Italian Grand Prix Betting: The Colosseum of F1

Formula One / Thomas Cowie / 12 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Monza evokes memories of Ferrari greats, says Tom Cowie. But can home advantage inspire the Scuderia to victory?

Last weekend we were treated to an absolute classic at Spa where, once again, the notoriously unpredictable local weather dramatically re-wrote the script with only a handful of laps remaining. Those final three laps could prove to be a major discussion point come November - not only due to the controversial relegation to third place of race winner Lewis Hamilton, but also because they may well have ended Kimi Raikkonen's hopes of retaining his title.

One can only guess what was going through the 'Iceman's' mind as he climbed out of his destroyed Ferrari and trudged back to the pits. Knowing Kimi, probably little more than irritation that he had left his washing out...

Dubbed 'La Pista Magica' (the magic track), Monza is to F1 what the Colosseum was to Rome. It is a cauldron of noise, colour, drama, speed, and passion. No one does passion like the Italians, and Monza represents a homecoming for the legions of 'Tiffosi' who follow their beloved Ferrari all over the world. There is only one team that matters here, and only one colour.

The circuit evokes memories of all the Ferrari greats - Fangio, Ascari, Lauda, Villeneuve, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher - they have all experienced the spine tingling sensation of driving for Scuderia Ferrari at Monza, cheered on by fans perched in trees, and even draped over high level advertising boards in an attempt to get a good view of their heroes.

The Tiffosi still refer to Nigel Mansell as 'Il Leone' (The Lion), and continue to wave flags emblazoned with 'Forza Gilles' in homage to the dashing Gilles Villeneuve, killed whilst driving his Ferrari in the uncompromising style which made him so popular. Michael Schumacher, still very much a part of the Ferrari set up, is unsurprisingly regarded as a God walking amongst men after his five Championships with the Scuderia.

In to this racing amphitheatre will walk Ferrari's latest pair of gladiators this weekend, with very different agendas. For Massa, the objective is to cash in on his good fortune in Spa, where he was awarded a race victory that he never for a second looked like achieving. He will be given all the support he needs from the fans and the team alike in his pursuit of Hamilton.

Raikkonen's agenda will depend entirely on the team. Despite his Belgian race not yielding him any points, was the performance strong enough to convince Ferrari to give him one more chance at the Championship, or will he now be acting as a rear gunner for his teammate?

Mclaren on the other hand need to forget Spa for now, and concentrate their efforts squarely on getting Hamilton on the top step of the podium on Sunday afternoon. If this wasn't motivation enough, the thought of beating Ferrari in their own back yard would certainly go some way to overcoming the sense of injustice which must still be very apparent at Mclaren HQ.