King Hamilton tries to beat Verstappen in pursuit of 10th win in a row

A week before the more traditional date, the Italian Grand Prix returns to Monza. The temple of speed in Brianza is the oldest race track among those that host the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The first edition dates from 1922, when the park’s track was built in just three months, almost thirty years before the start of the “World Championship” at Silverstone in Britain in 1950. Trails with older and more prestigious traditions are still in operation. very little. The first 24 Hours of Le Mans on the straights of La Sarthe, which were normally open to traffic, were held a few months later (in the spring of 1923), and the Indianapolis 500, held on the oval, began as early as 1909. and boasts a scepter of “absolute seniority”. In short, we are talking about a motorsport legend near Villa Reale, in one of the most beautiful and exclusive green parks in Europe. It’s like running to the Colosseum.

The place is so special that, from some points of view, it cannot compete with the latest buildings built on almost abandoned plains or deserts. Monza, filled like an egg, can take almost 350,000 people in a weekend, while more modern tracks have a capacity of almost 500,000 people and were often fully booked in the last period. Now, important upgrade work is about to begin this winter, which, with an investment of more than one hundred million, will bring the system up to the more modern standards needed to renew the contract with the organizers of Liberty Media. The underpasses connecting the paddock with the outside will be redesigned and widened, as well as the roofs of some stands and the road surface will be redesigned.

Important documents in the hands of ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani. who will soon sit down at the table with Domenicali to renew the agreement and further extend the tradition. The task was made easier in part by the fact that no one knows the racetrack’s historical value better than the manager from Imola, who heads the American organization. But Stefano has already stated that “for some aspects of the global event, no exceptions are allowed.” The fact that Ferrari is not fighting for the championship laid down by Verstappen and, at least on paper, certainly not starting against the odds, has not dampened the enthusiasm of the “Red Troops” already on their way to the Park. Several tickets are still available to fill and hit the record last year: 336,647 tickets sold Friday through Sunday.

Only one automotive event in Italy managed to do more: but the stands of the Mille Miglia were over 1500 kilometers long and the entry to the roads crossing the peninsula was completely free. Brad Pitt could also be seen among the main characters, busy filming the best movie ever made about Formula 1. If after Silverstone the temple of high-speed scenes was absent, the film would lose its luster. Monza, with few turns and lots of straights, holds all speed records. The peak at the bottom of the pit street was achieved by Pablo Montoya in a Williams in 2005 with a score of 372.6.

Many years later, in 2020, Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes took the fastest pole in history at 264.362 km/h. The fastest Grand Prix in 73 years of F1 battles was the 2004 Monza when Michael Schumacher crossed the finish line with an average of 247.585. The king of the racecourse is a British baronet who on Sunday will try to knock down Max, last year’s winner, in pursuit of a tenth successive triumph (an absolute record). Lewis won 5 times (as did Schumi), but also took 7 poles and the same number of fastest laps in the race (for the Ferrari driver 3 and 2 respectively).

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