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00:00:00Situated 10 miles north of one of Italy's major tourist centers, Milan.
00:00:06Here the famous Milan Duomo attracts thousands of tourists each day. In the cathedral square,
00:00:14groups of people come for discussions in the typical Italian style. They are very emotional
00:00:22people. Like every Formula One race, the Grand Prix of Italy is about the teams, tracks, and fans.
00:00:30But only here, at Autodromo Monza, do the fans overshadow the first two.
00:00:37This is the country's biggest sporting event of the year. All of Italy waits for September
00:00:42when 26 of these 200 mile per hour vehicles perform their spectacular show. But in Monza,
00:00:51only two cars really matter. It is the ultimate fantasy of every Italian fan
00:00:57to drive the red cars of Team Ferrari. The closest they can come to achieving that dream
00:01:03is to watch, hear, and maybe even touch one of these most coveted F1 automobiles.
00:01:13That is what the Italian Grand Prix is all about. Ferrari and their fans. It is difficult to quote
00:01:20an accurate spectator figure because many scale the fences rather than pay. But for sure,
00:01:27over 450,000 supporters during this Grand Prix weekend will eagerly give every last ounce of
00:01:34emotion to somehow contribute to what must be a Ferrari victory. Their intensity rises to a frenzy
00:01:43that demands this most classic, ultra-fast Monza circuit to do justice by rendering the other
00:01:50challengers helpless while allowing Ferrari all the right brakes onto victory. But like many plans
00:01:57in this most unique country, it doesn't always work out as intended. Since 1950, Ferrari has
00:02:04won nine of 32 events, with the past two victories going to the Renault Turbos of France,
00:02:11causing hundreds of thousands of fans to leave Autodromo Monza totally dejected.
00:02:18This is John Bazzignano. I'll be your host along with Brian Kreisky for this 90-minute ESPN coverage
00:02:25of the Italian Grand Prix for Formula One racing cars. Brian and I will be presenting technical
00:02:31reports, driver interviews, all the latest F1 updates, plus the fantastic Grand Prix race action.
00:02:38Brian, what special features do you have for us this weekend? Well, on the Dutch Grand Prix we spoke
00:02:43to Jean-Marie Baleste, of course, the president of the FISA, but here we're going to do something a bit
00:02:46different. We're going to talk to the mechanics, perhaps the unsung heroes of the Formula One
00:02:51teams that have been, of course, responsible for those 26 cars being on the grid, and we're going
00:02:56to find out from them what they actually think of their drivers, whether they think they're perhaps
00:03:00overpaid, whether they're any good, whether no good, and how they treat them. We're going to
00:03:04ask them quite a few questions. So please join us after this short message when we take a detailed
00:03:10look at the invisible science of Formula One. We'll be right back.
00:03:20The invisible science of Formula One deals with the high-speed reaction that airflow has
00:03:27on the sleek bodywork of a Grand Prix racer. An interesting thing to consider is that these
00:03:331,200-pound cars are capable of speeds greater than a 330-ton 747 at liftoff. The primary purpose
00:03:43of F1 aerodynamics is to keep the car on the ground. This is accomplished by the body shape
00:03:50developing as much downforce as possible, while allowing for maximum straight-line speed
00:03:57with minimum drag. The correct combination will generate more miles per hour on the straights
00:04:04and greater stability in the corners, which all hopefully leads to a Grand Prix winning advantage.
00:04:11Each team's chief designer spends hundreds of hours refining the shape he feels is the best
00:04:17combination. Expensive wind tunnel testing moves the design as close to high-speed racing conditions
00:04:25as possible. After all this effort, the amazing fact is that not one single design has surfaced
00:04:33as being the only way to go. The bodywork configurations vary widely, ranging from flat
00:04:41arrow shapes to round, bulbous designs. Gordon Murray is the chief designer of the 1981 World
00:04:50Champions Team Brabham. He is considered a leader in Formula 1 aerodynamics. I talked with him about
00:04:58the invisible science. Gordon, it was Team Brabham that introduced wings on Formula 1 cars some 15
00:05:05years ago. They're still around, working well. Why has that concept been so popular for so long?
00:05:12Well, it's one of those things you wonder why people didn't think of it earlier, really, because
00:05:17the wings work exactly the same way as they work on an aircraft. Differential pressure, but reversed,
00:05:23so the wing runs upside down and presses the car down into the ground, and therefore you go
00:05:28around corners more quickly. I mean, it's such a simple physical fact, it's a wonder people didn't
00:05:33think of it earlier. So it actually produces negative lift. Yes, it's an aeroplane running
00:05:39upside down, if you like. Now, the front wheels of the car are quite massive, and pushing those
00:05:45through the air, is that almost like a wall going against the air? It's worse than that, because you
00:05:50get an awful amount of drag off the rotation of the wheel as well, vortices and things off the
00:05:55rotation of the wheel, and the front and rear wheels together are something like 60% of the
00:05:59total drag of the car. How much work do you do in the wind tunnel? It must be very expensive to get
00:06:06just the right design, yeah? As a part of the budget, it's not an enormous part of the budget,
00:06:13but it's very time consuming. It takes a lot of setting up, the instrumentation is very delicate,
00:06:18and you have to spend a long time in the tunnel to get a very small amount of information.
00:06:25Well, spending all that time must take you away from other parts of the car that must also be
00:06:30very competitive. So where is the priority of aerodynamics against the engine and gearbox and
00:06:36chassis? It's difficult in Formula One to have priorities, because you can't do any one thing
00:06:41without the other, but aerodynamics have always been and will always be very important, I think, and
00:06:49we put them fairly high up the list of priorities. After all that testing and designing, it's amazing
00:06:56that the cars don't look more alike. The Arrows have long side pods and a flat nose, Tiro is round
00:07:04and bulbous, yours is like an arrow going through the wind. Well, that's a function really of the
00:07:09regulations, their changes and how long they've been in existence. For instance, if you looked
00:07:15at all the cars at the end of last year with Ground Effect, at the end of an era, they were all fairly
00:07:20similar. Long, flat side pods, similar shape, similar wing sizes. Now we have a completely
00:07:26different set of rules which effectively eliminates Ground Effect, or three quarters of it anyway,
00:07:33and designers are very individual people, they all have a different approach to begin with, but you'll
00:07:38find in the next two seasons, people will copy the fast cars and the similarities will appear again.
00:07:46So what is the future of Ground Effects and Formula One? You're constantly trying to get more
00:07:50downforce. I think Ground Effects are still very important, that's getting downforce
00:07:56from the underside of the car, even though we have no skirts, you can still get a fairly large
00:08:00percentage of the downforce from the underside, and that's very important, because the more of
00:08:05that you can get, the better. But you're getting more exotic, more expensive, some teams can't afford
00:08:10all that, I guess. Oh, that's a very small part of the budget, compared to the engine rebuilds, for instance.
00:08:17Now, aerodynamics is a place that has contributed to the efficiency of road cars. Do you see more
00:08:24racing design going into the street cars? Definitely, definitely. I think it's always a point
00:08:31of aggravation with me that road cars take so long to catch up, but it's really marketing and tooling.
00:08:37The lead times are very long with production cars, but they do eventually take tips from
00:08:44racing cars and will continue to do so. I think now they're realizing that aerodynamics
00:08:49can save fuel, and therefore they're putting more emphasis on aerodynamics. Goran, thank you very much.
00:08:55Drivers must understand and work with the aerodynamics of their cars in the same way they
00:09:01deal with the brakes, tires, and suspension. I asked Derek Warwick, number one driver for Candy Team
00:09:08Toleman, how tangible is the invisible science? Well, you're aware of the aerodynamics by when you
00:09:16do a simple adjustment. If you adjust the front wings or rear wings, you immediately change the
00:09:21balance of the car from understeering to oversteering. And if you adjust it too much,
00:09:28then the car is just undriveable. So you really do fine-tune the aerodynamics for each particular
00:09:35circuit? Well, yes. I mean, we can alter the rear wing an eighth of an inch, three mil,
00:09:41and it will completely change the balance of the car. Or you often see at the rear wing a little
00:09:46return lip. We can change them by an eighth of an inch and completely change the balance
00:09:51of the car. Now, when you're following another car too closely, it disturbs your airflow and
00:09:58actually washes out some of your downforce. Isn't that a problem when you're trying to pass another
00:10:04competitor? It's a big problem, mainly in the fast corners. If you're right behind somebody
00:10:09going through fast corners, he is using the air that you need to create the downforce.
00:10:15So the car becomes very light and you either go over the curbs or you can have an accident
00:10:22because of it. Now, the front wings are a very vulnerable position in motor racing. Sometimes
00:10:28you see a driver with quite heavily damaged aerodynamics. What's that like to carry on
00:10:33throughout a whole race? Well, by nudging the front wings, you can either nudge it up or down,
00:10:39obviously. It's something that you have to drive around. Being a driver, if the balance of the car
00:10:47changes during the course of the race, you just have to drive around it. But quite often,
00:10:51it can upset the balance of the car to such an extent that you would have to come in and have
00:10:56it changed. Derek, there aren't many mechanical failures relative to aerodynamics, but wouldn't
00:11:02it be a tremendous shock to be doing 200 miles an hour and have your rear wing disappear behind you
00:11:07off the chassis? Yes. Well, as a matter of fact, I've had that happen to me. It was at Zandvoort
00:11:13last year. I was going along the straight and I was getting a tow behind Bruno in the Alpha
00:11:20and all of a sudden I found about 700 revs and I went by Bruno like he was stopped. And it was
00:11:26because the rear wing had come dislodged and went off the back. And the problem was when I got to
00:11:33the other end, the car just periodic into the catch fencing. So that's how good the aerodynamics
00:11:39work. So it's great down the straightaway with less drag, but when you get to the corner,
00:11:44it's another story. It's difficult. When team owner Lord Heskett asked world champion James Hunt
00:11:50which particular aspect of his new Formula One car he wanted emphasized, James answered,
00:11:56get the aerodynamics right. That way I'll have a few more miles per hour down the straights
00:12:02and that's the easiest place to pass. More ESPN Auto Racing 83 when we return after
00:12:09this short break with driver interviews and the qualifying story. Stay with us.
00:12:19The Monza circuit is 3.6 miles in length. The race itself for the Italian Grand Prix is going
00:12:25to be over 52 laps. That's a total of just over 187 miles of racing. The existing lap record is
00:12:33held by the man who won here last year, Reni Arnoux, driving the works Renault RE30. He went
00:12:39round in a 1 minute 33.619 second lap on average speed of just under 139 miles per hour. Now,
00:12:47as you may remember, last year, of course, we had those full ground effect Formula One cars.
00:12:51This year we've got those flat bottoms on the cars so they are slightly slower,
00:12:55if not a lot more spectacular. But it's the Drivers World Championship that is really
00:13:00building up to quite a climax. Any one of four drivers could win, Alain Frost, Reni Arnoux,
00:13:06Nelson Piquet or Patrick Tambay. But the man who is in pole position here, and a surprise this,
00:13:11the Italian, Riccardo Patrese, went round in his qualifying time in a 1 minute 29.122 second lap.
00:13:19That is something like four seconds a lap quicker than the lap record and we now speak to him.
00:13:26Riccardo Patrese, an Italian on pole position for the Italian Grand Prix.
00:13:30You must be delighted. Yes, yes I am. This is your first pole position this year.
00:13:37You haven't had a lot of luck. You've only gained four World Championship points.
00:13:41Is your luck finally going to change here? I don't know. Don't ask me. It's all the
00:13:48year that I'm waiting for a little bit of luck. But it's enough that if I have normal,
00:13:55I mean standard, if the car finishes I don't need luck. Do you feel that you get the same
00:14:01equipment as Nelson Piquet does in the Brabham team? 100%. The same treatment, same equipment,
00:14:09same car, same engine, same tyres. No problem. We started in an equal position,
00:14:14unfortunately I had problems. Now he's fighting for the championship while I'm in the back. But
00:14:19I think if you look really at my performance through the year, you can see that I've always
00:14:24been with the leaders. Well Riccardo, what about the World Championship itself? You're not in
00:14:30contention for the World Championship. What happens if you're leading the race? Nelson Piquet is behind
00:14:35you in second place. Would you slow down to help him gain more World Championship points? Would you
00:14:40work as a team? This is a question that it means that at the last lap we are first and second,
00:14:47that it should be already a very good result for us. But it means that we are leading the race and
00:14:52we can finish first and second. But in any case, if I can give an help to Nelson, I give to him.
00:14:59So you will not race against Nelson as such, you will race for him and to help him?
00:15:04Well, first of all, I race for myself because I try to stay in front. And then it depends what
00:15:10happens in the race. And if I can, I help him, yes. We try to beat the Ferrari and the Renault
00:15:17and give to him the best support to be better in the World Championship. Finally, let me ask you,
00:15:24tomorrow when you're sitting in pole position on the grid, in front of 250,000 mad screaming
00:15:31Italians with two Ferraris behind you, surely that must be a little bit different to any other
00:15:36Grand Prix that you have ever started in your career? Well, I think that tomorrow for me is
00:15:44the most important thing, I repeat, is to finish the race. Because unfortunately,
00:15:49I finish only one race this year. OK, the people, they can give you support.
00:15:55But I mean, I start with an advantage that it cannot be conclusive advantage,
00:15:59because to be in pole position doesn't mean that you win the race. Tomorrow is another day,
00:16:06we know that we have a very strong opposition and we try to beat them.
00:16:10Second quickest, but half a second behind the pole sitter is Frenchman Patrick Tambay
00:16:15with the Ferrari. Now driving a Ferrari at Monza can be somewhat unnerving for the driver,
00:16:21but Patrick seems to take all of it in his stride. He was on the pole up to the last 20
00:16:26minutes of the last session and John Bisignano was there to speak to him after practice.
00:16:34Patrick Tambay, Team Ferrari, tremendous struggle for the pole position here.
00:16:38Well, that's the way it should be. It's a good climax. It was a good show for the crowd.
00:16:46They loved every little second of it. I was a little bit scared mid-session when I had the
00:16:52best time. I knew that the Brabhams could actually go out again and play with their boost. And this
00:16:57is what happened and they were quicker. But that's the way it should be. What is nice is that the car
00:17:05in his racing trim is excellent and that's going to be a different story. Patrick, you mentioned
00:17:12the crowd here. Everyone around Ferrari, this being Ferrari's biggest event, that must affect
00:17:17you in the driving. It's a boost. It's a moral boost. It doesn't affect me in any kind of
00:17:24tension, pressure. In fact, I'm very relaxed here for this weekend and it's a tremendous feeling to
00:17:30be able to be part of Ferrari drive for them at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. That's something
00:17:36unique and it's hard to describe, but it's psychologically very good. What about Enzo
00:17:43Ferrari himself? He puts extra pressure on his drivers for this race. Well, not extra pressure.
00:17:48You know that you don't need that kind of pressure. No, he's just very concerned that
00:17:52we do a good result and it would be nice to do a good one for him. Now, today you've had some
00:17:57spectacular movements on the circuit also. Earlier a spin on some oil and then a coming together with
00:18:02Lafitte. Yes, what was that about? Nothing unusual than business. That is a part of the
00:18:10business here in Monza. It's a part of the business anywhere and that's the way it goes,
00:18:15but nothing wrong. The cars are tipped up shape and we just have to go now and do the race. Now,
00:18:21last year you finished second here. A very good result for you. What do you think of your chances
00:18:25tomorrow? I feel better than last year. Last year I finished second with only driving with one arm.
00:18:30I had a big shoulder problem and now this is all cured and I'm in a better shape than I was last
00:18:36year, so why not? Patrick, be very careful. The crowd here, they want to touch you, see you. Best
00:18:41of luck. Okay. Now all Patrick's got to do is get through this massive crowd. You can hear them in
00:18:51the background. It's not going to be easy for him. He's got security guards with him all weekend. In
00:18:55fact, he disguised himself to get into the Monza Autodrome. Third place on the grid is the second
00:19:01Ferrari of Reni Arnoux. He went round in a 1 minute 29.901 second lap, so we have Ferrari second and
00:19:08third, an Italian driver in pole position and really nothing could be better for the Italian
00:19:14crowd. This massive crowd that over the weekend will number something like 350,000 spectators.
00:19:21Yes, as John said in his introduction to the SPN coverage today, the Italian Grand Prix is
00:19:27the sporting event in Italy. Reni Arnoux, who of course lies second in the World Championship,
00:19:34just eight points away from the leader Alain Prost. He's won three Grand Prixs and many people
00:19:40think that he may win the World Championship. Still looking to make his break into the world
00:19:45of entertainment is Nelson Piquet here, who gets things a bit crossed up. He's fourth quickest with
00:19:51the Parmelat Brabham. Nelson went round in a 1 minute 30.202 seconds with that Parmelat Brabham.
00:19:59As we said, it's powered of course by the BMW four-cylinder turbo. Piquet, who lies third equal
00:20:06in the championship with Patrick Tambay, 14 points behind Alain Prost. If he can win, he'll close the
00:20:13gap dramatically. Nelson Piquet, a tremendous thinking driver, a man who many people respect
00:20:20perhaps as the most perfect all-round racing driver currently on the Formula One circuit.
00:20:26Nelson of course was leading the last Grand Prix, the Dutch Grand Prix, when he had that rather
00:20:31controversial incident when Alain Prost put the car out. And here is a man who was involved in
00:20:36that incident, fifth quickest, Alain Prost, with the Renault, the World Championship leader. He's
00:20:42on a 1 minute 31.144 second lap. Now that's over two seconds slower than the pole position time,
00:20:49and just over one second slower than Nelson Piquet, who's just ahead of him on the grid
00:20:54in fourth place. So Alain Prost who made that rather daring maneuver at the Tarzan Corner,
00:20:59the Dutch Grand Prix, fifth on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix, a very important race for him.
00:21:05In sixth place is the somewhat volatile Andrea de Cesaris with the Alfa Romeo Turbo, a very good
00:21:11effort for him because he went quickest in unofficial testing here at the Monza Autodrome
00:21:15and wants to do well of course in front of his own home crowd. Driving here in Italy, your home
00:21:22country, is that an extra pressure for you to do well? Well for sure it's an extra pressure because
00:21:27all the public is looking forward to see you doing well, and this means that you try harder
00:21:34and you may do a mistake more easily. But you also feel, you know, this all the pressure they
00:21:42give to you is also good because they make you feeling very very happy. Well Andrea, most of the
00:21:48people here are actually cheering for Ferrari. You're with another manufacturer, Alfa Romeo,
00:21:54from Italy. What do you feel when you see Ferrari flags around the entire circuit?
00:21:59Well it's normal because Ferrari has won many races in the near past and so it's normal that
00:22:06the public, that Ferrari has more fans. But I'm sure if we go well they're very happy and
00:22:13also if an Italian driver goes well he's very happy. Seventh place on the grid, the second
00:22:19Renault Turbo for the American driver Eddie Chiva. Eddie who's been going very well in the Formula
00:22:25One World Championship Series, driving as a teammate to Alain Prost. He went round in a one minute 31.564
00:22:33second lap. One of the two American drivers on this Formula One circuit is Eddie Chiva with the
00:22:40Renault team. Eddie starting in seventh, that's one of your lowest qualifying positions all year long.
00:22:45What were your problems here? The car, we've had an engine problem that the whole weekend
00:22:51that we're not very good on top end. The Brabham is about 20 kilometers an hour faster
00:22:56than us. That's about eight, nine miles. That's a big difference on a circuit like this.
00:23:00But today we only have two sets of qualifying tires and on my second set I did a very good
00:23:05lap and I got caught behind Nauda. So I lost a bit of time but apart from that I'm quite happy.
00:23:11I think the race will be good. We always race well. I always race much better than I qualified.
00:23:15I always have, even when I was racing in the beginning in go-karts. But I think I have a
00:23:20good chance to win tomorrow. Eddie, you're an American but you've been living in Italy
00:23:24most of your life. What's it like to race here with the biggest competition that Ferrari has
00:23:29when you know that all the fans are really pulling for two French drivers with the Ferrari team?
00:23:37I don't think they're pulling. I don't think so much the fact of the French drivers. It's
00:23:40the fact that everybody in Italy pushes Ferrari. If there is a place in the world where I'd like
00:23:44to win, it's here. I would love to beat Ferrari here. That would give me such an immense pleasure
00:23:49that it's not even describable. Well, you finished sixth here last year in a less capable car.
00:23:57So what do you feel your race chances are tomorrow? Well, I finished sixth here last
00:24:01year but it was a sixth place. I was almost one lap down. The turbos were much quicker.
00:24:07But here I run a good chance to run with the leading group and if I choose my tires right
00:24:12and if I can stay out of trouble in the first few laps and get a good start, I think I'm looking
00:24:17good to finish in the first three. Eddie, what would happen if you were ahead of your teammate
00:24:23Alain Prost who needs plenty of points to maintain his lead in the world championship
00:24:28and you got a pit signal that said let Alain by? What would happen there? If it happened
00:24:33about four laps in the race, my visor would probably be so dirty that I couldn't see
00:24:37any pit signals. No, I work for Renault and Renault have been trying to win the
00:24:43championship the last five years and so it's in my interest at this point of the year to
00:24:49make sure that he wins the championship. If it was Prost or if it was me, I think the position
00:24:54would be the same. However, if I am leading and he is second and it's important that he gets my
00:25:00points and I would be very unhappy doing it and I would probably moan for a week. But in the end,
00:25:05I think I know that professionally it would be a disaster if I didn't. But you just got
00:25:12done telling us that the most important race for you is to beat Ferrari win at the Italian
00:25:17Grand Prix. Wouldn't that just break your heart to realize your responsibility and let your teammate
00:25:23go by? That's what life's about, isn't it? Broken hearts and things that could have been that.
00:25:28That's the way it is. I signed an agreement with him at the beginning of this year and that was
00:25:31part of the agreement. Eddie, and next year what are you going to be doing here in Formula One?
00:25:35I'm not quite sure yet. I'd like to stay with Renault, but I'd like the conditions of my
00:25:38contract to be a little bit different. I've had a good year in one way and a bad year in another.
00:25:44I've been very competitive during all the races. I've had some good races, but every time
00:25:48I've been in a position to finish in the first three, many times I've had mechanical problems
00:25:53and I've lost wires falling off, turbos that have broken, really silly things that have nothing to
00:25:57do with me and I've lost something like 30 points. If that hadn't been the case, I think my position
00:26:02would have been different this year and I think I would have had a crack at the championship. But
00:26:05next year is another year. Eighth on the grid is Elio De Angelis with the leading Lotus-Renault,
00:26:10the John Clare special going round in a one minute 31.628 second lap. Ninth is Manfred Winkelhoff
00:26:17with the ATS-BMW and in tenth place, completing the top ten, Mauro Baldi with the second Alfa.
00:26:24And so in all, we look forward to a very exciting Italian Grand Prix. It should be,
00:26:29I think, the turning point, perhaps, of the world championship. Join us after the short break.
00:26:47Race day at Monza is somewhat different to anywhere else in the world, laying siege to
00:26:52the perimeters of the Panic area. The crowd chanting Patrick Tambay, they want to see Tambay,
00:26:59the Ferrari drivers, and really very vocal indeed. And since early morning, the grandstands filling up
00:27:08all around the 3.6 mile circuit of Monza. Any vantage point for anybody on top of the advertising
00:27:15hoardings. And the police very much in evidence in order to try and keep control over this massive
00:27:23crowd. And they while away the time before the half past three start. And as you can hear,
00:27:35very vocal indeed. Their enthusiasm for the Ferrari team and for the Italian Grand Prix
00:27:40knows no bounds, as you'll see at the end of the Grand Prix race itself, when it is a
00:27:45regular thing that they invade the circuit, sometimes before the actual race is finished.
00:27:52The atmosphere here for the Italian Grand Prix, absolutely electric. They want to see a Ferrari
00:27:58victory. Every time a Renault goes past, they boo and hiss. And the man there in the lead of the
00:28:04World Championship, Alain Prost with 51 points. Second, René Arnoux with the Ferrari 43. Third,
00:28:10Nelson Piquet on 37. Fourth, Patrick Tambay on 37. Fifth, Rosberg 25. Sixth place, Watson 22.
00:28:18Seventh place, Cheever with 17. Eighth place, Lauda with 12. Ninth is Lafitte with 11. And
00:28:2410th place, Alboreto with 10. So the battle for the World Championship for drivers and of course
00:28:32the World Championship for manufacturers, which at the moment is being led fairly handsomely
00:28:37by Ferrari from Renault, really coming into the final rounds. After this, we've got the
00:28:44Grand Prix of Europe at Brands Hatch in England. And when we finally go to South Africa, Kyalami
00:28:50on the 15th of October for the finale to the 1983 World Championship.
00:28:56The cars now off on their warming up lap through one of the three chicanes that we have here at Monza.
00:29:09And it's always a very crowded start coming into the first chicane.
00:29:16Beautiful dry conditions, a little bit overcast, but temperatures in the mid-70s.
00:29:22And as you can hear behind us, the crowd not dissimilar to a football crowd, waiting for the
00:29:28off of the 51st Italian Grand Prix. Cars weaving there to warm up their slick dry weather tyres.
00:29:43Number 34, Johnny Chicotto from Venezuela. And if they can't see right around the circuit,
00:29:49at least they can see it on their portable TV sets. Just look at the scaffolding that the
00:29:54spectators erect. The ingenuity of the Italian fan is something really quite incredible. And
00:30:00there the man in pole position. He's only scored four points in the World Championship so far.
00:30:05Riccardo Patrese, the two Ferraris lining up behind him. All the cars on the grid, 26 cars.
00:30:12We wait for the red lights to come on. Red lights on. They've changed to green,
00:30:20and Patrese makes a good start. So does Nelson Piquet. The Ferraris and Renaults are all away,
00:30:25cleanly, going towards the first chicane. And it's Patrese leading, and Piquet in second place,
00:30:31and Tombe in third. And Chivas also made a good start, looks to be in fifth place.
00:30:37And look at that traffic jam. No incident, but it's a little bumping and boring.
00:30:46So in the lead, we believe, is Riccardo Patrese with the Parmalat Brabham. The man
00:30:49who's in pole position. Yes, there he is. Patrese leads from Nelson Piquet, first and second,
00:30:54pulling away from the Ferraris. This will not go down too well with the Italian Tifosi. Patrese,
00:30:59Piquet, Tombe, Arnoux, Chivas going well. The Ches was sixth, Pro's seventh. The engine is
00:31:05eighth, Manson ninth, Baldi tenth, Winkelhock eleventh. There looks to be, in twelfth place,
00:31:10Derek Warwick with the Candy Toleman Heart Turbo. As through goes the Osella Alfa Romeo of Corrado
00:31:17Fabi. And there, Jeff Hutchinson, one of the photographers, has been hit by one of the stones
00:31:21thrown by the spectators in order to get the photographers out of the way. Still in the lead,
00:31:26though, Patrese, Piquet right behind him. In third place, Tombe, fourth, Arnoux, fifth, Chivas
00:31:30is challenging Arnoux for that fourth place. Sixth place is Andrea de Cesaris.
00:31:36Down towards the Parabolica they come, and what a sight for the start of the 51st Italian Grand
00:31:41Prix. Riccardo Patrese, an Italian, leading the Italian Grand Prix. Piquet in second place,
00:31:47sparks flying from the first two cars. Tombe third, Arnoux in fourth, Chivas fifth, de Cesaris
00:31:53in sixth. Prost down in seventh place, which will not be too good for his World Championships
00:31:57aspirations at this time. But it's still the race leader, Riccardo Patrese, going through with the
00:32:02Parmalat Brabham. So Parmalat Brabham's first and second. Piquet looking to the inside, knowing that
00:32:07he must win this race to get extra points and move closer to the World Championship leader,
00:32:12Alain Prost. Tombe third, Arnoux fourth, Chivas fifth, de Cesaris in sixth place.
00:32:18The two McLaren turbos. John Watson has now also got the tag Porsche turbo in the back of his
00:32:25McLaren. The entire field coming through now without incident in the early stages of the Italian Grand
00:32:31Prix. Still it is Riccardo Patrese, Nelson Piquet not far behind him, and the two Parmalat Brabhams
00:32:38are pulling away at an alarming rate from the Ferrari of Tombe. Arnoux fourth, Chivas fifth,
00:32:43Cesaris sixth, Prost seventh, De Angelis eighth, Manson ninth, Baldi tenth, 11th now Warrick, 12th
00:32:49is Winkloch, 13th is Watson and 14th is Niki Lauda. Number 40 is the Spirit Hunter going through
00:32:55and Michele Alboreto takes Roberto Guerrero for 17th place. But still the battle for third,
00:33:02fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh place. Prost still down in seventh place. De Angelis now closing in
00:33:06on Alain Prost. So it's still Riccardo Patrese leading, Nelson Piquet in second place, and join
00:33:15us for more coverage of the Italian Grand Prix after the short break. Welcome back to ESPN
00:33:23Autoracing's 83 coverage of the Italian Grand Prix, coming up to the completion of lap two.
00:33:28Patrese leads, Piquet in second place, going through to third place though, Reni Arnoux now
00:33:32with the Ferrari number 28, the man who lies second in the world championship. Chivas still
00:33:36lying there in fifth. Their completion of lap two, Riccardo Patrese leads, Pamela Brabham's first and
00:33:42second, Reni Arnoux is in third place. In fourth place is Tambay and trying to go through on the
00:33:47outside coming into the chicane is Chiva, but he's still there. The Pamela Brabham's lying first and
00:33:53second. Through goes Riccardo Patrese, the battle behind Arnoux in third place, and there's the
00:34:01Cesaris has gone off, the Cesaris has gone off, and it looks as if Chiva had gone up into fourth
00:34:07place. Tambay is in fifth place, and there is the Cesaris who was lying in sixth place. He was almost
00:34:14clipped by the world championship leader, Alain Prost. We see it in replay, he just loses it all
00:34:19by himself, the Cesaris, right behind the Ferrari, and look at Alain Prost who will have to lock up.
00:34:24He's probably flat spotted his front tyre there, that will do his chances in the Italian Grand Prix.
00:34:29Not a lot of good. Arnoux in third place, Chiva going extremely well in fourth place, Tambay fifth,
00:34:34Prost in sixth place, but he probably will have flat spotted his tyre because he had to lock up
00:34:38under braking to avoid the spinning Andrea de Cesaris. There is the Honda number 40 that's down
00:34:46in 15th place. Andrea de Cesaris who can't get out of the sand, he's stuck in the sand,
00:34:52so that car will have to be towed away before the cars come round at the completion
00:34:57of this lap, lap three.
00:35:01And it looks as if Chiva is going very well and posing right in on third place man Reni Arnoux.
00:35:09Prost is dropping back and there's, oh and there's a big blow up there, and the turbo has most
00:35:14certainly gone on the race lead of the palm lap, Prabhu and Riccardo Petrezzi, and just look at that
00:35:19and hear the Italian crowd scream behind because of course this will put the Ferraris up one more
00:35:24place, and so Nelson Piquet assumes the lead and look at the palm lap, Prabhu and Riccardo
00:35:30Petrezzi will come in slowly to retire, the turbo blown in a big way. Andrea de Cesaris car being
00:35:38pushed out the way, Piquet leads but the roar from the crowd is because Reni Arnoux is in second place,
00:35:45third is Chiva, fourth is Tambay, fifth is Prost, sixth is D'Angelo, seventh is Baldi,
00:35:50eighth is Mansell, ninth now is Warwick, 10th is John Watson, 11th is Winkelhoff, 12th is Rosberg
00:35:56leading, Cosworth runner, 13th is Giacomelli, 14th now is Johansson, 15th Suarez, 16th is Boutsas,
00:36:0417th Alboreto, 18th Gerrier, 19th Roberto Guerrero, 20th is Danny Sullivan, 21st Chicotto, 22nd is
00:36:14Ghinzani, so 22 cars at the moment left running in the race, Chiva right behind Reni Arnoux
00:36:21battling it out for second place, there's Warwick, John Watson going very well with a McLaren of
00:36:27course powered by the Tag Turbo, which is manufactured of course by Porsche in Weizsäck
00:36:34in West Germany, Niki Lauda is into the pits, this is not one of the scheduled fuel stops and there
00:36:42is Riccardo Patrese's smoking Brabham being pushed into the pits, whilst he may well be an Italian
00:36:50driver driving in the Italian Grand Prix, you can be quite sure that the Italian crier don't mind
00:36:56seeing him retire to put their Ferraris, their beloved Ferraris up one more notch and of course
00:37:02that much closer to the World Championship itself. So Chiva still in third place,
00:37:08Tambay in fourth place, there's Patrick Tambay, Tambay who perhaps is the favourite of the two
00:37:14Ferrari drivers here in Italy, Patrick who is such a personable young man, came over from the United
00:37:21States, took the place of the Gilles Villeneuve seat when Gilles of course was so tragically
00:37:28killed last year at the Belgium Grand Prix, taking over the beloved number 27, 27 means so much to
00:37:36the Ferrari fans because it was the number that Gilles Villeneuve raced and all around the circuit
00:37:41in fact there are still little memorials to Gilles Villeneuve, the driver, the Ferrari drivers who
00:37:47was loved really by all of those very volatile and affectionate basically Ferrari fans. Number 28
00:37:55still in second place, there's Elio D'Angis, puff of smoke also from the Alfa of Marabaldi, doesn't
00:38:01bode too well for that car, Derek Warwick and there is Riccardo Petrezzi walking back into the
00:38:07pits, must be very unhappy indeed and also retiring from the race, perhaps with a blown engine there,
00:38:14the Spirit Honda of Stephan Johansson, the Spirit that finished seventh in the Dutch Grand Prix,
00:38:22this is the Honda's, Spirit Honda's fourth Formula One race of the 1983 season,
00:38:27so Prost and D'Angelis closing in on Alain Prost that the fans here will be pleased to see and oh
00:38:33yes we thought that Alfa didn't look too well but it's done the same sort of thing that the
00:38:38erstwhile leader of the Parma-Napolitan of Petrezzi has done, it's blown up in the biggest possible way,
00:38:44highly spectacular and Marabaldi will be out of the 1983 Italian Grand Prix, so both Alfa's out,
00:38:51both Alfa's out, first of all of course the chasers have had that spin here at the first
00:38:55chicane and Nelson Piquet with a Parmalat Brabham is driving away from the rest of the field,
00:39:01no question about that, last fifth there is still Alain Prost, six Elio D'Angelis,
00:39:08the two Renault-powered cars, it's a good battle there, quite far down the field between the
00:39:15Benetton 2-0-1-2 and the Arrows, Nelson Piquet still leads, Eddie Cheever right behind René
00:39:24Arnoux now, that's Cheever's best race so far of the season, Bruno Giacobelli challenging Keke
00:39:29Rosberg for, that'll be for 10th place now, and Jerry A going past the Belgian driver Thierry
00:39:35Boutzer and there Marabaldi in the pits shaking his head, he must realise by now of course that
00:39:45the Italian Grand Prix is finished for him, so lap seven, Arnoux second, Cheever third,
00:39:54in fourth place is Tambay, fifth is Prost, sixth is D'Angelis and fourth, fifth and sixth places
00:40:00of three cars now closing up for a battle, but it's still this man Nelson Piquet,
00:40:06absolutely masterful, Arnoux still in second place, Eddie Cheever right behind him now in
00:40:15third place and most certainly this is Cheever's best drive of the year, ninth Nigel Mansell,
00:40:2110th Winkelhock, 11th is Rosberg, but challenging him now in 12th place is Bruno Giacobelli with the
00:40:26second Toleman, Rosberg who's really had a bit of a lacklustre performance in the recent Grand
00:40:31Prix's but of course he is expecting the Williams Honda for the final round of the World Championship
00:40:36in Kyalami, Tambay is still fourth, Prost fifth, D'Angelis is in sixth place, seventh place is
00:40:43Derek Warwick, in eighth place John Watson with the McLaren Turbo, up into 11th place now Giacobelli,
00:40:5012th of course will be world champion Rosberg, then comes Alboreto
00:40:59and still the race leader Nelson Piquet,
00:41:03we have a look now at the distance between first and second, 4.8 seconds, Arnoux second,
00:41:09Cheever third and the battle now really on for fifth place and D'Angelis looking for a way past
00:41:14Alain Prost, the two Renault powered cars and Prost still in fifth place and sixth place is
00:41:20Elio D'Angelis, the Lotus going very well here indeed and of course if he can take World Championship
00:41:28points off Elio D'Angelis, a little bit sideways there Nelson, Piquet fourth, fifth and sixth,
00:41:33still subject to quite a battle here at Monza
00:41:40and a good battle shaping up in the lower half of the field between Alboreto and Jean-Pierre Gerrier
00:41:49the two arrows behind him, still it's Nelson Piquet leading, René Arnoux in second place,
00:41:56Eddie Cheever right behind him, I think biding his time in third place, fourth place for Patrick
00:42:00Tambay, fifth place for Alain Prost, sixth place for Elio D'Angelis and this still could be anybody's race
00:42:11up to the Ascari corner they come, Arnoux just leading Eddie Cheever and Cheever going a lot
00:42:19better than team leader Alain Prost, could be quite interesting because although Cheever is a few
00:42:25placings ahead of Prost he is actually taking away World Championship points
00:42:29from his teammate, out has come Lauda but he's quite a few laps back, second and third place
00:42:34still Nelson Piquet with a palm lap Brabham pulling away just a little bit, bouncing over
00:42:38the kerbs there in third place Eddie Cheever and up a notch goes Elio D'Angelis and the Italian
00:42:46crowd obviously delighted by that because they will have taken away or rather D'Angelis will
00:42:50have taken away a valuable championship point from Alain Prost, Johnny Chicotto there having
00:42:57quite a battle with his teammate Roberto Guerrero both in the Theodore ensigns right behind him
00:43:02Danny Sullivan, race leader has gone through Nelson Piquet increasing his lead all the time
00:43:10it's going to be important of course for him to have the maximum advantage as they will come
00:43:14into their fuel stops as all important fuel stops of course the palm lap Brabham team so used to
00:43:21changing all four wheels and putting fuel into the car in under 12 seconds after 10 laps
00:43:29there is the leaderboard five and a half seconds behind the race leader Nelson Piquet comes Reni
00:43:35Arnoux, Cheever, Tambay, D'Angelis fifth now Alain Prost in sixth place and just out of the top six
00:43:41is Derek Warwick with the Candy Tolman heart
00:43:45so the Italian Grand Prix continues here at Monza and we will be right back with you after
00:43:52the short break with more ESPN Auto Racing 83 coverage of this exciting Italian Grand Prix
00:44:00our coverage of the Italian Grand Prix bringing up to date with a battle of fourth fifth and
00:44:04sixth place D'Angelis actually is closing in on Patrick Tambay in fourth place and Alain
00:44:09Prost seems to be dropping back could he be in trouble he didn't score of course in the last
00:44:14round of the world championship in Holland Prost who's won four of the world championship
00:44:20rounds already if he doesn't score any points here it's really going to be very hard pressed
00:44:27in the final two rounds of the world grand prix series to maintain that world championship lead
00:44:33because any one of four drivers is still in with a chance Johnny Chicotto going through under braking
00:44:38for Roberto Guerrero those two battling it out for 14th and 15th place
00:44:48Arnoux still second Cheever right behind him in third place and Cheever dogging his every move
00:44:55the driver from America going exceptionally well here at the Italian Grand Prix but Nelson Piquet
00:45:01reigning supreme with the Parmalat Brabham and there John Watson has slowed down and stopped
00:45:07Watson who was running up in eighth place right behind Derek Warwick going very well with the
00:45:13McLaren tag turbo car he's out of the race second and third still very close together indeed
00:45:20fourth is Tambay but D'Angelis now right behind him looking for a way past Patrick Tambay to get
00:45:25him to fourth place and I think he has done it Piquet goes through the Parabolica in the lead
00:45:29standing his lead and sure enough there is D'Angelis in fourth place so second now
00:45:34still is Arnoux Cheever in third place dropping back a little bit fourth place now is D'Angelis
00:45:39fifth place is Patrick Tambay and coming under pressure for that fifth place from Alain Prost
00:45:45Alain Prost lying in sixth place still Derek Warwick with the Toleman in seventh place
00:45:52Nelson Piquet leads
00:45:54as he has done really from lap two and this Italian Grand Prix has all been about
00:46:00Parmalat Brabham cars leading the field fourth D'Angelis John Player Special
00:46:07D'Angelis of course on the Pirelli tyres so the Pirelli race tyre
00:46:12seems to be improving here at Monza Michelin tyres on the lead car the Parmalat Brabham
00:46:18on the lead car the Parmalat Brabham Goodyear tyres on the Ferrari
00:46:25through goes the Renault also on Michelin tyres fourth fifth and sixth have now closed up again
00:46:35and now we've seen that everybody's getting ready for the first round of pit stops
00:46:40Cheever coming into the pits so he will relinquish his third place
00:46:44he's in the pits it's got to be a quick fuel stop for Eddie Cheever who's done so well
00:46:48there's the timer on the right-hand side of your screen
00:46:5511.59 seconds a good fuel stop for Eddie Cheever who goes back out in fourth place
00:47:02D'Angelis also in the pits coming out D'Angelis has dropped down to fifth place
00:47:09and there is Rene Arnoux Rene Arnoux by himself in second place but he's got to come in
00:47:14for a fuel stop soon perhaps on this lap he's going to come in
00:47:20there is Arnoux and Arnoux comes into the pits as quickly as possible
00:47:24still Nelson Piquet leads so Rene Arnoux comes into the pits on lap 25
00:47:31so up into second place for the moment we'll go Patrick Tambay with number 27
00:47:34so up into second place for the moment we'll go Patrick Tambay with number 27
00:47:38Eddie Cheever will be back up into third place
00:47:42the Ferrari mechanics are working on number 28
00:47:46the man who was lying in second place to lie second of course in the world championship
00:47:5111.99 seconds slightly slower than the Renault team but he gets away
00:47:58and Alain Prost coming in but coming in very slowly indeed Cheever is going through
00:48:04and Alain Prost with the Renault is coming in very slowly this doesn't look like a normal pit stop
00:48:09or will it be we'll have to wait and see the world championship leader looks to be in trouble
00:48:18he hasn't been going that well in the race being led by his teammate Eddie Cheever there's the
00:48:24clock running oh it's a long fuel stop this and he's away in 15.78 seconds
00:48:34four seconds slower than anybody else that we've seen making their routine fuel stop and I think
00:48:39that Alain Prost is in some form of trouble Prost getting away very slowly indeed and now
00:48:46driving around the circuit towards the Campari and Lesmo corners
00:48:53through comes race leader Nelson Piquet remember Piquet has yet to stop
00:48:58but the Palmolat Brabham team tend to run their first stint before the fuel stop longer than
00:49:03anybody else that's no real surprise there is Prost going very slowly indeed and most certainly
00:49:08Alain Prost will not score any world championship points here at the Italian Grand Prix which is
00:49:14going to blow the world championship for drivers wide open so that will mean that any one of four
00:49:20drivers can win the most coveted world championship victory in motorsport anywhere in the world
00:49:27the Formula One world championship for drivers
00:49:31and what a season we've had so far and it looks as if it's going to go right the way
00:49:35through exciting racing I think all the way to the end of the season as through goes Eddie
00:49:41Cheever there's Derek Warwick in the pits he was in seventh place with the Candy Tolman
00:49:48there's the time clock coming up
00:49:4913.24 seconds a good fuel stop for the Tolman team who are relatively inexperienced
00:49:59in the fuel stops of modern day Grand Prix racing but our attention still turned to this man Nelson
00:50:06Piquet now can Piquet win the Italian Grand Prix because if he can he will be up into third place
00:50:13in the world championship just five points adrift of the world championship leader Alain Prost
00:50:20Keke Rosberg coming into the pits for his fuel stop
00:50:27up on the jacks they go Rosberg who has been the leading
00:50:33non-turbocharged car here at the Italian Grand Prix
00:50:36he's down in ninth place away he goes and I believe that Patrick Tambay is about to
00:50:47come into the pits yes he is the man who was in second place lap 28 he's in the pits
00:50:56on go the tires there's a time clock and a quick pit stop 11.75 seconds Tambay is out
00:51:06and he's dropped to fourth place from the second place he was on the road
00:51:10and there is Alain Prost's car he's back in the pits but out of the car
00:51:14meanwhile Patrick Tambay in fourth place out of the pits not going too quickly of course got to
00:51:19warm up his new tires Ciccotto is at the moment in 13th place
00:51:25unlapping himself there but I should think only momentarily
00:51:30so Patrick Tambay in between the two battling Theodore Ensign cars but we're still waiting
00:51:38for the battle though between second and third place because Cheever's really closed up on Arnoux
00:51:42for second place and Cheever almost goes through lots of under braking there
00:51:46the status quo though maintained as it was before the pit stop Piquet, Arnoux, Cheever
00:51:51they're in replay from a different position Cheever trying to get past René Arnoux for second place
00:51:57Patrick Tambay is in fourth place the Andrews is in fifth place Derek Warrick is in sixth place
00:52:02Nelson Piquet the leader has still yet to stop so please join us after this short break when
00:52:07we'll have more ESPN coverage of the Italian Grand Prix
00:52:17Welcome back to ESPN's coverage of the 1983 Italian Grand Prix Niki Lauda running last at
00:52:23the moment into the pits for his fuel stop we have yet to see the race leader Nelson Piquet
00:52:29with a Pamela Brabham come into the pits it must be due very shortly as Niki Lauda makes a rather
00:52:36long pit stop there gets away and he's stalled and he's going to be push started because he's
00:52:42stalled and he's going to be push started because he's right in the way of the Brabham pits and
00:52:46there's Bernie Eccleston there with the blue trousers pushing the McLaren out of the way
00:52:52he doesn't want anything at all to encumber the fuel stop of the race leader Nelson Piquet so
00:53:00very rarely do we see Bernie Eccleston giving a hand to push another car out of the way we see
00:53:04it there in the pit lane here at Mon the second and third still very close between Arnoux and Cheever
00:53:10so it's Rennie Arnoux with the Ferrari second Eddie Cheever in third place
00:53:16will Cheever make a play down into the first chicane
00:53:22no it's still the same order and what a race the American Eddie Cheever is having here
00:53:28stuck right on the gearbox of the Ferrari Ferrari's second and fourth at the moment
00:53:32Gordon Murray there the man we were talking to earlier waiting for the fuel stop in comes
00:53:37Nelson Piquet will this be the normal well-ordered fuel stop of the Parmalat Brabham team
00:53:45and it most certainly is the internal jacks go down 10 and a quarter seconds that fuel stop
00:53:51quite incredible so not only has Nelson Piquet made his fuel stop but he has retained his lead
00:53:57he has not lost his lead to this battling duo for second place between Rennie Arnoux and Eddie
00:54:04Cheever and Nelson Piquet if ever a man was to stamp his authority on a world championship event
00:54:12this he is doing here at the Monza Autodrome for the 51st running of this very prestigious event
00:54:20and really this could be the turning point for Nelson Piquet in his world championship aspirations
00:54:25as we see there Niki Lauda retiring Piquet going through will the BMW holder Eddie Cheever dropping
00:54:32back a little bit in third place so Rennie Arnoux second Eddie Cheever third fourth place still for
00:54:37this man Patrick Tambay fifth place is Elio De Angelis and in sixth place Derek Warwick
00:54:45Nelson Piquet close up there through the chicane he goes
00:54:49Niki Lauda walking back after retiring his car of course a much respected man in the eyes of
00:54:56the Italian crowd because he was after all once a Ferrari driver just look at those grandstands
00:55:01all homemade mind you
00:55:05Nelson Piquet going through perhaps heading towards a very famous victory here
00:55:10because he has 37 points before this event that will give him nine extra points to boost him up
00:55:16to 46 points a little bit sideways there perhaps on the tyres that haven't warmed up yet from the
00:55:22fuel stop second and third still very close so if the positions remain the same we're going to have
00:55:29Alain Prost still leading the world championship Arnoux will have closed up just two points adrift
00:55:33in second place at 49 46 so will be Nelson Piquet and 40 will be Patrick Tambay there the man running
00:55:40in sixth place the Candy Tolman of the Derek Warwick and now the Tolmans with their new turbo
00:55:48chargers seem to be a lot more reliable because if Warwick finishes in sixth place that will be
00:55:53the second time in succession that he's finished in the world championship points we look at the
00:55:58distance between first and second and remember this is after all of the fuel stops so it's a
00:56:03race now down to the end of the 52 laps for the Italian Grand Prix 15.68 seconds it was 17 and a
00:56:12half seconds so Reni Arnoux is closing very slightly on the leader Nelson Piquet but Piquet
00:56:18with such an excellent cushion could in fact be taking things easy in these final stages
00:56:24of the Italian Grand Prix
00:56:33Piquet still leading with the Parmalat Brabham powered of course by that four-cylinder BMW engine
00:56:40and I should think this must hurt the 200 or thousand fans that are here to see Piquet leading
00:56:46their beloved Ferrari as through goes Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli who's running now in eighth place
00:56:52behind Nigel Mansell in seventh place
00:56:57ninth on the road will be Jean-Pierre Jarier with the Ligier at the moment because
00:57:04Rosberg will be penalized one minute for an infringement of the rules that he's when he
00:57:10made the the start line the start of the race he went over one of the white lines bordering
00:57:15the track side race theater has gone through and most certainly now Reni Arnoux seems to
00:57:23be closing on Nelson Piquet third is Cheever fourth is the Ferrari of Tambay
00:57:30so three of the four men who are in the top four positions in the world championship standings
00:57:36may well score points here at Monza Derek Warwick going through and this intriguing battle between
00:57:43Johnny Chicotto and Roberto Guerrero now these two guys are teammates in the Theodore team and
00:57:49they have had one of the closest battles oh there's Chicotto still leading and Roberto Guerrero there
00:57:55doing everything he knows to get past his teammates they are well down the standings at
00:58:02the moment in 12th and 13th place but they're driving as if they were leading the race
00:58:07pretty hard driving by those two
00:58:11Piquet leads and Danny Sullivan is slowing and look at this side by side now between the two
00:58:18Theodore's real wheel-to-wheel stuff Chicotto versus uh and Chicotto has gone behind Guerrero
00:58:26Guerrero up into 12th place Chicotto 13th there's the race leader about to lap them for the second time
00:58:37Arnoux in second place Cheever has dropped back now a bit in third place
00:58:42there is Nigel Mansell in the seventh place Nelson Piquet about to lap as we said for the second time
00:58:51uh the two Theodore's there is Eddie Cheever in third place Cheever something like three seconds
00:58:57adrift from second place man Rene Arnoux still in that fourth place is Patrick Tambay
00:59:02and Danny Sullivan who was running in 14th place slowing right down and I believe he'll be out of
00:59:11the race here at Monza and Piquet trying to get faster to Theodore get past Chicotto
00:59:22those two also about to be lapped by Giacomelli for the first time
00:59:25so let's have a look at who else has retired from the race Baldo as we know retired early on
00:59:30Ghinzani with the accelerators retired and the distance now down to 14 seconds between
00:59:35first and second Lauda, Prost, Alboreto, Winkler, Butz and now Danny Sullivan have all retired
00:59:42from the Italian Grand Prix leading but 14 cars running of the 26 original qualifiers
00:59:49so Nelson Piquet comes through still in the lead 14 second cushion to second place man
00:59:58you see now Patrick Tambay coming towards us in fourth position in fifth position in the white
01:00:04helmet and the black and gold car is Elio de Angelis sixth is Moritz seventh is Mansell
01:00:10eighth is Giacomelli ninth is Rosberg fifth is Piquet and the final lap is about to begin
01:00:16Giacomelli ninth is Rosberg who has been lapped, Ted Sura
01:00:24there is Thierry Bootsen in the arrows he's in 12th position
01:00:31oh dear he's not in 12th position anymore because it looks to me as though Bootsen was being pushed
01:00:35out of the race Nelson Piquet that you see leading Bruno Giacomelli who is passing
01:00:44the Brazilian who lets him get on with it because he's not at all worried
01:00:47Nelson Piquet is now on his last lap and no matter how Reny Ranoux charges there's no way the
01:00:55Frenchman in the Renault in the Ferrari is going to win the Italian Grand Prix even though he's
01:01:01closed the gap for 10.7 seconds unless Nelson Piquet has mechanical trouble in the last the
01:01:1052nd of the 3.6 mile laps here at Monza Piquet has dominated the race he goes into the road
01:01:20job ends for the 52nd and last time he approaches in fourth gear Lesmo one at 150 miles an hour
01:01:27he exits it still in fourth gear into Lesmo two past the crowning grandstand on the left
01:01:35and Nigel Mansell's engine has blown up in the biggest possible way now it's de Angelis
01:01:40de Angelis in fifth position seems to have blown his engine yes well it's probably a bang or he could
01:01:46have been out of fuel possibly I mean we're getting to that stage of the race and it
01:01:50sounds as if maybe it could just have been that so there's Piquet nursing it round now
01:01:56there's enough very fine racing he's he's in command throughout and he's held on with
01:02:04obviously some minor mechanical difficulty Arnout and everything he could it's the perfect
01:02:09result for the championship and I should think Alan Frost is ruining the mistake he made at
01:02:14Zandvoort a couple of weeks ago because this result makes it look very much worse than it
01:02:19was at the time and there is Nelson Piquet crossing the line to win his second Grand Prix of the year
01:02:28to come home in the Italian Grand Prix as René Arnout finishes in second place
01:02:3610.2 seconds behind the Brazilian so the Italian Grand Prix won by Nelson Piquet, second René Arnout,
01:02:44third Eddie Cheever, fourth Patrick Tormé, fifth Elio de Angelis and sixth Derek Warwick and that
01:02:50means to say that the world championship position has closed right up Frost still leads but only
01:02:56two points now ahead of René Arnout who is only three points ahead of Nelson Piquet
01:03:01in fourth place Patrick Tormé a long way behind in fifth place Keke Rosberg and in sixth position
01:03:08John Watson the Constructors' Championship has seen Ferrari pull away from Renault 89 points
01:03:14to Ferrari 72 to Renault and 50 to Brabham who are now in third position ahead of Williams in fourth place