Italy: pre-qualifying
Back at Monza, for
perhaps the final time. The excellent Italian circuit is the fastest
on the calendar. Lots of straights, full throttle areas and minimal
cornering, it’s all about top speed.
Because of that both
Red Bull and McLaren are taking penalties as they think (Red Bull at
least) it’ll put them in better stead for subsequent races, and
they stand sod all chance at Monza anyway.
The race should be good
if you have a Mercedes engine in the back, and less so if you don’t.
Speaking of which, the Mercedes engine has been upgraded, but only
for the two works cars. So, expect the race at the sharp end to be as
one-sided as a fight between a puppy and a dalek.
It’s rather sad that
after getting on the podium last race, Lotus struggled to make this
one. Let’s hope Renault (or someone else, but it’s probably going
to be Renault) buy the team and relieve its financial suffering.
The tyres are medium
and soft.
In P1 Hamilton was half
a second up on Rosberg, who was over a second ahead of Vettel.
Hulkenberg was a way further back, followed by Perez, Raikkonen,
Ricciardo, Massa, Bottas and Maldonado.
In P2 Hamilton was
again fastest, but his lead over Rosberg was a less mighty 21
thousandths of a second. Rosberg was ‘only’ seven-tenths up on
Vettel, with Perez less than a tenth ahead of Hulkenberg. After the
Force Indias was Raikkonen (again), Grosjean, Maldonado, Bottas and
Massa.
I think Williams might
be keeping their powder dry but otherwise I think that might be a
decent indication of speed. Force India might have an outside shot at
a podium. I wonder how quick Lotus will be.
The third practice
session is of limited value as far as determining pace is concerned,
because it was rather soggy. Ricciardo failed to even attempt a
qualification run as his car broke down due to a hydraulics problem.
He’s likely to start last due to penalties (I think he already had
a substantial grid penalty).
With that caveat in
mind, Hamilton was again fastest, a quarter of a second ahead of
Vettel. Rosberg was within a tenth of his compatriot, with Bottas a
tenth further back, a small way ahead of Massa. Maldonado was next,
followed by Raikkonen, Perez, Ericsson and Grosjean.
It seems rain is
entirely possible for qualifying, just to complicate things.
Potential qualifying
bets:
Lotus/Force India to
reach Q3
Ricciardo/Kvyat to fail
to reach Q3
Perez and Hulkenberg
were 1.34 each to make Q3, Maldonado and Grosjean very similar.
The odds on Red Bull
failing to reach Q3 were comically long, and I don’t lay at those
kind of odds.
So, nothing tempting. I
had a quick look and Vettel was 2.5 to be top 3. That’s more
intriguing, though with the uncertain weather the odds aren’t long
enough for me.
So, no tip for
qualifying, alas.
Morris Dancer
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