SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 Italian Grand Prix

I will be taking the course during the 2004 season using EA's F1 Challenge '99-'02 and Ralph Hummerich's excellent RH 2004 Season carset that's available from this link.

A Lap of Monza

You barrel through the start/finish straight (at about 210mph) and brake down for what was the Variente Goodyear. This has been altered this year and had its name changed to the Retifilo Tribune. Instead of two chicanes a single very slow right/left chicane is there with enormous curbs! This is to combat the enormous amount of straight lining that used to go on here. In 96 they tried putting barriers here and they broke apart in the race after having caused Hill go off while leading and having damaged both Villeneuve and Schumacher's suspension. The drivers have complained about this new layout and there is likely to be the usual first lap carnage here but it is a bit late for anyone to do anything about it. In 1994 Eddie Irvine effectively sealed Lotus' demise from Formula 1 by ramming into the back of Johnny Herbert (who had qualified an excellent 4th) here and in 1999 Hakkinen famously spun out here leading to him sobbing behind a bush — unaware that it was all being filmed by the helicopter overhead!

The drivers accelerate away around the Curva Grande which is taken flat out before a quick 2nd gear left/right chicane called Variente della Roggia. This was the scene of the enormous crash in 2000 which claimed the life of Paolo Ghislimberti — a marshal who was standing in an unsafe area of the track and got hit by a wheel. This is normally taken in 2nd gear at about 70mph and was the site of Hill and Schumacher's collision in 1995.

The track then sweeps around to the right in a bend that is taken in 3rd gear at just over 100mph (the First Lesmo) and then Lesmo 2 is taken in third at about 95mph.

There is then a long straight with a slight right hand kink (the Curva del Serraglio) as the track drops downhill under a Marlboro hoarded bridge before climbing back up towards the Curva del Vialone and Variante Ascari. These are a series of bends comprising of a 3rd gear 95 mph left hander followed by a 4th gear 110mph right hander and then you floor it through the 135mph 4th gear right hander to get as much speed as possible down the straight heading towards the infamous Parabolica — a long 180 degree turn that is entered in 3rd and slowly opens up to lead onto the start/finish straight.

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