German Car Forum

Alonso looking to avenge Monza mare

Fernando Alonso is looking to avenge the memories of last year's Monza mare and carve a chunk out of Lewis Hamilton's championship lead at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old Spaniard endured an ordeal in 2006, being punished five grid places after being judged to have blocked Felipe Massas's Ferrari in qualifying, leading to his having his Renault team accuse the FIA of Ferrari bias.
He then retired from the race with a blown engine - a legacy of overheating due to being held up behind slower cars he felt he should have started ahead of in the first place.
But the double world champion is determined to get his own back on his opponents by winning.
"Last year did not give me any good memories, but it is a track that I would really like to win at so hopefully we can make that happen in 2007," said Alonso.
"The track is very famous for the Parabolica corner, alongside all the straights. It is flat out, and you really have to be on the edge and push the car hard, which is a real feeling of risk because of the light handling of the car.
"To get a quick lap time here, you have to be strong through Parabolica as it takes you back onto the longest straight of them all over the start / finish line."
Alonso is five points adrift of his British McLaren team-mate Hamilton with five races to go.
Ferrari duo Massa and Raikkonen are looming, both within 16 points of the lead.
But after dominating the four days of testing at the circuit last week, Alonso is optimistic that it will be just the McLaren drivers who are in front this weekend.
"With this small amount of downforce, you then have to adapt areas such as braking stability and mechanical balance to get good grip in the corners, because the lack of downforce means the car has very little," he added.
"We spent time testing these on the track this week, and we had some good feedback so I feel positive going into the race. It is a challenge, but it is a special circuit and it is a great feeling to race here.
Italian GP - Alonso looking to avenge Monza mare - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

can't wait for the race. i think, Kimster will take this one tho.

nope , hamilton will , watch and see

wanna bet?

Ferrari set to struggle at Monza


Monza seems to suit the characteristics of the MP4-22

Advantage McLaren next time out in Italy

Based on the outcome of the four-day test at Monza last week, McLaren Mercedes look set to dominate the Italian Grand Prix this week on Ferrari's home soil.

The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reports that the Maranello based team was surprised that McLaren fielded clearly the quickest car on the high speed layout.

Ferrari reportedly rolled out a new aerodynamic package and a special new Shell oil at the circuit designed to boost horse power, but on all four days the revised F2007 failed to match the superior pace of its silver-coloured rival.

"Ron Dennis mentioned in passing in Istanbul that he was really looking forward to Monza. Now it is clear why!" observed former F1 driver Christian Danner.

At some points between Tuesday and Friday last week, even F1's third force BMW-Sauber seemed to be matching or beating Ferrari for pace.

Triple world champion Niki Lauda, meanwhile, reckons there is no possibility that Ferrari was sandbagging during the Monza test.

"No, I think everything can be taken as read," said the Austrian legend. "Ferrari were not playing around on full fuel tanks or anything."

Source: Formula 1 : News Monza - F1-Live.com

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Hamilton wins, BMW in top 5. Thank you!

Ferrari could be sandbagging. testing times means nothing. Mac could be running on a light fuel load.

Heidfeld fancies victory chances

Nick Heidfeld believes BMW Sauber could claim a shock victory in the Italian Grand Prix.
The 30-year-old and his young team-mate Robert Kubica have never climbed to the top step of the podium and neither has their Hinwil based team chiefs.
But with Monza renowned as a specialist circuit for BMW, and off the back of the team's reinforcement of their position this year as the third force in F1, Heidfeld confirmed that the outfit is particularly looking forward to the high-speed curves and long straights of the Autodromo Nazionale.
He told Sport Bild that the four-day Monza test for the team "went very well" last week, "although I have to admit that I thought we might have looked even better."
Heidfeld said: "We don't know how much fuel Ferrari and McLaren were using, and my feeling is that McLaren are still a bit in front of us.
"But with Ferrari, I think we are on their level. Whatever the case, we are not far away - and with a bit of luck, anything can happen," he added.
The German said it is not a surprise that BMW enters the race as a dark horse.
"For me it was clear that we would be looking good for Monza. The circuit is similar to Canada, where I was second," Heidfeld commented.
He also has a secret weapon for his potential battles with McLaren and Ferrari drivers this weekend - the fact that he has nothing to lose.
"In a tight spot, those who fight for the titles will be backing off," Heidfeld agreed.
Heidfeld fancies victory chances - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

Ferrari 1-2: Massa-Raikkonen

nice, but i think it'll Kimbo-Massa

BMW can win, provided Mclaren and Ferrari have a dismissal race. pace wise, they're no where both.

Practice is always practice. McLaren's advantage won't be as big this weekend. In fact, I have no clue of who will have the advantage.
Seems to become a good race, overtaking is also possible here.

very true.

how u doin bro. been a while since i last spoke to you

Brazilian Felipe Massa says Ferrari are a lot stronger than it looked during testing at the Monza circuit last week.

The four-day test ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix was dominated by rivals McLaren, with their drivers topping the times in all sessions.
However, Massa reckons Ferrari are in much better shape than it seemed following their dominant one-two at the Turkish Grand Prix.
"We are a lot stronger than it looks, that's for sure. We can fight with McLaren, we'll see if we'll be able to be quicker than them," the Brazilian told Autosprint.

"I think it'll be a two-way fight, as it's been so far. Maybe in the race some others managed to get in the fight, but not in qualifying.
"We've almost always had the same amount of fuel and the difference in laptimes were insignificant.

"In testing I've often lacked the conditions to run at my best, but we set out best laptimes at the beginning of the runs, with a lot of fuel, while they set theirs at the end of the runs."

Massa confirmed Ferrari will keep on pushing with the development of their F2007 car for the last three races of the year, and the Italian squad will introduce several new components in order to try and beat McLaren.
"Yes, that's correct," Massa added.

Massa is 15 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton with five races to go.


Forza Ferrari!!

Unfortunately, the attention will be focused on the matters away from the track. Mclaren looked too strong at the test and Ferrari at times weren't much faster than BMW.

Anyway, if Ferrari loses this race, even their biggest optimists will say it's over.

not just this race, but any of the remainder races. one disaster, and it's all over. however, the Tifosi's passion will give them an extra 10 bhp

That 10 bhp will probably cause their engine to go kaboom! Ferrari reliability hasn't been anything to write home about this year.

true, but i don't think it has anythng to do with the engines so far this year.

Friday Practice:


Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.386 30
2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.209 0.823 33
3 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:23.584 1.198 38
4 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:23.599 1.213 44
5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:23.679 1.293 33
6 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:23.722 1.336 27
7 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:23.821 1.435 38
8 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:23.833 1.447 12
9 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:23.848 1.462 32
10 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:23.881 1.495 32
11 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:23.919 1.533 39
12 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:23.922 1.536 29
13 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:24.137 1.751 36
14 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:24.328 1.942 31
15 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:24.462 2.076 40
16 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:24.605 2.219 31
17 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:25.328 2.942 27
18 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:25.459 3.073 36
19 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.531 3.145 24
20 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:25.567 3.181 26
21 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.863 3.477 40
22 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:26.021 3.635 6

Practice #3

1 L Hamilton (GBR) McLaren 1:27.325
2 F Massa (BRA) Ferrari 1:27.366
3 K Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari 1:27.506
4 F Alonso (ESP) McLaren 1:27.743
5 N Rosberg (DEU) Williams 1:28.056
6 N Heidfeld (DEU) BMW Sauber 1:28.184
7 R Kubica (POL) BMW Sauber 1:28.224
8 G Fisichella (ITA) Renault 1:28.261
9 M Webber (AUS) Red Bull 1:28.337
10 H Kovalainen (FIN) Renault 1:28.364
11 A Wurz (AUT) Williams 1:28.413
12 D Coulthard (GBR) Red Bull 1:28.448
13 R Schumacher (DEU) Toyota 1:28.481
14 J Trulli (ITA) Toyota 1:28.520
15 J Button (GBR) Honda 1:28.548
16 R Barrichello (BRA) Honda 1:28.715
17 A Davidson (GBR) Super Aguri 1:28.755
18 V Liuzzi (ITA) Toro Rosso 1:28.937
19 S Vettel (DEU) Toro Rosso 1:29.408
20 T Sato (JPN) Super Aguri 1:29.436
21 A Sutil (DEU) Spyker 1:30.044
22 S Yamamoto (JPN) Spyker 1:30.712

Hamilton seem to be quite short? Probably as a result of all the g forces from driving carts and high speed cars since he was an infant.

Have faith my dear friend.

'Hey ya'll..i received an email from Pedro, containing Ferrari secrets, it's the best email i've ever got..'

Kimbo had a hydraulic issue today. hopefully it'll be smooth for the rest of the weekend.

I'm trying to, chonkoa. My expectations for this weekend are similar to those I had for Hungary. If Ferrari is not competitive, I'd prefer them to score one or two points only and watch TOUI win. That way the team can stop talking about fighting for the world championship on the track. I still think Ferrari's on-track season has been lost.

In light of the 'new' evidence around the spy row, I think Ferrari should aggressively go after the cheaters. Another lousy race, this one in front of the Tifosi, should give them the motivation to play hardball at the Sept. 13 hearing because it would be damn near impossible for them to do anything in the remaining four races.

someone from another forum told me that Ferrari should take it easy this weekend.

it seem both the WDC and WCC will be handed over to Ferrari in a silver platter next Thursday..