Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia 2013

In Maranello, no one has a more complete scrapbook than Piero Ferrari. The son of the Founder and currently the company Vice President is the conduit through which passes almost the entire history of the strongest brand in the world. It’s normal therefore that many pages of this album have links to Monza and the Italian Grand Prix.“The Monza round has always been special for us,” he recounts. “I well remember that my father was stringent about it and a few weeks before the race, he would send everyone in the Gestione Sportiva a note informing them that all leave was ‘suspended until after the Italian Grand Prix.’ He liked everything about Monza, especially the speed of the cars and the passion of the crowds. Everything had to be prepared down to the smallest detail and I believe that even today, each one of us experiences the same emotions when this Grand Prix approaches.“There are also tragic memories linked to Monza, some of which I experienced third hand, as I was still a baby, such as the death of Alberto Ascari, who was the victim of an accident during private testing on 26th May 1955: “My father never wanted to go into the details, but I could tell he was deeply affected by this tragedy. He already felt bad when Ascari left the team to move to Lancia and then came the accident, besides which, he was driving a Ferrari almost by accident, because it was the car that Castellotti should have been using in a Sports Car race the following week. There were no eye witness accounts of the accident and my father never knew what really happened.”

Even Piero Ferrari’s first actual visit to Monza was marked by a tragic event: “It was 1961 and I was in the main grandstand to watch the race. At the end, I was happy because Phil Hill had won and, because of that, he took the world title. Everyone around me was celebrating because we didn’t know what had happened at the start of the race at the Parabolica, when Von Trips flew off the track and into the crowd, resulting in his death and further carnage. You have to remember that at the time, there were no giant screens like we have today, so you never saw anything that went on at other points on the track. I left the grandstand happy with the race result, but that feeling vanished once on the road home, when I learned from the car radio what had happened.”

The Vice President has particularly fond memories of three wins, two of them scored by the same driver, Clay Regazzoni. “The first dates back to 1970, in the days when winning at Monza was all about slipstreaming: there were some very close fights all race long, so that on this occasion there were no less than six drivers who took turns in the lead. Clay gradually managed to shrug off all his rivals to win in the end, beating Stewart. The second, five years later, saw Clay win once again, this time from Fittipaldi and Lauda. It was the day that Niki took the World Championship title: it hadn’t happened for many years and it was fantastic to get it back actually at Monza, in front of the home crowd.”

The third victory just has to be the one in 1988, with a magnificent one-two for Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto, less than a month after the death of the Founder. “It was almost like a cosmic coincidence. We arrived better prepared than ever for this race, knowing it was our only chance to do well in a season dominated by McLaren: it was a case of all or nothing, we told ourselves before heading for Monza. We gave it our all and it went well, in fact very well. We had a little bit of luck, in circumstances that made one believe there was someone up there looking over the Park, or at least it’s nice to think that was the case!”

Of all those he knew, two drivers made their mark on Piero Ferrari and strangely enough, both of them won the world championship here at Monza. “One is Niki, an amazing driver, with whom I had and still have, a very warm relationship that has withstood the test of time. The other is Jody Scheckter, a man who always has his feet on the ground. When he won the title, he understood that Formula 1 was no longer the right place for him and, one year later, he retired and concentrated on his business interests: I’ve also maintained a good relationship with him.”

Monza, 5 September – An evening to help the less fortunate got the Monza weekend started last night, as the football stadium in the town hosted “Playing For Children,” a charity event which saw the Nazionale Piloti team take on the Sky Sport Team. Enjoying the event, prior to getting down to race in the 83rd running of the Italian Grand Prix, the twelfth round of this year’s Formula 1 World Championship was Scuderia Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Also present were test driver Pedro de la Rosa and from the world of the FIA WEC, AF Corse drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Andrea Bertolini. Alongside them was Jules Bianchi, a young talent from the Ferrari Driver Academy, currently racing for the Marussia F1 team. The match finished 4 – 3 in Sky’s favour. Before that game, there was another match between the Scuderia Ferrari Club and the Industrial association of Monza and Brianza, the latter taking the win with the only goal of the game. Proceeds of 51,000 Euros from the evening, will be added to those donated by phone up until tonight, to go to the “Comitato Maria Letizia Verga,” a body which since 1979 has supported research and treatment for infants suffering from leukaemia at the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza and the “Dynamo Camp Onlus,” a project aimed at helping babies and youngsters admitted to paediatric departments, day hospitals or treated at home.

The race at Monza has always been and will always be a special race – not just for Ferrari but for anyone who truly loves Formula 1. This track, more than any other, embodies its most important values: speed, daring, passion, courage and extreme technology. Naturally that is also the case for Luca di Montezemolo, whose sporting and personal history is linked by a thread – obviously a red one – to this Italian Grand Prix. “So many memories come into my mind when I think of Monza,” Ferrari’s President told www.ferrari.com. “There are beautiful ones but also very painful ones. For example I think of the impression made on me by the tragic incident in the 1961 race, when von Trips’ car flew into the crowd at Parabolica. That was an episode that had a major effect on me and immediately taught me how motor racing can be both fascinating and risky. It was also at Monza that I saw my first Grand Prix live in 1966: that day Lodovico Scarfiotto won at the wheel of a Ferrari and it was the last success by an Italian driver at his home race.”Monza has given Ferrari so much sporting joy and one of these moments ranks among the best in the relationship between Montezemolo and the Prancing Horse that dates back over 40 years. “Regazzoni’s victory and Lauda’s third place in 1975 brought great satisfaction and joy: it was my first world championship,” adds the President. “That result also brought us both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ titles, taking Ferrari back to the top after an 11-year wait. And who could forget the same Niki who, the following year, courageously got into the cockpit of his Ferrari when his wounds from the Nürburgring fire were still bleeding? He was fourth that afternoon, but definitely first in terms of suffering and will power.”Since Montezemolo took over the role of Ferrari President at the end of 1991 his life during the race weekends has changed compared to when he was the Scuderia’s Sporting Director. “Now I don’t often go to Grands Prix, especially the Sundays: it’s too hard, I prefer to watch on television alone at my house. But I try never to miss Saturday qualifying at Monza: I like to see my team at work up close and also to cast an eye over the opponents. I also like the contact with our fans. Monza is one of the races that will never be missing from the Formula 1 calendar. A track with four corners and three chicanes may seem old-fashioned to some but the same argument applies as at Monte Carlo: both are essential sides to our sport, one for the glamour that surrounds the race, the other for the emotion that only comes from raw speed.”

Monza has served up more joy than pain in the last 20 years: “It’s true, there have been some great moments. I think of 1996 when Michael Schumacher won the race giving the definitive signal that, from then on, we could rejoin the ranks of the big teams. I think of 2000, when Michael defeated his great rival Hakkinen and began that fantastic run of four straight victories that brought us back to the top of the world after 21 years of wait. I think of 2006 when Michael again took a wonderful win on the very day he announced his retirement from racing (the real one, because in my view after that a twin I do not recognise was racing…) I think of 2010, when Fernando Alonso overcame a very hard opponent in Button: then, too, the opponent was a McLaren and it seemed to signal the beginning of another fairytale like the one ten years earlier. But then we know how it ended up on that cursed evening in Abu Dhabi…”

The days that precede the Italian Grand Prix take place in a special atmosphere: “I always try to look into the eyes of my team to understand how things are really going,” says Montezemolo. “I spur them on up to the last moment to bring to the track even the tiniest last development that can give us the hundredths of a second that could make us improve. Then there’s the magnificent crowd at Monza that always welcomes us with great warmth. They say it makes no difference to race in front of your own fans but I don’t believe that’s the case: it’s the same for the team and the drivers – anyone working for us, including foreigners, becomes an adopted Italian when you wear red – and it’s the same for the cars. It sounds irrational, I admit, but I’m convinced that when they race at Monza even the suspension, the wings and the engine in a Ferrari give something extra, that little bit that can make the difference.”

The language of Formula 1, as spoken by drivers, team personnel and commentators, with words like “fight,” “stress,” “battle,” “struggle” and so on might lead you to think we are involved in a war, when in fact a Grand Prix is meant to be a fantastic show that brings enjoyment to participants and spectators alike. In a world where sport is big business, it is all too easy to lose sight of the sporting spectacle, but a weekend at Monza is the quickest way to reset one’s perspective. Not for nothing is the circuit which hosts the Italian Grand Prix known as the “Pista Magica,” (the Magic Track.) If your job involves wearing the badge of a black stallion on a yellow background, it’s even more of a unique weekend: just ask Felipe Massa. “Monza is part of the history of F1 which you can see from the sections of the old track that are still there. It’s a different Grand Prix to all the others, the fastest on the calendar, with the highest top speeds, as well as fantastic grandstands packed with fantastic fans. When you drive for Ferrari it’s even more special. I am Brazilian, but my family came from Italy so this is something of a home race, as I have an Italian passport and our family has something of an Italian lifestyle. This all adds up to a very special race for me. There’s a bit more motivation to do well here and, while Brazil is obviously my home race, Monza is much more like a second home event than the one in Monaco, even if I am based in the Principality.” In fact, a young Felipe started his professional racing career living and working in Italy, so the high speed track is very well known to him. “In 2010, I was on the podium here after finishing third, but my best memory at Monza is not actually from my time in Formula 1, because prior to that, in other categories, I won all my races at Monza, twice in Formula Renault, once in F3000 and victories are always your best memories.”
Even engineers, who are reckoned to have computers instead of brains and oil, not blood, coursing through their veins can get emotional about Monza, as testifies the Scuderia’s Head of Engines and Electronics, Luca Marmorini. “If you are an Italian engineer working in Formula 1 then Monza is one of the few tracks that is really special, that captures everything that is attractive about Formula 1,” he says. “If you are an engine specialist, you really hope to win here. I have so many memories from this circuit, but I don’t have to go too far back to pick a highlight. Two years ago when Fernando won with Felipe third and everyone was on the podium was truly an exceptional result.” There are also technical reasons that set Monza apart from the rest. “Monza, along with Spa, is a track where the engine plays a major role in the overall performance of the car,” explains Marmorini. “So each single horsepower has a greater influence on the lap time. It’s a very difficult track, because the drivers apply full throttle for almost the entire lap, around 80% of it. Therefore engine reliability is a critical factor.”
The technical challenge also appeals to Felipe. “It’s the circuit with the lowest aerodynamic downforce of the year and the one where you see the highest top speed,” says the Brazilian. “You need a very precise car and you can’t lose too much downforce, as you need that to deal with the slow corners. Therefore you need the car to be very well balanced. The engine counts for a lot here too and so I hope ours will give us a bit of an advantage here, compared to other tracks, where the difference between the various engines is smaller. Put all this together along with the strength of support from the Italian fans and I hope we can secure an excellent result.” Even if overtaking is on the cards thanks not only to the usual driver aids, but also to the high speed phenomenon of slipstreaming, a good grid position really helps here, in part to avoid the chaos that can affect the opening lap. Putting in that crucial single flying lap takes special skills at this circuit as Felipe explains. “There are very small time gaps between all the cars in Monza, so the key to a quick lap in qualifying is to put everything together. Braking counts for a lot, while you also need to get your lines just right and have good traction, because if you lose a little time at one corner, because you braked too late or didn’t come out of the turn on the correct line, then you can lose a lot of time down the long straight that follows. Getting it just right is not easy. Top speeds have actually come down a bit with the changes to the regulations, but you don’t feel the difference very much to be honest. I remember how fast we used to go when we had the V10 engine, but the feeling you have, if you are doing 360 or 340 is not much different.”Current engine regulations stipulate that each driver can only use eight power units per season and when it comes to planning their use over the 19 Grands Prix, this weekend has a special place on the schedule. “We aim to optimise the use of the eight engines over the course of the year,” states Marmorini. “For example, in Monza and Spa, where the engine plays a more important role, all the teams prefer to race with new engines. Of course we have worked hard on reducing the power drop-off from the engines as they are used, but it’s still true that a new engine is fresher than a used one.” Next year, engine life will be even more critical with only five power units allowed per season, when Formula 1 will switch from normally aspirated V8s to turbocharged V6s; a major preoccupation for the engine specialists at the moment. “Given that in just six months time, the 2014 season will be getting underway, it’s fair to say that the basis for next year’s power unit is now fixed,” reveals Marmorini. “We’ve been working on the new engine for a long time and we are in the final stages of its definition with just the small details to be fixed. I’d say we’re pleased with how it’s coming along and we are on schedule. We can only hope everything works well when it’s time to start the championship with it.” Therefore this weekend’s Grand Prix, the last one of the year in Europe, marks the end of the V8 era on the Old Continent. “In the first year of the V8 formula, the winning engine at Monza was a Ferrari,” – concludes the Scuderia’s engine specialist – “So it would be great if it could be said that a Ferrari engine won the last race for the V8 era at Monza.”

The number of points for a win is the same as at any other Grand Prix, but for a Ferrari driver, winning at Monza is priceless. Fortunately, this happy circumstance has happened no less than 18 times, through the efforts of ten different drivers. Two of them, Alberto Ascari and Ludovico Scarfiotti, not only had the pleasure of taking a Prancing Horse to victory in Monza, but it was made even more memorable for them as Italian nationals.The most successful Ferrari man at Monza is Michael Schumacher, who made it to the top step of the podium five times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006.) Second to team-mate Rubens Barrichello in 2002 and 2004, the seven times world champion only once failed to finish in the points in a Ferrari at Monza, from ten starts, when he came tenth in 2005.Along with the British Grand Prix, the Italian event is one of two races that has always been part of the World Championship calendar and it has always been held at Monza with the exception of 1980. The track can therefore boast the greatest number of races staged at the highest level of motor sport, that number being 62. On twelve of those occasions, the race has decided the allocation of the Drivers’ title, with four of them being settled in favour of a Ferrari driver: Juan Manuel Fangio in 1956, Phil Hill in 1961, Niki Lauda in 1975 and Jody Scheckter in 1979.

With a total of 63 podium finishes – apart from the 18 wins there have been 24 second places and 21 thirds – there have been few editions of this race which have not featured at least on Ferrari driver in the top three. In the last twenty years, the podium has been barren of a Ferrari man on only four occasions (1992, 1997, 2005 and 2008.) However, on that last occasion, one vital ingredient from Maranello played its part, as Vettel’s Toro Rosso recorded the only Formula 1 victory ever for a Formula I engine fitted to a customer car.

Fernando Alonso has a great record at the Monza Grand Prix. The Spaniard has been on the podium five times (two wins, one second place and two thirds) and also has a further four points finishes to his name. He only failed to score in 2001, the year he made his Formula 1 debut with Minardi. Felipe Massa has fewer highlights on his record here, with just one top three finish, when he came third in 2010, from nine starts.

It’s hard to say which has been the Scuderia’s greatest victory at Monza. In the series “Top 10 @Monza” we are counting down the most significant amongst them, but as usually happens in these situations, everyone has their own favourites, sometimes linked to special memories. If you want to let us have your classification, go and post it on the Scuderia’s official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ScuderiaFerrari.