Wednesday, September 8th, 2021
Horner wants “damage control”
Hamilton relies on a turnaround in the tempo temple
In Formula 1 things are going on in quick succession these days. After two Verstappen wins in a row, world champion Lewis Hamilton is under pressure in Monza. The Briton not only wants Michael Schumacher’s record, but also finally the 100th Grand Prix victory of his career.
After the mood highlight in the dunes of Zandvoort, World Cup leader Max Verstappen has to prepare for the counterattack by record world champion Lewis Hamilton in the tempo temple in Monza. A lot should actually speak for the Silver Arrows, but superstar Hamilton dares not make a forecast in the grippingly tight world championship fight with Verstappen at Red Bull. “I really don’t know how it will turn out,” said the 36-year-old, who wants to achieve the 100th Grand Prix victory of his career in the next attempt.
Hamilton has already won five times on the legendary high-speed course in the Royal Park of Monza – another one and he also overtakes Michael Schumacher in this statistic. But Verstappen wants to pick up where he left off after the summer break. Winner in Belgium (but only with half the number of points in the racing farce in the rain), winner in the Netherlands. At the Italian Grand Prix, the hat trick beckons within three weeks before the final overseas tour via Russia and Turkey.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner assumes that Mercedes will have the upper hand in Monza and Sochi. “Therefore, the next two races are about damage control,” said the shrewd team boss. The season has shown so far with 7: 4 wins by Verstappen against Hamilton: The Red Bull bolide works everywhere. “But we have to get the details right,” said Verstappen with a view to Monza, where he has never won.
The sprint race is back
With three points he leads before the classic weekend ahead of Hamilton. In purely mathematical terms, it could be 29 points more on Sunday evening, because as in Silverstone there will be a sprint race with 3, 2 and one point for the three fastest at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on Saturday. On Sunday there are, as usual, 25 points for the winner plus an extra counter for the fastest lap on the course, on which the pilots with a full throttle share of over 75 percent in front of half of the normally admitted spectators – including Italian Olympic Medalist and European football champion coach Roberto Mancini – will be on the road.
“I’m sure that it will be another close weekend and an exciting fight,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who responded to the announcement of George Russell as successor to Valtteri Bottas after this season and the publicly clarified personnel issue hopes for further boost. “Nine races left. Two world titles. Go out and fight for it, guys,” tweeted the team on a picture with Hamilton and his colleague Bottas: “Major attack until the last lap in Abu Dhabi.”
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