Factbox Italy - Friday

By BMW Sauber F1 Team
September 12 2008

Take a look at the history of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and you soon realise that this historic event has often proved to be a truly hot race. However, the first day of the 2008 edition of the GP weekend, held in the Royal Park, turned out to be an extremely wet one.

- Wet race looming on the horizon: At Monaco, Silverstone and - just recently - Spa-Francorchamps, the BMW Sauber F1 Team had to cope with wet conditions while battling it out for World Championship points. Now, it seems as if Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica will have to contest another wet race at the "Autodromo Nazionale di Monza". According to the weather forecasters, the probability of rain falling during the Italian Grand Prix is extremely high.

- Aborted practice session: As if to underline the weather experts' expectations, torrential rain began falling right at the beginning of the 2008 season's 14th race weekend. The first practice session had to be aborted early, with neither Nick nor Robert having clocked a single timed lap. In the second session - which was partly held in wet conditions - the BMW Sauber F1 Team pairing completed a total of 55 laps.

- Fully focused: The start represents possibly the most important and thrilling moment of a Formula 1 race. Here, Robert describes how he experiences the final seconds before the red starting lights are switched off: "I'm sitting in the car, I focus and prepare on everything that could happen right at the start and in turn one. While doing so, I have to avoid focussing on just one eventuality. Formula One isn't tennis. Here, I can't plan to make a service to a certain corner. At the wheel of the car, I always have to respond to what the drivers around me are doing."

- New venues in demand: The expansion of Formula One makes progress. In 2008 alone, the F1 calendar features two new GP venues. However, an African circuit hasn't hosted a Formula One race since 1993. "Africa would be great," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, "But making an African World Championship round economically viable for the teams would, arguably, be even more difficult than doing so in the USA. I know that the South African GP was highly appreciated by everybody but today, we would need an all new circuit. And I don't know if this can be realised." 

- Pure self-confidence: His outstanding chase at Spa-Francorchamps - which was rewarded with a great runner-up finish - has boosted Nick's self-confidence. "Obviously, the Belgian GP represented a boost," says Nick, "And this doesn't apply to the race alone but to the entire weekend. My pace was fine right from the beginning. For me it was very important that I succeeded in delivering in rather difficult conditions. Meanwhile, it is well-known that I've got my difficulties when it comes to getting the tyres up to working temperature. At Spa, we used the hardest tyres in anything but warm conditions. And having delivered in fine style, I travel to Monza in a truly confident mood."