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2005 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix
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Formula 1 Drivers Championship
Formula 1 Constructors Championship

Reports & Results from the Italian GP

Formula 1 Seasons

 '14  '13  '12  '11  '10  '09  '08  '07  '06 
 '05  '04  '03  '02  '01  '00  '99  '98  '97

 

Track Layout (from the FIA)

McLaren need a 1-2 finish!

Formula 1 heads to Monza the fastest track on the calendar where average lap speeds exceed 250 km/H and top speeds exceed 350km/H. This race is the toughest on engines as 71% of the lap is spent at full throttle. Rarely has there been a race at Monza free of engine failures add to that the 2 race per engine rule this season and you'd expect to see some engine failures this weekend.

The Constructors' Championship is hotting up with McLaren just 9 points behind and catching Renault while in the Drivers' Championship Kimi Raikkonen is 24 points behind Fernando Alonso and catching but slowly!    

Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren MP4/20 - 2005

The track at Monza has several long straights with a number of chicanes. Cars are run in a low downforce configuration. The highest average and top speeds on the calendar mean that this track with be the toughest on engines and also very tough on the brakes.
Tyre wear isn't as high as on other tracks. 

All 10 teams were testing at Monza last week. McLaren were fastest with Renault behind them but as always test times could be misleading.

Here is a team by team preview:

Renault: Jordan's driver Tiago Monteiro helped them minimise the point loss to McLaren in Turkey. They were clearly slower and BAR were threatening. Monza however is a completely different track and in low downforce they should be strong and will be closer to McLaren.
Reliability 9.0/10 - Speed 9.5/10 (Latest Renault Team News)

Drivers: Fernando Alonso got a lucky break in Istanbul and finished second behind Raikkonen. With a 24 point lead and just 50 points available he can afford to be conservative however this is a track that could give him a chance so a win is possible however 3rd place is more likely. 

Giancarlo Fisichella managed to finish 4th in Turkey but was struggling. He took the lead at the start then lost it a few corners later. He doesn't seem to be very comfortable in the car and that is hurting his chances. He'll be close to Alonso in qualifying but in the race he is likely to drop behind.

McLaren: They almost had their first 1-2 finish of the season in Turkey. They could do it here but there is a question mark on the reliability of their engines. If they last then a 1-2 is possible. Don't expect an easy win though as Renault will put up a fight.
Reliability 8.0/10 - Speed 9.5/10 (Latest McLaren Mercedes Team News)

Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen dominated the Turkish Grand Prix and is on a roll. If his car is reliable he could make it a hat-trick. He certainly needs to win to keep his chances alive.

Juan Pablo Montoya nearly finished second in Turkey. He does well here so expect a strong performance. A win is possible if Raikkonen runs into problems. 

Ferrari: They had a poor race in Turkey and despite the many additional days of testing they've run don't expect them to be competitive at Monza. Their aim would be to finish ahead of Toyota who are 15 points behind in the Championship. 
They do lack grip, that is true but their problem isn't just the tyres.
Reliability 9.5/10 - Speed 8.5/10  (Latest Ferrari Team News)

Drivers: Michael Schumacher struggled for grip in Turkey in qualifying then tangled with Webber during the race. He will qualify early here and that may force him to take a risky strategy. Points possible, podium unlikely.

Rubens Barrichello started the Turkish Grand Prix in 11th and finished in 10th. Hardly an improvement. He is struggling at Ferrari and as the season end nears he'll struggle further.
He claimed pole and won the race last year. That will not happen again this year. Points will be difficult.

Toyota: Will be aiming to close the gap to Ferrari here and it is likely that they will gain a few points on them. They will again have serious competition from BAR and expect a close fight on the track. 
Reliability 9.5/10 - Speed 9.0/10 (Latest Toyota Team News)

Drivers: Jarno Trulli started 5th and finished 6th in Turkey. Expect something similar at Monza

Ralf Schumacher had a very bad start in Turkey and never managed to recover finishing 12th. He should do better here and may even beat his team-mate. Points likely.

Williams: They had a disastrous race in Turkey were both drivers suffered from multiple tyre failures believed to be due to the tyres touching the bodywork. They are confident the problem won't be repeated here. They were fast in Turkey and they could be close to BAR, Toyota and Ferrari here. During testing they were reasonably quick however their very early qualifying slots will hurt them and they will struggle to score points here.
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 8.0/10 (Latest Williams BMW Team News)

Drivers: Nick Heidfeld retired in Turkey due to the tyre failures. He will be the 3rd to go out in qualifying and that will hurt his starting position. Points will be very difficult.

Mark Webber will be in an even worse position that his team-mate as he will be the track sweeper in qualifying. Like his team-mate points will be hard.

Red Bull: They managed to keep 6th place in the championship after scoring a surprise 3 points. BAR are only 3 points behind and Red Bull will probably lose 6th place here.
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 8.0/10 (Latest Red Bull Racing Team News)

Drivers: David Coulthard had another consistent race to finish in the points at Monza. Expect another consistent race but they won't be strong enough to score points unless of course many cars retire.

Christian Klien once again proved that he deserves the seat at least until the end of the season. He was again on par with his more experienced team-mate. Points though will be difficult here!.

BAR: Move closer to taking 6th from Red Bull but they need both their drivers to score points in order to do that. Sato's penalty in Turkey robbed the team of an almost certain 2 car points finish. They will be strong here, the question is will they be reliable and can both drivers deliver ?
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 9.0/10 (Latest BAR Team News)

Drivers: Jenson Button performs better when under pressure. His drive for next year isn't settled yet he recovered well from a mistake in qualifying and narrowly missed out on 4th place. A very strong performance and expect a similar result here.

Takuma Sato was penalised in Turkey after driving too slow on his in lap during qualifying. Sure he made a mistake on his hot lap and sure he may have lost radio communications with the team but he knew there is another driver behind him. He deserves the penalty and with all the mistakes he has done so far this season, he really doesn't deserve a drive in such an improving car. 

Sauber: They find it hard to score points when only a few cars retire. They are in a transition period and that won't help their performance. Unless many cars ahead retire, don't expect points. 
Reliability 7.0/10 - Speed 8.0/10 (Latest Sauber Team News)

Drivers: Felipe Massa suffered an engine failure in Turkey but before that he had a first corner incident with Heidfeld ruining his race. It will be hard to score points here.

Jacques Villeneuve had a poor start and struggled from there to recover at Istanbul. He had done well here in the past so he is likely to perform well but points will be difficult.

Jordan: Both drivers finished behind the Minardi of Doornbos in Turkey. Are they now the slowest on the grid ? It is sad to see them go backwards so fast!
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 7.0/10 (Latest Jordan Team News)

Drivers: Tiago Monteiro hit the back of Montoya while being lapped but didn't accept blame for it. Despite that incident he continues his 100% finish record. Expect more of the same.

Narain Karthikeyan appears to be regaining his confidence however the car isn't helping. He should do better than his team-mate here.

Minardi: Had one car finish ahead of both Jordans. That must be encouraging for them. They will be having another good fight here.
Reliability 7.0/10 - Speed 7.0/10 (Latest Minardi Team News)

Drivers: Christijan Albers retired in Turkey with just a few laps remaining. He continues to be pushed by his team-mate.

Robert Doornbos had brake problems in qualifying in Turkey but recovered well in the race to finish ahead of the Jordans. This will certainly be an interesting race for Doornbos and all the rookies. 

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1st Friday Practice - 11:00ResultsReportResults
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