5 things to look out for at the 2013 Italian GP

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.