The F1 action races to Italy for the Italian Grand Prix after Lando Norris dominated in the Netherlands as the Drivers’ Championship race heats up.
2024 Italian Grand Prix
Sunday 1 September 2024 – 15:00
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the circuit after a very long hiatus we did not see Max Verstappen stand basking in the glory of a race win in front of his countryman. Instead, the Dutch ace had to settle for second place with ‘Brit Lando Norris taking race honours.
Norris is now 70 points off Verstappen on the Drivers Standings while McLaren are only 30 points off Red Bull on the Constructors. We’re in for a very interesting and competitive final third of the season, starting with this weekend’s showdown at Monza!
To Win Race Outright
Lando Norris 21/20 | Max Versatppen 11/4 | Oscar Piastri 6/1 | Charles LeClerc 12/1 | Carlos Sainz 16/1 | George Russell 20/1
Previous Race – Netherlands
A great performance from Lando Norris ended Max Verstappen’s three-year stranglehold on the Dutch Grand Prix title with the Brit coming from behind and taking full advantage of Max Verstappen’s mid-race tyre issues to secure a vital win. Home town hero Verstappen would nurse his car across the line in second with Charles LeClerc – another driver who impressed at Zandvoort – improving on sixth place to claim the final podium berth.
While his teammate Lando Norris enjoyed a great race, Oscar Piastri didn’t have as good a time as his team’s strategy of running him longer on his first stint saw him lose time and he ultimately had to settle for fourth place as he brought his car across the line ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (fifth) and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (sixth), who continues to struggle this term
Mercedes, meanwhile, were brought crashing back down to earth after a good showing before the mid-season break as George Russell finished seventh while previous race winner Lewis Hamilton settled for eighth. The final two points scoring positions went to Pierre Gasley and Fernando Alonso.
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Track – Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The circuit has gone through several redevelopments since it was opened in 1922, mainly in a bid to improve safety.
The 5.793km long track is situated in the Royal Villa of Monza Park – this park has provided a fantastic backdrop for many a classic Formula 1 action shot.
Drivers will go head-to-head over 53 laps, which sees them cover a total of 306.729km.
Although the track has been turned into a much more sedate beast over the years, it still has some treacherous aspects to it.
While Monza holds significantly fewer corners to challenge the drivers compared to the lakes of Spa, it still poses a few of the most infamous turns in F1. Parabolica, in particular, poses a threat; this 180-degree bend is famous for inducing the odd high-speed crash.
Another challenge for drivers is the Variante Ascari sequence which is a culmination of turns eight, nine and ten.
The two DRS activation zones are located on the start/finish straight and the straight between turns seven and eight.
2023 saw a Red Bull one-two finish at Monza – boy, would Christian Horner pay good money for a repeat of that this weekend – while there was some joy for a partisan Ferrari crowd as Carlos Sainz brought his Prancing Stag home in third.
We are likely to get more rain over a Grand Prix weekend with the current forecast predicting showers for the final qualifying session set for a spell or two. While the most rainfall is expected to occur on Sunday. (*Article was written on Tuesday the 27th of August 2024 at 05:30 CAT time.)
Value Bet
Carlos Sainz – Podium – Yes
It’s a bit of a tough one here but I think the Ferrari boys are worth backing at Monza and I’m going to go with Carlos Sainz.
While LeClerc has outperformed him this season, Sainz has a tidy recent record at Monza finishing third last year. I’m going to back him to make it two podium finishes in a row at the track despite Ferrari having a couple issues with their car setup.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 11/4
I really feel like I’m playing the odds here by backing Verstappen as he has to come good again at some point. He may be bordering on a meltdown but he’s still a solid driver. I’m backing him to go three from three at Monza.
