So it’s Lewis Hamilton on Pole Position in Italy. Who would have thought we’d be saying that four months ago!
Maybe it’s no coincidence that six of the seven cars at the front of this weekends grid are powered by Mercedes engines – at Monza pure engine power probably shows more than anywhere else so I think we can safely say that having the German engine in the back of your motorcar certainly doesn’t do any harm! I’m sure Red Bull can’t wait to get their supply of Mercedes engines in 2010 – oh how things change.
What a strange season 2009 has turned out to be though – teams who were nowhere in Melbourne are now regular front runners and the front runners, no matter how much they develop their car, appear to be going backwards!
So we genuinely can’t predict who’s going to win the Italian Grand Prix. All we can say is don’t count out the Brawn cars this weekend – 5th and 6th maybe – but they’ve got loads of fuel and one stopping when most of the others teams will have opted for a two stopper. Of course this all depends if everyone makes it round the first and second corners on the opening lap.
Elsewhere we’ve got a beauty of a story brewing with regards to Renault and the “did they or didn’t they cheat” escapade. The F1 spin doctors have been busier than usual this year and the storyline leading to the ultimate demise of Renault should keep F1 in the press and media for a good few months – far better to get maximum publicity than Renault simply quitting F1 as some respected journalists have already hinted at. One thing’s for sure you’ll not read about it here – we’re only here for the racing.
So it’s good luck to Jenson for the race. He seems to be more relaxed and focused than recent race weekends and appears to be back on the pace. Wouldn’t it be amazing if he managed to pull of the World Championship against all the odds – Now that WOULD be a story to make media headlines.