Formula One: Magical Monza: The perfect stage for Honda's 200th Grand Prix
5 September 2000
This weekend's 14th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship will be the 200th race of Honda's distinguished career. There can be no more appropriate setting for the celebration of this landmark event than the famous Monza circuit, scene of six of Honda's 71 Grand Prix victories. "The 200th race is a significant milestone, and as a company we are proud of our F1 achievements," says Tafekumi Hosaka, F1 Project Leader and Managing Director of Honda R&D. "Racing is in Honda's DNA. We have always aimed high, and through the years Formula One has represented the greatest challenge for our engineers." However, Hosaka is quick to acknowledge the importance of the future and is absolutely focussed on the new generation: "Our predecessors in the 1980s broke new ground for the company, and this current generation plans to work as hard as they did. We will not be complacent or bask in past glories. We want to write a new chapter of success with our new technology." With future success in mind, the team enjoyed a productive test at Monza last week. Both drivers were among the pace-setters throughout the week and Jacques Villeneuve set the fastest time on Thursday, the final day of BAR Honda's activity. "We had a very successful test," confirms Kazutoshi Nishizawa, Technical Director of Honda Racing Development. "We made good progress with the set-up of the car and the engine responded well to the demands of the circuit. You need more than just straight-line speed at Monza, because you have to have sufficient downforce for the chicanes and corners. It would be nice to produce a really competitive performance in Honda's 200th Grand Prix." Monza Although Brescia staged the first-ever Italian Grand Prix in 1921, the Autodromo di Monza has been the spiritual home of Italian motorsport and its fanatical followers - the 'tifosi' - ever since. The tradition of F1 enthusiasm in Italy has much to do with the thrillingly quick racing witnessed during Monza's first incarnation as a steeply banked oval course, and the towering crumbling curves are still revered today. A redesign gave the track its present configuration in 1962, but the emphasis on speed was not lost - the sweeping corners and long straights still make this the fastest track on the F1 calendar. Honda in Italy Honda first fell in love with Monza in 1967, when John Surtees famously powered past Jack Brabham at the final corner to record Honda's second ever GP victory and its first in Europe (see attached picture). 25 years and 68 Honda-powered wins later, Ayrton Senna produced a skilful and defiant drive to take the chequered flag, Honda's sixth win in front of the 'tifosi'. Sandwiched between the spectacular exploits of Surtees and Senna, four further Italian successes were achieved by Honda during its late-eighties F1 golden era. Nelson Piquet took consecutive chequered flags at Monza in 1986 and 1987, while the McLaren-Hondas of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were victorious in 1989 and 1990. Ironically, when McLaren-Honda won 15 of 16 races in 1998, it was only the Italian event that eluded Messieurs Prost and Senna. Circuit Details Circuit Name Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Parco di Monza, Italy Circuit Length 5.700km/3.585miles Lap Record M Hakkinen 1.24.808 (McLaren-Mercedes 1997) Timetable (all times are local, CET is the same, UK time is one hour behind) Friday Free Practice: 11.00-12.00 & 13.00-14.00 Saturday Free Practice: 09.00-09.45 & 10.15-11.00 Qualifying: 13.00-14.00 Sunday Warm-up: 09.30-10.00 Race (53 laps): 14.00 1999 Results Winner Frentzen (Jordan-Mugen-Honda) 1hr 17min 02.923sec Average Speed 237.938km/h Pole Position Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1.22.432 BAR 1999 Jacques Villeneuve Qualified: 11th Race: 8th Ricardo Zonta Qualified: 18th Race: DNF Previous Italian GP winners M Schumacher (1995, 1998) Berger (1994, 1997), Hill (1996), Prost (1993), Honda in Italy Grands Prix: 15 Podiums: 11 Wins: 6 (Senna, Prost, Piquet, Surtees) Honda F1 winners Senna 32, Mansell 13, Prost 11, Piquet 7, Berger & Rosberg 3, Ginther & Surtees 1 Team wins powered by Honda McLaren-Honda 44 - Williams-Honda 23 - Honda 2 - Lotus-Honda 2 2000 BAR Honda Results Jacques Villeneuve Aus Q8, R4 - Brz Q10, DNF - SM Q9, R5 - GB Q10, DNF - SP Q6, DNF - EUR Q9, DNF - MON Q17, R7 - CAN Q6, DNF - FRA Q7, R4 - AUS Q7, R4 - GER Q9, R8 - HUN Q16, R12 - BEL Q7, R7 Ricardo Zonta Aus Q16, R6 - Brz Q8, R9 - SM Q14, R12 - GB Q16, DNF - SP Q16, R8 - EUR Q18, DNF - MON Q20, DNF - CAN Q8, R8 - FRA Q19, DNF - AUS Q6, DNF - GER Q12, DNF - HUN Q18, R14 - BEL Q13, R12 2000 Jordan Mugen-Honda Heinz-Harald Frentzen Aus Q5, DNF - Brz Q7, R3 - SM Q6, DNF - GB Q2, DNF - SP Q8, R6 - EUR Q10, DNF - MON Q4, DNF - CAN Q5, DNF - Q8, R7 - AUS Q15, DNF - GER Q17, DNF - HUN Q6, R6 - BEL Q8, R6 Jarno Trulli Aus Q6, DNF - Brz Q12, R4 - SM Q8, DNF - GB Q11, R6 - SP Q7, R12 - EUR Q6, DNF - MON Q2, DNF - CAN Q7, R6 - FRA Q9, R6 - AUS Q5, DNF - GER Q6, R9 - HUN Q12, R7 - BEL Q2, DNF 2000 Points Jacques Villeneuve - 11 Ricardo Zonta - 1 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 7 Jarno Trulli - 6