Ferrari right at home
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 NINE years is starting to feel like an eternity for Ferrari.
The storied Formula One team has not won its home race since 2010, but has good reason to think that drought could end at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
Those hopes don’t even rest solely on four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel this time, but rather on the younger and more inexperienced Charles Leclerc.
The 21-year-old Leclerc clinched the first F1 victory at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, and will be looking to make it a double at Monza tomorrow night.
“It’s always difficult to do the first step but once you do it, it takes quite a bit of weight off your shoulders,” he said.
“I’m very proud but not much time to think about it. 1950m 3.41 2 had APG Pace Final
“We’re already here four days later in Italy and we need to focus on the job that we have to do here. But now it’s done I can focus on the future and hopefully many more.”
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is well aware of what the momentum of a first victory can do.
Hamilton secured his first victory in the 2007 Canadian GP — at the age of 22 — and went on to win the next race, in the US.
“It’s usually easier with the flow, to ride that wave into the next one and knock out a double, two wins in a row, particularly when you have also got two tracks that are similar in terms of requirements of performance of a car.
“So this could be his second win this weekend, who knows?
“I’m going to do everything I can to stop that.” 2240m 6.02 7
Monza — known as the Temple of Speed — is the fastest track on the circuit and, just as with Spa, the high-speed layout is likely to suit the Ferrari machinery.
“It’s a similar track, very different but in terms of the way the cars are set up similar to last weekend. I hope we can be as competitive as we were there,” Vettel said.
“For sure we’ve seen the trend that in qualifying we have a bit of an edge on these types of tracks, whereas in the race everything moves very close together ... I can’t give you any predictions but I guess it will be very tight. I hope we have something to say.”
The passionate Ferrari fans are hoping to finally cheer their team to victory at its home track, something they haven’t been able to do since Fernando Alonso’s win in 2010. Melton City Much More Trot 2240m 8.33