Santander Grand Prix Of Italy
Final
for this game
Italian Grand Prix Preview
Sep 12, 2008 - 10:22 AMSeptember 14, 2008
Autodromo Nationale di Monza
Monza, Italy
Race 14 of 18 in Grand Prix Series
Laps: 53
Track length: 3.58 miles
Race length: 190 miles
Lap Record: Rubens Barrichello, 1:21.046 (2004)
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Fernando Alonso (Spain)
Team: Renault
2008 Points: 23 (8th)
Two-time champion has struggled in return to Renault with just
three top fives all season - finishing fourth at the season
opener at Australia, Hungary and Belgium; retired in Spain and
Canada and has a pair of sixth and eighth place finishes; had a
tumultuous 2007 season with McLaren, but still managed to
finish third overall; had the same points as teammate Lewis
Hamilton, but lost the tiebreaker for second place; won four
times last season, but relationship with team and Hamilton
deteriorated after Ferrari spy scandal affair and returned to
Renault for 2008 season; won consecutive titles in 2005-06 with
Renault; won six races in 2006 and seven in 2005; won this race
last year.
Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
Team: McLaren
2008 Points: 76 (1st)
Finished first at Belgium, but was penalized 25 seconds and
dropped to third; lead atop the standings was cut to two points
ahead of Felipe Massa; won the British and German Grands Prix;
was involved in a pit road incident with Kimi Raikkonen and
retired from the Canadian Grand Prix; opened the season with a
dominant win at Australia then ran fifth at Malaysia and 13th
in Bahrain; bounced back to finish second at Turkey; had a
stunning rookie season, scoring podiums in his first nine races;
won four times and captured six poles to outperform more
heralded former teammate Fernando Alonso; was the favorite to
win the championship last year until errors in final two rounds
dropped him to second place behind Raikkonen; retired from the
race at China to give his teammate and Raikkonen the chance to
steal the crown; won at Japan to open a 12-point lead over
Alonso with two races left; made history at Canada where he
became the first black driver to win a Formula One race;
followed that victory in Canada by winning the United States
Grand Prix; ran second to Alonso here last year.
Nick Heidfeld (Germany)
Team: BMW Sauber
2008 Points: 49 (5th)
Ran second at Belgium to move up to fifth in the standings;
finished 5.4 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton to claim second at
Australia and was runner-up to Hamilton in Britain; was sixth
at Malaysia, fourth in Bahrain and Germany, and fifth in Turkey;
was the best of the rest behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers
last year after an impressively consistent season for BMW,
finishing fifth overall; did not win last season as best race
of the season was at Canada where he finished second; had
consecutive fourth-place finishes at Italy and Turkey and was
third in Hungary; opened the year with three consecutive fourth
place finishes at Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain; forced to
retire at Spain and the United States Grand Prix; has nine
top-five finishes in 17 starts last year; ran fourth in this
race last season.
Robert Kubica (Poland)
Team: BMW Sauber
2008 Points: 58 (3rd)
Finished sixth at Belgium and moved up to third in the
standings; won his first race at Canada and temporarily took
over the top spot in the standings; win at Canada was made more
impressive after he was injured in a scary crash at the same
track a year ago; followed win by running fifth in France;
finished third at the Grand Prix of Europe; finished sixth
overall last year in his first full Formula One season; opened
the season by retiring at Australia, but has finished in the
top five in every race since; ran second at both Malaysia and
Monaco; was third at Bahrain and fourth at both Spain and
Turkey; ran fifth in this race last year.
Felipe Massa (Brazil)
Team: Ferrari
2008 Points: 74 (2nd)
Picked up his fifth win of the season at Belgium after Lewis
Hamilton was penalized and stripped of victory; sits just two
points behind Hamilton atop the standings; rebounded from an
awful start to the season by winning at Bahrain and Turkey;
completed only 29 laps before retiring at Australia with engine
issues; also retired at Malaysia by spinning out early; posted
three wins and six poles last season, but reliability issues
and a disqualification in Canada put him out of title
contention and he wound up fourth; contract with Ferrari runs
until 2010; retired from the Italian Grand Prix with suspension
problems, dropping to fourth place in the standings; last year
bounced back from a 13th-place finish at Hungary by winning in
Turkey; had 11 top five finishes in 17 starts last season;
retired from this race last season.
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)
Team: Ferrari
2008 Points: 57 (4th)
Retired from the past two races with engine issues and dropped
to fourth in the standings; retired at Canada after a pit road
incident with Lewis Hamilton then finished second at France,
fourth in Great Britain and sixth at Germany; opened defense of
his title by running eighth at Australia, completing just 53
laps before having engine problems; bounced back to win at
Malaysia, ran second at Bahrain and third in Turkey; won first
appearance for Ferrari in Australia last season then went on to
win five more times; biggest win came at the season-ending event
at Brazil, which gave him his first drivers title by a single
point over Hamilton; trailed Hamilton by seven points entering
final race; had 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts last season;
joined Ferrari after spending five years with McLaren where he
went winless in 2006; ran third here last season.
2007 Top 10
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1. Fernando Alonso, Spain, McLaren-Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari
4. Nick Heidfeld, Germany , Sauber-BMW
5. Robert Kubica, Poland, Sauber-BMW
6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams-Toyota
7. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Renault
8. Jenson Button, Great Britain, Honda
9. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull-Renault
10. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda
Past Champions
--------------
2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Mercedes
2006 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2005 Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren-Mercedes
2004 Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari
2003 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2002 Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari
2001 Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams BMW
2000 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1999 Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jordan Mugen-Honda
1998 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1997 David Coulthard, McLaren Mercedes
1996 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1995 Johnny Herbert, Benetton
1994 Damon Hill, Williams
1993 Damon Hill, Williams
1992 Ayrton Senna, McLaren
1991 Nigel Mansell, Williams
1990 Ayrton Senna, McLaren
1989 Alain Prost, McLaren
1988 Gerhard Berger, Ferrari
1987 Nelson Piquet, Williams
1986 Nelson Piquet, Williams
1985 Alain Prost, McLaren
1984 Niki Lauda, McLaren
