09.01.2011
, ROLLE, Switzerland
INFINITI GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADOR SEBASTIAN VETTEL LOOKS AHEAD TO THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Inspired Performance, by Sebastian Vettel:
“Monza is all about history! The track was built in 1922, so there’s obviously a lot of great stories about the Italian Grand Prix. I’ve got fantastic personal memories from as recently as 2009.
For me, Monza will always be about that year because that’s when I had my first pole position and my first win – you can imagine the memories that brings. The moment I will never forget was when I was standing on the podium with Gerhard Berger, seeing all the happy faces of the team, the fans and all the other people who were there to celebrate with us! This picture of so many happy people was incredible.
I can feel it from the moment I drive through the gates and into the park that surrounds the track. It really is incredible because the Italian fans are so passionate about motor racing. Suddenly, all those emotions come flooding back.
It’s not as if you forget about what happened but, obviously, you’re busy throughout the whole year and you’re not thinking what was happening two or three years ago in a certain place. But it takes only a few minutes for the special memories to return. Then it’s back to focusing on the weekend ahead.
There’s no doubt that the Italian Grand Prix is a challenge for us. But that’s part of what F1 is all about – pushing the limits of performance to get the best out of the car in all conditions – something Infiniti knows all about.
Monza is difficult to get absolutely right due to the low downforce levels and high top speeds. It’s unique because it is made up mainly of very long straights where we reach more than 300kph.
Then you have high-speed corners such as Parabolica and Lesmo; names that are part of motor sport history. These corners are much faster than the first two chicanes, where you have to brake heavily on the approach. That means the key factors for a quick lap at Monza are low drag and good braking stability.
I have to be honest and say I don’t think this will be an easy race for us. We know that our car is very good in the corners because we’ve got plenty downforce, but those straights dominate too much of the circuit”.
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Notes to editors
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