Preview VC Italy: Hamilton vs. Verstappen, part 14 and the unexpected defender Gasly

Last year, the Italian Grand Prix was one of the most exciting of the season. The race was won by Frenchman Pierre Gasly ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll. The Alpha Tauri driver will definitely not be the favourite this time either. The home race of Apollo Tauri and, of course, Ferrari will be the continuation of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s battle for the world championship.

The circuit near the Italian town of Monza is the king of speed, with the average speed of the monoposts in the race hovering around 250 kilometres per hour. The circuit is also known for its great atmosphere because of the so-called Tifosi, the home Ferrari fans.

It was Ferrari that celebrated one of the last victories in its history here, when Charles Leclerc finished first under the chequered flag in 2019. This year, the red monoposts are a bit faster compared to last year’s, but even so, we definitely can’t count them among the main candidates for the win.

Although he doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Italy, Max Verstappen should be one of the hottest candidates to score 25 points for winning the race. The role of his teammate Sergio Perez, who started last in the Netherlands last week, will be extremely important this time. Strategy will be key. Valtteri Bottas will also have to play his part perfectly.

The ongoing battle for fifth place among the constructors between Alpha Tauri, Alpino and Aston Martin will also be interesting. At the moment, the former team has the upper hand, having confirmed its driver line-up for next year this week.

The F1 races will this time be complemented by the junior F2 series, which will kick off the whole weekend on Friday with its free practice session. After that, we will have F1 practice sessions and everything will once again be heading towards Friday’s qualifying, the second instalment of Saturday’s sprint qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

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