5 things to look out for at the 2013 Italian GP

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull charge

Sebastian Vettel won at Monza in 2008 with Toro Rosso

With Vettel and Red Bull Racing Renault easing to victory in Belgium, for some people the 2013 season is more or less over. Vettel has a healthy 46 point lead over his next rival Fernando Alonso and is expected to further extend it at Monza.

Though his last year’s retirement would be playing on his mind, a win here and his fourth drivers’ title seems much more achievable.

Having won his first race with Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008, the track is special for Vettel. Though Vettel’s new hairdo is definitely one thing that you wouldn’t want to see at the podium.

Red-Bull are 77 points adrift of second placed Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship and both Red Bulls are expected to finish among the points which could put them on course for a fourth title.

Kimi Raikkonen – the Iceman in the hot seat

Kimi Raikkonen has never won at Monza

Kimi would be the talking point both on and off the track. His speculations of joining either Ferrari or McLaren-Mercedes for the 2014 season would be doing the rounds with Red Bull equation crossed out.

He has been vocal about his unhappiness in the Lotus and that has prompted him to look at other options. On track, after suffering an unfortunate break failure in Spa, he would be looking to get back in the points and on the podium.

Having never won the Italian GP, he would be itching to turn the tables around. While a win would be ideal to boost his chances of catching up Vettel, a podium finish would keep his hopes somewhat alive heading into the Asian leg of the calendar.

One lap dash at qualifying

Out of 13 races, 10 have been won by the driver taking pole position which makes qualifying a critical part of the race weekend.

The circuit is the fastest on the calendar with close to 80% of the track being covered on full throttle.

Clearly, the pole position will be critical for race victory though speed during the race will definitely be required to keep the rivals from catching up. We might know the prospective winner at the end of the qualifying itself.

Now or never for Alonso and Hamilton

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton need to finish strongly at Monza

Fernando Alonso and Lewish Hamilton need to take charge of their chances of winning the drivers’ title at Monza. While the tifosi would be hoping it will be Alonso, Mercedes would be hoping that Hamilton repeats his last year’s win at Monza but then he will need a faster car from the one at Belgium.

Being Ferrari’s home Grand Prix , they are expected to end a two-year drought at Monza, with the last win coming in 2010. A win for Alonso or Hamilton and a finish for Vettel out of the top 5 could make the finish to the season tantalizingly close.

The magic track and the tifosi

The Magic track – Autodromo Nazionale Monza is the final race of the European leg of the season. The track is the fastest among the current set of circuits and requires a completely different setup from some of the other track for Formula One cars to last the entire race distance.

This mainly because of the high-speed straights that offer maximum speeds. It still remains a challenge for most of the cars with aerodynamics, down-force on the car, braking, tyre and pit-stop strategy and the biggest of all, the speed remaining the talking issues.

The tifosi at the historic circuit

The crowd at the historical track has always been a talking point. They are known for their passion for Ferrari and there’s hardly a place left in the grandstands to fill.

But that’s how it has been with fans all these years at arguably the most historical race tracks in the history of F1.