Title fight goes full throttle to Monza

Teamcar - It's that time of year again when the Formula One teams bring out their customised aero packages and head to the fastest track on the calendar, the temple of speed that is Monza. The Italian Grand Prix is always an important event and this season it could play an even more crucial part than ever with the fights for both titles still so close.

Monza, the last European race of the season, is a unique challenge with its low downforce requirements and bumpy kerbs and as far as power is concerned, the more the better. Engines spend three quarters of the 5.79 km lap at full throttle, hit the highest top speed of the year, approximately 340 kmph, and the average lap speed is over 250 kmph.

"The circuit in the Royal Park is the high-speed track par excellence and demands a great deal of respect from drivers and machinery alike," said BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen. "With the V10 engines the full-throttle percentage was 67, with the less powerful V8 we recorded 77 percent during testing."

Monza will be Michelin's last European race in F1, as the French manufacturer will quit the sport at the end of this season. "

With only two points between Renault and Ferrari in the constructors' standings and 12 between leader Fernando Alonso and challenger Michael Schumacher in the drivers' Monza could be definitive. After Italy there's only three races left, so if Alonso can maintain his advantage it will be a difficult job for Schumacher to catch up.

Of course, Monza is the home race of Ferrari and for this particular Italian GP the anticipation is sky high -- but not necessarily for the on track action. Ferrari is scheduled to make an announcement about its 2007 drivers after the race and the big question is whether Michael is going to retire at the end of this season.