Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix is a time-honoured tradition in the world of Formula One motor racing. It is considered to be one of the longest running motor racing events and has been held on an annual basis since September 1921. The first Italian Grand Prix was held at Brescia. However, by the following year the course at Monza – which has since become the home of the Italian Grand Prix – had been built just in time to host the 1922 Italian Grand Prix. Although the Italian Grand Prix has been held at a few other locations over the years, the track at Monza has certainly proven to be the most popular location for the event. In fact, in the more than 80 years that it has been running, the Italian Grand Prix has only been held at locations other than the Monza track on five occasions.
It is interesting to note that the Italian Grand Prix was one of the two races which formed part of the inaugural Formula One Championship races in 1950. Prior to this, the Italian Grand Prix had only operated on a national scale in Italy. The decision to participate in an international race was well supported and the Italian Grand Prix features in the World Championships ever since. The circuit length at Monza is 5.79 kilometres (3.60 miles) in length, and it is lapped 53 times. This means that the complete race measures a total of 306.72 kilometres (190.59 miles) in length. Currently Ferrari is the constructor who has enjoyed the most wins, having taken 18 wins on the Monza track. Michael Schumacher has enjoyed the most wins at Monza with five Italian Grand Prix wins under his belt.
The 2006 Italian Grand Prix was the memorable event of German racing superstar Michael Schumacher’s last Grand Prix race – and Grand Prix win. At the end of the 2006 racing season Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One racing. Whilst fans mourned the loss of this spectacular driver to the F1 racing fraternity, it opened the way for other excellent drivers to show their skills. Schumacher’s position at Ferrari was filled by Kimi Raikkonen at the start of the 2007 season.
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix was a memorable one for Red Bull Racing as their driver, Sebastian Vettel went down in history as the youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the age of 21 years and 74 days. Despite the wet conditions, Vettel led the field for the best part of the race, crossing the finish line 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. In 2009, Rubens Barrichello of Brawn GP F1 Team took the checkered flag at the Italian Grand Prix. The 2010 Italian Grand Prix is set to take place on 10-12 September, and no doubt fans are waiting in keen anticipation to see who will be victorious this year.