Monza Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Magnussen has passed medical checks, but will require one final assessment on Thursday prior to racing in the Italian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old Dane lost control on lap six of the Belgian Grand Prix at Eau Rouge before suffering heavy impact into the barrier at Raidillon. The Renault driver sustained a heavily bruised left ankle, which have forced him to undergo a series of checks to indicate that he is fit to race at Monza this weekend. Doctors from the FIA will make the finalRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, the beloved home of the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006 has stated it is ready to return to Formula One. Since losing Italy’s second round of the championship a decade ago, the track has undergone massive renovations and is one of the few FIA Grade 1 circuits not currently on the schedule, which is odd when one considers that the raison d’etre of grade 1 circuit is to host Formula One. With the fraughtRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief In a report from GPUpdate.net, Monza officials have restated their belief that the Italian circuit will strike a new deal with Formula One Management as they strive to remain on the calendar beyond the 2016 season.  Negotiations have been going on for several months, with reports surfacing out of the Italian media that a deal had not been reached and that Formula 1 would likely move to Imola or Mugello in 2017. Monza dismissed the surfacing reports and insists that they are focused on finalizing aRead More

Red Bull Racing will end its longtime relationship with engine supplier Renault, at the end of the season, according to AUTOSPORT. Since the introduction of the V6 turbo era in Formula 1, Renault has had an array of performance and reliability issues that has led to a tumultuous relationship with the Milton Keynes-based squad. Red Bull’s contract with the French manufacturer was set to expire at the end of the 2016 season, with long-standing rumors that the team could break the contract without penalty due to performance issues. Both DanielRead More

Nico Rosberg mourned the death of his engine which failed with just two laps remaining in the Italian Grand Prix while pursuing Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for second. Mercedes spent all of its remaining engine tokens heading into Monza, but for Rosberg it mattered little as the German had to fall back on the old spec engine following issues with the new power unit prior to qualifying on Saturday. The engine Rosberg was forced to run with had been used in six full race weekends. “To have it explode two lapsRead More

Sebastian Vettel has called on F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to keep Monza on the series calendar amid rumors that the longtime home of the Italian Grand Prix could be dropped in 2016. The German finished second behind Lewis Hamilton at Monza, leading the charge for Scuderia Ferrari while teammate Kimi Raikkonen grabbed fifth. The uncertainty for over the future for one of F1’s most historic and prestigious venues as the host of the Italian Grand Prix has also put other tracks, such as Imola, back into consideration. Matteo Renzi, theRead More

Speaking privately before today’s Italian Grand Prix, Hollywood legend George Lucas asked Lewis Hamilton why he didn’t go out and win a race by 20 seconds, today Lewis Hamilton did. In doing so, the performance of the year was shaded by controversy. Hamilton who had pulled away from Sebastian Vettel in second, had a 20 second lead going into lap 48 of 53 at Monza when he received a mysterious radio transmission instructing him to pick up the pace and not ask questions. Hamilton duly noted the instructions and uppedRead More

The Italian Grand Prix is special. A look in the team garages to see the likes of FCA boss Sergio Marchionne and Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsch reveals just how much the Italian round of the championship means to to teams. Just one look at the scarlet coated grandstands shows how much it means to the fans, the tifosi. Just one look at the drivers shows how much it means to them, their commitment, their passion. Qualifying at Monza is all about speed and today we were treated to a spectacularRead More

Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace for Mercedes at Monza but whereas the championship leader eclipsed team-mate Nico Rosberg by just shy of half a second in the morning session, in the afternoon Rosberg closed the gap to just two hundredths of a second. Sebastian Vettel was third and after being over 1.5s off the pace in the morning he too closed the gap to Hamilton in the afternoon, ending the session seven tenths adrift of the Briton after the teams’ runs on the option soft tyre. The sessionRead More

Mercedes were in a league of their own in the first practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, with F1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton heading team-mate Nico Rosberg in a one-two for the German marque, with Hamilton finishing over 1.5s ahead of nearest non-Mercedes rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. The opening practice session of the weekend at Monza began quietly and there were 13 minutes on the clock before Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen set the first timed lap of the day. His team-mate Carlos Sainz was swiftly back toRead More