Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix 2015: All you need to know

Lewis Hamilton starts the Italian Gran Prix from pole, ahead of the Ferraris and teammate Nic Rosberg

Race details

Race name Formula 1 Gran Premio D'italia 2015 Round 12

Circuit Autodromo Nazionale Monza First race 1950 Grands Prix held 64

Laps 53 Race distance 306.72km Circuit length 5.793km Lap record 1:21.046 by Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2004

Chance of safety car Medium

Most wins by driver Michael Schumacher x5 Most wins by team Ferrari x18

2014 result

Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes AMG 1:19:10.236

Nico Rosberg (GER), Mercedes AMG +3.175s

Felipe Massa (BRA), Williams +25.260s

2015 schedule

September 4 – Friday practice 1 12pm to 1.30pm Friday practice 2 4pm to 5.30pm

September 5 – Saturday practice 3 1pm to 2pm Saturday qualifying 4pm to 5pm

September 6 – Sunday race 4pm to 6pm

All times UAE

TV schedule All sessions to be broadcast on BeIN Sports HD6

Best places to watch

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Race profile

The atmosphere

There is no atmosphere quite like Monza. The tifosi – the loyal Ferrari fans – turn up in their tens of thousands. The grandstands are a sea of scarlet and you can’t move for prancing horses and Italian tri-colours.

It doesn’t matter who is driving the Ferraris, the tifosi cheer them every lap and, should one win, you will never here an F1 crowd roar quite so loudly. If, however, the Ferraris are treated unfairly, then expect passionate protests.

Monza is one of the few circuits that allows a track invasion after the race, meaning that the crowds can gather underneath the new podium which reaches out over the pits.

Whatever happens, Monza is always a timely reminder that F1 is still adored.

Weather forecast

Monza is usually dry, although there have been wet races in recent years. This weekend, Friday practice and Saturday qualifying are likely to be affected by rain, and maybe even thunder. Qualifying could therefore be a lottery.

However things are looking up for race day, with no rain forecast at all. Air temperature is expected to be around 23 Celsius, with sunny clear skies.

A bit of history

Monza was the world’s third purpose-built race circuit, after Brooklands and Indianapolis, and was completed in 1922.

The original Monza circuit layout is still there today. The course once followed the track that exists today, but also the banked oval. It was mildly confusing as in order to navigate the banked oval part of the track, the cars would have to traverse the main straight twice in a lap.

This layout was used between 1922 and 1933, and even four times during the Formula 1 era: 1955, 1956, 1960, and 1961.

The circuit that is used today hasn’t really changed too much since Formula 1’s first season in 1950. The notable changes include the re-profiling of the Parabolica – the final corner – and the addition of chicanes in 1972 and 1976. The first chicane was re-altered again in 2000.

Best overtaking spots

Monza offers plenty of room for overtaking. A high-speed circuit, slipstreaming is commonplace on the run down to turn one, as well as on the last straight on the run down to Parabolica.

Writer’s winner

Lewis Hamilton is our tip to win this weekend’s race. He’s on a good run of form and seems to have a mental edge over Nico Rosberg at the moment.  

As the high-speed circuit will almost certainly favour the Mercedes-powered cars, Ferrari will find hard to keep Williams at bay, but they will be carrying the crowd which could give them an extra few tenths.

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