Vettel risks losing the championship lead
MONZA, Italy: Sebastian Vettel has been on the podium at Ferrari’s home Italian Grand Prix for the past two years but anything less than a win on Sunday could cost the German the lead in the Formula One championship.
The Ferrari driver is only seven points clear of Lewis Hamilton, the difference inbetween very first and 2nd place, with his Mercedes rival fresh from last weekend’s pole-to-flag success in Belgium and 5-4 up on race wins.
Hamilton won at Monza in two thousand fourteen and two thousand fifteen and was runner-up last year to now-retired team mate and eventual champ Nico Rosberg.
The Briton has also been on pole at the ‘Pista Magica’ for the past three years.
But Ferrari have closed the gap and Vettel can count on a wave of local support at the historic Milanese track where he took his very first grand prix victory with Toro Rosso in 2008.
“I think Monza is never a critical race for Ferrari. I think it’s the nicest race,” the four-times world champ told reporters ahead of a weekend that will also see his team feast their 70th anniversary.
“We have a lot of support so I’m indeed looking forward to it already.” Vettel, with a fresh three-year contract signed only last weekend, won at Monza with Crimson Bull in two thousand eleven and two thousand thirteen but has yet to do so in Ferrari crimson.
If he does, he will become the very first driver to win the race with three different teams since Britain’s Stirling Moss in the 1950s. In 2015, Vettel’s very first season since switching to Ferrari, he finished 2nd. Last year he was third.
“We’ve been 2nd, we’ve been third, so maybe we can get the last step on the podium that is missing,” said the 30-year-old, adding that there was no reason for Ferrari to fear any circuit from now on.
Hamilton will also have slew of fans, with the locals respecting a true racer, and can make history with a record pole position after equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time tally of sixty eight in Belgium.
The Mercedes driver knows he needs to make the most of the moment in the last European race of the season, with Ferrari likely to have the upper mitt again once the activity switches to Singapore.
“Clearly we have not a bad car on the straights. I imagine it’s going to be very, very close in the next race,” he said after Spa.
Crimson Bull, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo in his ancestral homeland and smiling following his third place in Belgium, will again be the best of the rest albeit Max Verstappen is likely to have grid penalties following his retirement in Spa.
Force India’s feuding duo of Mexican Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will be back in the limelight after a costly collision in Spa had the French rookie accusing his team mate of attempting to kill him.
And former Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso will also be a concentrate with his future at fighting McLaren a major talking point. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)