Sebastian Vettel will make his first appearance at the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver this weekend, and the German is in a position to write his name into the history books.
If the four-time world champion prevails in Sunday’s 53-lap race at Monza he will become only the second driver, after Stirling Moss in the 1950s, to win the event with three different teams.
The first of Vettel’s 41 wins in F1 came with Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008, and he has triumphed there twice more, in 2011 and then in 2013, with his former team Red Bull Racing, who he left at the end of last season to join Ferrari.
British driver Moss won with Maserati in 1956, Vanwall in 1957 and Rob Walker Racing in 1959.
“I’ve got a whole load of great memories and feelings linked to Monza and I always like coming here,” Vettel told Sky Sports. “And being here with Ferrari makes it even more special.
“I am curious to see what it will be like driving at this track, partly because this year’s power unit is more powerful and also because I’m looking forward to meeting all our fans — I can’t wait.”
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Monza is not expected to suit Ferrari, who have not won their home race since 2010, when Fernando Alonso was the victor, as the track, which is dominated by long straights, is expected to suit the superior horsepower of Mercedes-GP and the teams who are supplied engines by the German manufacturer.
Vettel and Ferrari have been successful though in their first year together, with victories in Malaysia in March and then at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix, which he led from start to finish. But his title hopes were dented after a puncture on the penultimate lap of the Belgian Grand Prix last month dropped him from third to 12th, and he enters the weekend 62 points adrift of championship leader Lewis Hamilton. The deflation had come at high speed and Vettel had hit out at tyre supplier Pirelli post-race.
So far, all Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery has confirmed is that the company’s investigation of Vettel’s tyre failure at Spa is complete and “detailed conclusions” will be presented at Monza.
Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen has not won in 13 attempts at Monza, and the 2007 world champion has had a tough season, finishing on the podium only once.
Although he is only spot behind Vettel in the drivers’ standings in fourth spot, he has scored 78 points less than the German.
Vettel and Raikkonen get on well in the Ferrari garage, and Vettel said he believed it was a positive thing that they had chosen to renew the Finn’s contract, despite having had a meagre time since rejoining Ferrari in 2013.
“He’s very good driver and it’s good for the team,” Vettel said. “We have a very good relationship and it brings stability. One of the best things is that we work together because neither him nor l have ego.”
Raikkonen, who like Vettel has had fractious relationships with teammates in the past, said he was enjoying a happier union.
“We try to beat each other, but we still can be friends as before, so I think that is also very good for us as a team that we can work very closely,” he said.
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