The Expectations I

With just a week after Spa, one would think that short of proclaiming their undying love for the Italian Temple of Speed, little of consequence would be announced at Monza.

That would be wrong.

Brazilian Felipe Massa chose the run-up to Monza to announce his retirement at the end of the 2016 F1 season. During his 14-year career in F1, he won 11 Grands Prix and finished on the podium 41 times. When Massa steps out of his Williams FW38 after this November’ season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, it will have been his 250th race in Formula 1.

Massa chose to make his announcement at Monza because of his personal career symmetry. Michael Schumacher announced his first retirement at Monza 10 years ago, a move which allowed Massa to remain at Ferrari, and eventually brought him to within  30-seconds of F1 immortality. Massa used his announcement to pay homage to his still-recovering former teammate.

On the heels of Massa’s announcement, McLaren’s Jenson Button then dropped his own bombshell. The 2010 World Champion announced he would step down from Formula 1 racing in 2017 and be replaced by McLaren’s reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne, but will remain with McLaren as brand ambassador and reserve driver. Button also holds an option to return to racing in 2018 should Fernando Alonso retire or leave McLaren.

Calling Monza the Temple of Speed is an understatement. Since joining the Grand Prix rotation in 1950, Monza has always been one of the fastest road racing circuits on earth, and a no-holds barred speedfest. It is a celebration of stupefying velocity and a celebration of the art of drafting. As the definitive old school circuit, Monza still stands alone in terms of low drag, high speed set-up demands. In the day, a lap of Monza might feature dozens of passes for position throughout the field.

Traditionally, if an F1 team had a game-changing aero development in the works, Monza would be where it broke cover.