2021 Formula One Italian Grand Prix

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For the third weekend in a row, Formula One is back in action. This time the field takes on the Monza circuit for the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Amidst one of the closest championship battles in in memory, Formula One’s field of 20 cars is taking on the legendary Temple of Speed this weekend. The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is host to the 2021 Grand Prix and will test the teams’ abilities to field a car that prioritizes straight line speed.

The tight battle for the lead in the drivers' standings has now carried past the midway point of the season. Lewis Hamilton held a small advantage going into the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort a week ago, but that advantage has now flipped back to Max Verstappen after his exciting home win.

In the constructor’s championship, Mercedes has gained a 12-point lead after a double podium finish at Zandvoort. Like the drivers’ standings, this is another hotly contested battle that could easily be reversed if Red Bull has a strong result at Monza.

Much of the excitement away from the track has centred around the confirmation of George Russell joining the Mercedes team next season alongside Lewis Hamilton. Russell has impressed many in the F1 world with his performance in the lower-tier Williams car. He will be replacing Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, who was confirmed to be moving to Alfa Romeo next season.

And speaking of Alfa Romeo, Kimi Räikkönen’s final season in Formula One has been cut short due to a positive Covid-19 test and associated protocol, and he’ll be replaced this weekend by Robert Kubica, who also stood in for the 2007 drivers’ champion last weekend as well.

Lando Norris’ amazing season has somewhat slowed over the past two weeks. The “technically a race” at Spa two weeks ago saw him finish outside of the points, and then a 10th place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix have dropped him from 3rd to 4th in the championship. His 114 points this season account for two-thirds of the McLaren team points, so the unfortunate results recently have allowed Ferrari to open a gap of 11.5 points in the constructors’ championship after having been tied recently. Excitement from the crowd will be high at Monza for the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to maintain or expand this gap to McLaren.

So, the fight between Verstappen and Hamilton continues for another week, as does the battle between their respective teams. This looks to be another exciting week in the middle of an outstanding year of F1 action. Give us your thoughts below in the comments on who you think will emerge victorious at Monza.
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

BillyBobSenna
Premium
I'm already looking forward to the Netflix Drive to Survive. I wonder if they will need to add more episodes for this season. They already have a seasons worth of episodes and there are a bunch more races.
 
B
zwiss said:
I am happy Max had a great win at Zandvoort.
And I like him to become world champion.
This doesn't mean Max is ALWAYS right.
I know you don't understand this.

Barcelona:
Max dives aggressively into the 1st corner.
Lewis backs out and avoids an accident.
Everybody happy.

Imola:
Max attacks and defends aggressively in the 1st corner.
Lewis has to ride the curbs, and complains.
Max goes on and wins. Everybody happy.

Silverstone:
Max defends extremely hard and takes lots of risk.
Lewis doesn't back out and drifts to the left and hits Max.
Racing incident which could have been avoided by Lewis.
Stewarts: penalty for Lewis.
muzikant: Lewis tried to kill Max, punishment not severe enough.

Monza:
Lewis defends very hard and takes the risk of having a crash.
Max doesn't back out and has nowhere to go.
Racing incident which could have been avoided by Max.
Stewarts: penalty for Max.
muzikant: Lewis is a very bad boy, and I have no respect for him.

Can't you just ENJOY that we have TWO fantastic F1 drivers fighting a hard duel, and they BOTH deserve respect?
I guess a Dutch F1 fan (?) that can't even spell 'Zandvoort' must be something special.
Click to expand...
Some people think they always have to take sides! It's a travesty when we can't enjoy all of this. I'm watching the 1987 season archives and having watched the Senna documentary first, you would have thought there were only two relevant drivers in the entire sport. Mansell, Piquet, yes Prost and Senna, Berger, Johansson. Some GREAT drivers all the way through, but some people can't understand things that aren't dichotomies/polarities/black and white.
 
Last edited:
D
After a few years it's clear that all those psychopaths whining against ugly halo ruining the sport are proven to be wrong over and over again. Halo has proven itself as a life-saver and a sport-saver and is one of the best safety devices ever in open wheel racing.

Todays F1 cars are much safer than those 5 years ago let alone those in the 80's and 90's thanks to aforementioned halo among other safety improvements. I guess drivers are aware of it so maybe that's why we're seeing many risky manoeuvres nowadays compared to before. In past times I guess it was not only about gentlemen sportmanship but also about not endangering yourself and others because even the most innocent contact could have end up fatal back then as we've seen on this example.

That said I don't know how Verstappen imagined going through this corner in that manner. Notice the steering lock and position of the cars.
ver_ham.jpg


Even before FIA's meticulous explanation any driver knows there is no going through it without incident unless the car ahead falls for brute force bullying from behind and steps aside which was not the case here. And rightly so.

I would like for someone else than Hamilton to win the championship just for the sake of change but this penalty is deserved.
 
Terry Rock
Richard Wilks said:
Altough i think both were to blame, i don't see what Max should "get". He was behind Hamilton, and had he not have gone for the move, he would have no other chance of doing it, and losing points was an assured conclusion of it. So he , unlike Hamilton, had absolutely nothing to lose in that situation, since his car was not that fast in a straight line to begin with.
So Max's choice was simple, i either back out and lose points, or try to go for the move and maybe have a chance to actually gain points.

And now i can apply the exact same reasoning to Hamilton's actions. With the caveat that according to all the pundits who bought into the "matured and wise multi champion Hamilton" he shouldn«t be doing these sorts of moves anymore. Except he did, even if with his speed, he could have probably gotten by Verstappen later, maybe even braking to the next chicane. But he is now under pressure like he hasn't been in years, and the red mist is coming back stronger than ever, but unlike Max, i suppose he is now too old to just "get it".
Click to expand...
How many points did he stand to lose yesterday even if he had finished immediately behind Lewis?
Would he still have been leading the WDC?
I think you know the answer to both those questions.
How many points did he score yesterday?
Do you know why Alain Prost was called 'Professor' and holds four WDC?
It is because he used his head to mitigate point loss at every opportunity.
Driving into a certain wedge and making your first statement "that's what happens when you don't leave space" is not thinking about the long game.
 
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Richard Wilks
Terry Rock said:
How many points did he stand to lose yesterday even if he had finished immediately behind Lewis?
Would he have still been leading the WDC?
I think you know the answer to both those questions.
How many points did he score yesterday?
Do you know why Alain Prost was called 'Professor' and holds four WDC?
It is because he used his head to mitigate point loss at every opportunity.
Driving into a certain wedge and making your first statement "that's what happens when you don't leave space" is not thinking about the long game.
Click to expand...
You do realize that he lost no points by crashing out With Hamilton don't you? In fact, you mention Prost, one can cynically say that Prost did the exact same thing at Suzuka 1989, with the only difference being in a time when it mattered more.
 
muzikant
Terry Rock said:
How many points did he stand to lose yesterday even if he had finished immediately behind Lewis?
Would he have still been leading the WDC?
I think you know the answer to both those questions.
How many points did he score yesterday?
Do you know why Alain Prost was called 'Professor' and holds four WDC?
It is because he used his head to mitigate point loss at every opportunity.
Driving into a certain wedge and making your first statement "that's what happens when you don't leave space" is not thinking about the long game.
Click to expand...
That's an interesting one
Prost the smartest certainly learned a lot from Niki in the 1984 season..but Jacky Stewart can also put you in it. Although I think Suzuka chicane 1990..? questionable

Mansell, Senna, G.Villeneuve and Max are racers with their heart and emotion.

They are all different, each with their own weapons. I enjoy this season better than all the boring Mercedes years
 
Richard Wilks
dajdosta said:
After a few years it's clear that all those psychopaths whining against ugly halo ruining the sport are proven to be wrong over and over again. Halo has proven itself as a life-saver and a sport-saver and is one of the best safety devices ever in open wheel racing.

Todays F1 cars are much safer than those 5 years ago let alone those in the 80's and 90's thanks to aforementioned halo among other safety improvements. I guess drivers are aware of it so maybe that's why we're seeing many risky manoeuvres nowadays compared to before. In past times I guess it was not only about gentlemen sportmanship but also about not endangering yourself and others because even the most innocent contact could have end up fatal back then as we've seen on this example.
Click to expand...
...Or maybe people are now trying to justify the Halo at every oportunity. Probably you and others never saw this one, and Brundle came out of the car imediatly and just fine, after being properly smacked in the head with a rear wheel, not just pated softly like Hamilton. I maintain what i said, the Halo is a half assed solution. Go full canopy or dont bother, because i want to see what people say when something goes through the halo and really strucks a driver.

 
muzikant
Ohh and Lewis is all ways lucky....
And Max is always the bad guy...
Problem solved :roflmao:
 
Terry Rock
Richard Wilks said:
You do realize that he lost no points by crashing out With Hamilton don't you? In fact, you mention Prost, one can cynically say that Prost did the exact same thing at Suzuka 1989, with the only difference being in a time when it mattered more.
Click to expand...
Not sure how you came to that conclusion that he lost no points yesterday.
Sure!... both he and Lewis left Monza with the same position in the championship standings BUT that is not all they play for....is it.
What about the millions of dollars per Constructor points lost yesterday?
This is a team sport.
Think the mechanics like flying all over the World to service a car, then watch it end like this with avoidable contact?
 
D
Richard Wilks said:
...Or maybe people are now trying to justify the Halo at every oportunity. Probably you and others never saw this one, and Brundle came out of the car imediatly and just fine, after being properly smacked in the head with a rear wheel, not just pated softly like Hamilton. I maintain what i said, the Halo is a half assed solution. Go full canopy or dont bother, because i want to see what people say when something goes through the halo and really strucks a driver.

Click to expand...
One incident is enough for Halo to be justified. And there were many incidents where Halo helped. Sure it's not 100% safe but nothing is and is better than not having it.
Full canopy is probably safer but saying that it's better without halo makes as much sense as saying it's better to go skiing naked than in light jacket if one doesn't have proper ski suit.
 
Richard Wilks
Terry Rock said:
Not sure how you came to that conclusion that he lost no points yesterday.
Sure!... both he and Lewis left Monza with the same position in the championship standings BUT that is not all they play for....is it.
What about the millions of dollars per Constructor points lost yesterday?
This is a team sport.
Think the mechanics like flying all over the World to service a car, then watch it end like this with avoidable contact?
Click to expand...
Do you really think that they are thinking about anything else than their points and their championship at this stage?...

If they crash and score no points from here until the end of the season, Max is champion, unless Bottas or someone else can overhaul the difference. Good luck with that. They know it's between them two. and any double non score only favors the driver ahead, which in this case is Max. So yes, Hamilton at that moment had more to lose, so maybe he should also start "learning" how to fight for a championship. It's never late they say.
 

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