F1 PREVIEW ITALIAN GP

TRACK GUIDE

NUMBER OF LAPS 53

CIRCUIT LENGTH

3.600m

LAP RECORD

1m21.046s

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (2004)

Lesmo 1

4th GEAR

CORNER SPEED

122mph

APPROACH SPEED

162mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

39m

BRAKING TIME

0.6s

BRAKING FORCE

3.6g

Lesmo 2

3rd GEAR

CORNER SPEED

102mph

APPROACH SPEED

162mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

59m

BRAKING TIME

1.0s

BRAKING FORCE

3.6g

Roggia

2nd GEAR

CORNER SPEED

68mph

APPROACH SPEED

199mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

125m

BRAKING TIME

2.3s

BRAKING FORCE

4.7g

Ascari

4th GEAR

CORNER SPEED

108mph

APPROACH SPEED

202mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

95m

BRAKING TIME

1.4s

BRAKING FORCE

4.9g

Rettifilo

2nd GEAR

CORNER SPEED

48mph

APPROACH SPEED

205mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

152m

BRAKING TIME

3.1s

BRAKING FORCE

5.0g

Parabolica

4th GEAR

CORNER SPEED

125mph

APPROACH SPEED

203mph

BRAKING DISTANCE

77m

BRAKING TIME

1.1s

BRAKING FORCE

4.9g

DATA PROVIDED BY

Monza: where top speed is king

T H O M P S O N /G E T T Y

&, H O N E / L AT

, T E E

: C OAT E S

P I C S

P18

→SUPERGRIDPLUSGARYANDERSON’SANDLUCASDIGRASSI’SINSIGHTS

TRACK TALK

SEBASTIAN VETTEL Monza is not particularly physically demanding, but because we drive with less rear wing than at other circuits, the car can be more unstable; accelerating out of Parabolica is a balancing act where you cannot make even the smallest mistake.

JENSON BUTTON It’s going to be the usual difficult trade-off between drag and downforce to find the ultimate package for the race. Last year I went for more grip, at the expense of straight-line speed. That meant that, although I had the laptime, I didn’t quite have the opportunity to mount an attack for the win.

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN One of the keys to a quick lap is how well you use the kerbs. It helps minimise the overall length of the lap, and shortcutting as much as you can, obviously within the rules and as much as the car can take, saves time and helps you maintain momentum.

BALLSY CORNER

PARABOLICA The Parabolica is one of the oldest corners on the calendar, scene of the build-up to some of the most dramatic slipstreaming finishes in F1 history. With a fast approach, drivers drop down to fourth gear at the apex and must use the full width at the track at the exit. Any unexploited potential in the long-right hander can make a big difference to exit speed, and therefore overall lap-time. A classic corner.

CLASSIC MOMENT

1995 Johnny Herbert took the spoils after Damon Hill took out Michael Schumacher. Ferrari led until Jean Alesi retired with a broken wheel bearing, shortly after his on-car camera had fallen off and broken team-mate Gerhard Berger’s suspension.

September 8 2011 autosport.com 17