Feature

Chris Medland's 2016 Italian Grand Prix preview

What time does the Italian Grand Prix start? What channel is the Italian Grand Prix on? The answers to all of that and more in F1i’s race preview

Caught your breath after the Belgian Grand Prix? Good, because F1 is back again this weekend with the final round of the European season. The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is one of the most iconic races on the calendar, with the high-speed autodromo an atmospheric gem with the Tifosi vociferously backing Ferrari regardless of competitiveness. After Spa, the Scuderia will be hoping to avoid contact between its drivers in order to deliver the strongest showing possible after some encouraging signs in Belgium, but Monza is likely to be a Mercedes stronghold with the emphasis on power unit performance as all the teams run as little downforce as possible.

FORM GUIDE

It was another Mercedes victory in Spa-Francorchamps but the headline maker was Lewis Hamilton as he climbed through from 21st on the grid to finish third and limit the damage to race-winner Nico Rosberg. Hamilton has a fresh gearbox for this weekend and with fewer engine mileage concerns he will be well-placed to challenge for victory again. Red Bull has closed the gap to Mercedes recently but is likely to be less competitive on a low downforce circuit, while Ferrari could emerge as the nearest challenger. Williams should go well but Force India leapfrogged it with an excellent fourth and fifth in Spa, while Manor will also be quick as the likes of McLaren and Toro Rosso could struggle.

2015 RESULT

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:23.397

Top three: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Felipe Massa (Williams)

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:26.672

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 10:00 - 11:30

FP2: 14:00 - 15:30

FP3: 11:00 - 12:00

Qualifying: 14:00 - 15:00

Race: 1400

TYRE CHOICES

©Pirelli Motorsport

WEATHER FORECAST

After a scorcher in Belgium, the teams are faced with more of the same at Monza this weekend but could have a spanner thrown in the works on race day. Hot weather throughout the opening two days are nothing unusual, and will be very similar to Spa where temperatures were over 30C every day. On Sunday, there is a threat of afternoon thunderstorms with a 40% chance of rain at this stage, with the likelihood being it would come during the race itself.

UK TELEVISION TIMINGS (All times UK)

Sky Sports F1 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0845

FP2 - 1245

FP3 - 0945

Qualifying - 1200

Race - 1130

Channel 4 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0855

FP2 - 1255

FP3 - 0955

Qualifying - 1155

Race - 1200

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Lewis Hamilton

2nd - Sebastian Vettel

3rd - Nico Rosberg

2015 BEST SHOT

©WRi2

Technical snapshot - Belgium

Scene at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix

Belgian Grand Prix - Quotes of the week

F1i's driver ratings - Spa-Francorchamps

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.