Monza, Italian Grand Prix - past, present and future
The Italian Grand Prix is one of the oldest racing events in the history of motor sports yet its appeal and class has grown over the years. It has never failed to tickle the nerves of auto race lovers as the track, crowd and the complete atmosphere on the race weekend has always been electrifying.
The legacy of Italian Grand Prix dates back to 1921 when the first race was held at Brescia, a beautiful city situated at the foot of the Alps, which is also known as "the Lioness of Italy".
Later in 1992, a course at Monza was built which over the years became the most spine tingling and challenging tracks in the Formula One calendar.
Right from the early years of the race, there was something or the other which was special that has kept people anticipating for the Italian Grand prix all throughout the year. The specialty of 1923’s race was the entry of Harry A. Miller, who rarely took part in the European races.
During its early years, from 1935 to 1938, the Italian Grand Prix was considered a part of the European Championship.
Moreover, it was also marked as the European Grand Prix on seven occasions between 1923 to1967, a title that was considered honorary and was bestowed on one of the races of Europe each year.
As Formula One started in the year 1950, the Italian Grand Prix was amongst the inaugural races of the series and had been tightly knitted since then. The only other championship race that claims the same stature is the British Grand Prix.
Only two drivers, Ayton Senna and Michael Schumacher, in last two decades have been able to win at the Italian GP and went ahead to win that years’ championship as well. The feat has not been repeated since 2003 when Schumacher won in Italy along with claiming the world title.
However, it is interesting that this track is amongst the four major tracks of the world which every driver desires to conquer. The other three circuits include Monaco, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. There had been only eight racers in the past 60 years of Formula One’s history who were successful in winning a race at all four tracks during their careers.
Several records have also been made at Monza like Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest racer of Formula One history to win a Grand Prix at the age of 21 years and 74 days in 2008. Previously the record was held by Fernando Alonso who won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix when he was 317 days older than the new record holder. At his race, Vettel stayed ahead of all throughout the race, finishing 12.5 seconds quicker than Heikki Kovalainen who then drove for McLaren.
Since its start, there have been three fatal accidents during the race weekend at the Italian Grand Prix. Wolfgang von Trip died in 1961, Jochen Rindt got killed in 1970 and the last accident saw Ronnie Peterson passing away in 1978.
With Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One Supremo, announcing the addition of Rome to the Formula One calendar from 2012 onwards, there are uncertainties if Monza would still continue to host races. Well, so far, an agreement till 2016 has been inked, therefore the race at Monza stays safe for another six seasons.
Tags: