race was fun to watch .

[Tazio]

Congrat's Ghastly!! :eek: :p:

[The Black Knight]

So , speaking of engine modes , Merc didn't have the fast car like they've had before this race .
It kinda looked to me that they've turned the baseline up a little and created an overheating issue , to add to the fact the car doesn't like to follow others .
That seems like a positive result .

And , though the Bulls had a difficult time , Honda still won the race .


That race was fun to watch .

It’s not a positive result Baggy. Firstly it was Botttas mess at the start that caused the race to unfold the way it did and the mess at Hamilton’s pitstop. Otherwise would have been a 1-2 for Mercedes comfortably.

Although it’s the same for everyone the rule difference has had little impact on Mercedes overall dominance and pace.

I am overwhelmingly happy for Pierre. I didn’t mind whether it was him or Sainz that won but given the appalling way RBR treated him last year he deserves this win. It must hurt some bit for RBR after they demoting him that he now wins before Albon 🤷*♂️

[N. Jones]

Yeah. But the entire thing is still a joke. That car could have been pushed behind the barrier. Smh

I don't think, from what I saw, that the car would fit behind the barrier. I think that is why they pushed it to the pitlane.

[Bagwan]

We'll see , Mr. Knight (I was going to call you "Blacky", but didn't want to appear racist) (Hee hee).

Merc didn't look as comfortable as they've been recently , and the overheating issue was very evident for both drivers , with Bottas in particular running out of the draft quite often .

The car seems to still have more difficulty in dirty air than the others , and without the highest engine modes available , will struggle against it's closest rivals .
And , that won't help them in the fight to keep the tires on them , a problem they deal with every time out .

Don't get me wrong . I do think they're still pretty strong , but just not as comfortable as they were .
They might actually need their rear view mirrors now and then .

[F1nKS]

It’s not a positive result Baggy. Firstly it was Botttas mess at the start that caused the race to unfold the way it did and the mess at Hamilton’s pitstop. Otherwise would have been a 1-2 for Mercedes comfortably.

Although it’s the same for everyone the rule difference has had little impact on Mercedes overall dominance and pace.

I am overwhelmingly happy for Pierre. I didn’t mind whether it was him or Sainz that won but given the appalling way RBR treated him last year he deserves this win. It must hurt some bit for RBR after they demoting him that he now wins before Albon ��*♂️

What was so appalling about how Pierre was treated? He struggled in qualifying. He struggle in overtaking and finally he seemed to struggle with the pressure. He seems to found his niche as a good midfield racer with no high expectations. That is not a bad thing.

Personally I still prefer Albon than Pierre at RBR. I think Albon has a higher ceiling and if he had any luck he would have to podiums already.

[Nitrodaze]

Felicitation to Gasly. He is getting better and better. The Alpha Tauri environment seem to help him reach his best qualities. The last time someone won in the Redbull junior team car, he went on to be a four time world chanmpion. I think Redbull is sitting on a driver world champion in Gasly. I wonder what they are going to do with him now.

One thing is clear, the pressure on Albon has just doubled this weekend. What a great drive from Sainz for Mclaren! Stroll also made his mark on this weekend for Canada. Great job from these chaps for seizing this rare moment.

[Storm]

A new winner and Mercs nowhere to be seen.
Let us be honest LH was very unlucky here although his team is stupid to not see the messages and the pit lane closure seemed over cautious.

We will be back to regular scheduled broadcast this weekend.

[truefan72]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GsW0c55e0

wow this got me emotional

[N4D13]

A new winner and Mercs nowhere to be seen.
Let us be honest LH was very unlucky here although his team is stupid to not see the messages and the pit lane closure seemed over cautious.

We will be back to regular scheduled broadcast this weekend.
You could argue that having a red flag whenever a crane is on the track is overcautious, but that's how Bianchi was killed. That's kind of the point of safety, that you need to be overcautious so that you don't get hit by serendipity, because when you do, someone dies.

It's also not unreasonable to see that if marshalls are going to need to push a car towards the pitlane, then the pitlane needs to be closed for them to push the car in.

[Nitrodaze]

Having watched the race again, l don't understand for the life of me why the hell the marshalls did not simply push Magnussen's car into the gap which the car is next to when it stopped. Why did they think it made sense to push it a long way to the pits. A truly poor example of marshalling by any standard.


The pit entry lights are also on the part of the track where the driver is not looking as they turn round the corner. It certainly looks like a poor location to place the pit entry lights. One would expect the lights to be at the pits entry or at least on the right side of the track where the driver is looking as they turn through the corner.

The race operation by the race control and the marshalls was very poor at this race.

Even so, it did spice up the race. And a very deserving win for Gasly though. It is great to see another team win a race other than the Mercedes.

[Nitrodaze]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GsW0c55e0

wow this got me emotional

Oh yea, that was very tearful for the presenter as he marked the historic moment that Pierre Gasly joins the list of Frenchmen to have won a F1 race. He now joins the illustrious company of Prost, Panis, Alesi etc.
What an edge of seat finish to a wonderful race; without the Mercedes in the mix. Probably a taste of 2022 onwards.

This race shows Redbull has a great driver in Gasly and they are also very close to losing him as they did Sainz. I think, Gasly is now hot property at the moment. While Ferrari is not on the cards, l am sure Mercedes would have reason to rethink abit. It is a no brainer for Redbull to put him back in the Redbull. But a Mercedes interest may frustrate that.

What a drive against a fast Mclaren in pursuit! Bravo Gasly tres super!

[Nitrodaze]

Bottas was so crap at this race, it was embarrasing.

[Nitrodaze]

A new winner and Mercs nowhere to be seen.
Let us be honest LH was very unlucky here although his team is stupid to not see the messages and the pit lane closure seemed over cautious.

We will be back to regular scheduled broadcast this weekend.

I agree. Mercedes pitwall were distracted again and paid the price. That said, Bottas was unaffected and failed to capitalize on this rare occassion. This was a race that exposed Bottas's weak area. It simply shows Mercedes can do better with another driver in that seat. And Gasly has suddenly put his name up for consideration.

Hamilton and Gasly pairing would be electrifying l think. As Mercedes would be a better environment for the Frenchman than the doomed number two Redbull car, l think.

[Nitrodaze]

On the flip side. Another day to forget for Ferrari. Binnotto is toast. Bottas blew it today. Messed up his start and couldn’t pass Norris. Clearly showed why he is a #2 driver. He could have closed the championship right up. But he had nothing.

With Hamilton showing the Mercedes can overtake in this race, there is no doubt Bottas was very average in this race. He simply showed that Gasly or Norris would do better than him in that very fast car. I think he has passed his use by date.

[Nitrodaze]

Bloody hell, I feel that Sainz got mugged. The fun thing is that had it not been for the pitlane being closed, then he'd (most likely) have finished P2 either way, just behind Hamilton this time. But it feels really unfair that Gasly and Stroll got ahead of Norris, Ricciardo, Ocon and so on.

Also, what the fuck, Valtteri Bottas.

Mclaren now have to realize they are good enough to win races if the top teams mess up. They have to get better at strategy as that cost them this race.

[N4D13]

Mclaren now have to realize they are now that they are good enough to win races if the top teams mess up. They have to get better at strategy as that cost them this race.
The thing that cost them the race was first the pit lane closure under the SC, which doesn't ever happen, but allowed Gasly to leapfrog everyone, and then and most importantly, the red flag, which hadn't been seen in a F1 race for a couple of years.

Can you name a thing they could have done differently in the race and which would have been a sensible thing under the circumstances? They way I see it, without the pitlane closure, they'd have been in place to finish second and third/fourth behind Hamilton, which is definitely a great result for them. The pitlane closure and the red flag are pretty much unforeseable.

[Nitrodaze]

The thing that cost them the race was first the pit lane closure under the SC, which doesn't ever happen, but allowed Gasly to leapfrog everyone, and then and most importantly, the red flag, which hadn't been seen in a F1 race for a couple of years.

Can you name a thing they could have done differently in the race and which would have been a sensible thing under the circumstances? They way I see it, without the pitlane closure, they'd have been in place to finish second and third/fourth behind Hamilton, which is definitely a great result for them. The pitlane closure and the red flag are pretty much unforeseable.

Sainz's stop put him in the thick of the race which cost him time to get back to the front, l thought. The time it took him to get back behind Gasly is what cost him the race regardless of the pit closure or red flag. A bit of clever thinking could have made a world of difference. But that is easy to say from my armchair, it is a different proposition sitting at the pitwall of course.

[Storm]

You could argue that having a red flag whenever a crane is on the track is overcautious, but that's how Bianchi was killed. That's kind of the point of safety, that you need to be overcautious so that you don't get hit by serendipity, because when you do, someone dies.

It's also not unreasonable to see that if marshalls are going to need to push a car towards the pitlane, then the pitlane needs to be closed for them to push the car in.

I am aware of the safety and need to be overcautious. This parked car was on the inside of the corner/near the pitlane entry and not a place where cars can go off easily. On the outside of the corner and in bad conditions? That was Bianchi. Leaving that car pushed backwards to the gap in the barrier there might have worked perhaps, not that I am complaining too much about LH being unlucky - he seems to have even better luck if you want to call it that with reliability/incidents/safety cars than MS ever had.

[Storm]

With Hamilton showing the Mercedes can overtake in this race, there is no doubt Bottas was very average in this race. He simply showed that Gasly or Norris would do better than him in that very fast car. I think he has passed his use by date.

He shows that he is not very good in pretty much every race (compare to Hamilton), unless he gets a pole on a rare occasion and stays ahead of the pack.
We want the best possible drivers in the top cars but 2/3 seats in the top 3 cars are being wasted like this.