It’s the final short-haul trip of 2018 for our special correspondent @DieterRencken as Formula 1 heads to Monza for the last European race of the season: the Italian Grand Prix.
4:30am
Alarm screams “It’s Italian Grand Prix time!” I depart 30 minutes later for the airport, with a flask of tea for company.6am
Breeze through airport formalities despite a surprising number of early birds, queue for boarding; then realise its amateur hour for Brussels Airlines: departure is scheduled for 620am, yet we board well after that time, which is beyond me given there’s no late incoming flight, but whatever.
Eventually the captain says, “We’re awaiting final bags to be loaded, then we’re underway”. Ten minutes later captain says, “We’re awaiting five late passengers.” Hmm… Ten minutes after they arrive, captain says, “Sorry, but can’t remove the steps to the aircraft, so we’ve asked for outside help.”
7am
Yellow van arrives, much tugging and steps are free. Ten minutes later captain says, “Sorry, the man who removes the chocks has left, so we’ve called him back.” Eventually, at 7:40am we’re underway, 100 minutes lost due to sheer airline incompetence – and our eventual 8:45am landing time pitches us straight into Milan traffic, adding another 30 minutes delay to the commute.
I have no issue when flights are delayed due to weather, safety or security concerns, but sheer incompetence that costs folk thousands – arguably more than their combined airfares – should not go uncompensated.
9am
In transit bus to terminal, and note a tractor transporting bags swerving sharply to avoid Air Berlin Boeing reversing across roadway. The swerving action causes two bags to fall off the trailer, which the aircraft narrowly misses. Whether tractor driver bothered to retrieve said baggage I do not know, but if your bags went missing at Malpensa yesterday (or have been crushed by large wheels), check out my photo.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
10am
Given that I’ve been up and about for almost six hours with only swigs of tea to keep me going, I stop at the autostrada Yellow Arches and grab a burger – which means I can skip lunch. Thursdays the teams don’t offer full media hospitality, although most media centres now do offer a bite to eat – but I’m not taking chances.
Some years ago all Monza offered was luke warm water out of a (broken) fountain, with instructions to recycle our (plastic) cups. True, things improved after I complained to the circuit, but still…
130am
All this means I arrive at the circuit, 40-odd miles away shortly before noon, just in time for the first interview, with Guenther Steiner – who confirms to me that Haas signed Force India’s “going concern” waiver and not the “new entry” document. The Pink Plot thickens.
Thereafter I chat to a mate with better-than-average knowledge of in-car camera stuff, who explains the devices have operating ranges of 50-120°C, and that cooling of these devices is vital on searing days when cars are on the grid – due to heat soak. They are activated when the ‘umbilical cord’ is removed – the final step before a car hits the track – and this resulted in a humorous incident at Ferrari, he said.
A Ferrari was in the garage with engine cover removed when a red-clad technician inadvertently removed the cord while FOM was running (supposedly) off-line checks, thus activating the cam and exposing the car’s rear innards to the paddock. Allegedly it took a while before the team’s competitors reported the breach…
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
12pm
The FIA Head of Communications announces that a photographer colleague has had two cameras and lenses nicked off his table – par for the course at Monza. Every year we experience criminal activity at two venues – Catalunya and Monza – in their (very) poorly guarded parking areas and/or media centres. It’s frankly unacceptable – how would you feel going to work knowing that costly and vital your kit is likely to be nicked?
1pm
So if you’re tired of reading third-hand stuff taken from the TV pen, where drivers repeatedly answer the same two or three questions for various different stations, you know why.
3pm
At the press conference: Of course the Prancing Horse jockeys are called up – it’s Monza, after all – plus Charles Leclerc who represents Sauber sponsor Alfa Romeo, while Nico Hulkenberg is there to publicly atone for his first-lap Spa misjudgement, but one wonders what the rest brought to this presser given that no new questions were posed at them in this very public forum.
4pm
Its back to media scrums – I draw Daniel Ricciardo, who raises a few laughs as puts on a pukka Italian accent after I ask what Monza means to him given his Italian roots, followed by Max Verstappen. It’s fascinating to hear why the Red Bull duo have opposing views on Halo despite visuals showing that Fernando Alonso’s tyre left imprints on Leclerc’s device in Spa.
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
6pm
Wrap up, catch up, pack up and head for my B&B in Cornate d’Adda, a village around 15 miles from the circuit. I’ve stayed at this family-run place for four years now, and find it hospitable, (fairly) cheap yet (very) cheerful, and, above, all, close to a number of good restaurants that don’t triple prices during GP weekend.
8pm
Dinner at a local griglia, where I have a 300g entrecote, accompanied by baked potato smothered with local olive oil. Oh, dessert consists of three balls of sorbet: passion fruit, peach and strawberry.
9:30pm
In bed, catching up on the day’s news, both F1 and other.
2018 Italian Grand Prix
- Grosjean’s Monza disqualification upheld by FIA Appeal Court
- Haas rival rubbishes ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ claim
- Ferrari driver change was “the right choice for Kimi” – Arrivabene
- Verstappen: Other drivers got away with worse at Monza
- Renault broke agreement with Grosjean protest – Haas
Jere (@jerejj)
31st August 2018, 11:43
”I have no issue when flights are delayed due to weather, safety or security concerns, but sheer incompetence that costs folk thousands – arguably more than their combined airfares – should not go uncompensated.”
Spot on! I couldn’t agree more with you.
frood19 (@frood19)
31st August 2018, 14:02
You can claim under the eu flight compensation laws. Some airlines are better than others but they all pay in the end if you have a valid claim. I’ve successfully claimed hundreds of pounds in the past.
Dieter Rencken (@dieterrencken)
1st September 2018, 6:38
So have I, but that only applies after 3hrs delay. But a 1hr delay still represents massive inconvenience for 100s of pax.
bosyber (@bosyber)
31st August 2018, 11:59
Wonder what the Hamilton personal circumstances were (as I read it yesterday I thought ‘did he get an appointment at a traffic court for speeding/being too adventurous with his motorbike?). The Media pen/presser/stale questions thing really is something that FOM needs to have a think about. I don’t know what the solution is, but having us all listen to sealed answers and stale questions isn’t really worthwhile for anyone and wastes a lot of effort, time and motivation.
Also, quite an advert for good airlines :) and one for the tourism board around the track too. Hope you had a good sleep after what reads as an exhausting day @dieterrencken! Sitting here in rainy Berlin, I can almost feel I am tagging along (yeah I also had a short night :-p)
F1analyst
31st August 2018, 12:18
Bad day at the office dear?
Moan, moan, whine, moan. Another DR column…
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
31st August 2018, 13:00
Another F1analyst comment…
Dieter Rencken (@dieterrencken)
31st August 2018, 13:18
Thanks for reading, F1 Analyst
Phylyp (@phylyp)
31st August 2018, 14:13
Just as we all like F1 drivers to be human in press conferences instead of PR-driven automatons, likewise we like to hear from the people behind the site about their experience of the GP, especially since their press passes gets them access to places and people that many of us can’t. So I welcome hearing Dieter either complain about his journey/facilities, or conversely praise the journey/facilities/food. The little nuggets of “I heard whispers about this, stay tuned for more in a future article” are a welcome topping.
Tarheelpup (@tarheelpup)
31st August 2018, 20:01
The really lousy part is how Dieter comes to your house, ties you to a chair and forces you to click the link. Criminal.
Dieter, you should be ashamed!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
31st August 2018, 14:09
Interesting, Catalunya was where the more expensive cars were also damaged, weren’t they?
When I read two venues, I wrongly assumed the other one was Brazil. Upon reading Dieter’s explanation, it appears that criminal activity in Brazil is only outside the confines of the circuit, typically the road to the city (from past accounts).
Balue (@balue)
31st August 2018, 14:15
Fun to read, and nice that it’s cool with Ricciardo after the ‘misunderstanding’ earlier in the season.