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Formula One: What to watch at Monza, Italy’s “Temple of Speed”

By Dustin Smith

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 04: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM09 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo leads Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Williams Martini Racing Williams FW38 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo and Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM09 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 4, 2016 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 04: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM09 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo leads Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Williams Martini Racing Williams FW38 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo and Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM09 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 4, 2016 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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This week, Formula One tackles the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy with the championship standings separated by only 7 points. Will Sebastien Vettel carry his lead into Singapore or will Lewis Hamilton take over the top spot?

Benvenuti nel paese di Ferrari! But make sure you don’t say that to Mercedes. In 2016, Formula One saw Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg take the sip of champagne from the top of the podium followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton. Behind the Mercedes team was the Ferrari duo of Vettel and Raikkonen in 3rd and 4th place, respectively.

Mercedes has won the last three races at Monza (Hamilton in 2014 and 2015) and will look to continue their dominance on Sunday.

What to Watch

For starters, one of the top factors to consider going into this weekend is Valtteri Bottas now being in the Mercedes garage with Lewis Hamilton. Bottas will be looking to better his 5th place finish at Monza in 2016 with a win this weekend.

Another topic of discussion is whether Lewis Hamilton can back up a potential pole qualifying effort with a win on Sunday. Hamilton ran 2nd to Nico Rosberg in 2016 after qualifying 1st a win on Sunday could help him in the championship standings. At the very least, he would be tied with Sebastian Vettel for the lead.

However, Vettel would prefer to see his name atop the standings after Monza and beyond. Vettel’s last win at Monza was in 2013. That year, Monza was the second of nine consecutive wins for Vettel to close out the 2013 season. Yes, you read that right. Vettel had nine consecutive wins to finish 2013. Can he do it again in 2017? His small points lead sure hopes so.

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To add more stress to the standings, there is a tighter race for the 4th spot. Only 4 points separate Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen for that spot. There is some possibility that Raikkonen may have the upper hand racing in Ferrari’s backyard having higher finishes than Ricciardo in the last two Monza races.

All things considered, the most important question to be answered is whether or not Ferrari can end the drought on their home turf.  Mercedes has owned Monza with wins in each of the last three seasons. The last Ferrari win in Italy came in 2010 by Fernando Alonso.

So will Mercedes continue their dominance, or will Ferrari snap a 7-year Monza winless streak? Who will be the points leader after Sunday? All of these questions will be answered by Italy’s “Temple of Speed” this weekend.

Next: No, Lewis Hamilton is not in the gold Maserati photograph

Who is your pick to win this weekend at Monza? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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