Milan Day 1
The Grand Prix is a 3-day event. Day 1, Friday, consists of an optional test session, a free practice session, and the first qualifying session.
The optional test session takes place in the morning. This is an opportunity for the teams to run tests on the track, gather measurements, metrics, try things out, etc. Not many teams opt to do this - most have done their testing earlier in the season. But a few do make use of the time.
The free practice session is just that. It is an hour during which the teams can run practice laps around the track.
The purpose of the first qualifying session is to determine the order in which the cars go out for the 2nd qualifying session on Day 2 (on Day 2, the cars go out 1 at a time to qualify. therefore it is necessary to determine the order in which they will go out).
Each car gets 2 runs on day 1. The faster of his 2 times is his qualifying time for day 1.
The fastest qualifying time on day 1 gets to go last on day 2. The slowest qualifying time on day 1 goes first on day 2. Going last is considered an advantage because the track has better grip and traction due to all the other cars that have already gone and left their rubber on the road. So - the faster you are on day 1, the later you get to go out on day 2.
And I knew all of that without looking it up (or asking Tim) ;-). See what he's done to me?
Grand Prix Information For more info on Formula1 Grand Prix stuff in general, check out the following sites
- FIA - International Automobile Federation
- Formula1.com
- F1-Live.com
- GrandPrix.com
For more info on the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, check out the official web site of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza!
Anyway - a number of us (not all of us - some folks went sight-seeing and shopping instead, saving their race energy for the big day :-)) attended the Day 1 sessions which went from 11:00am - 3:00pm with a break in the middle for lunch. Angie and Steve had rented a larger van with a driver to come pick us and take us out to the track and back. The track is not actually in Milan - it is in Monza. Monza is a very pretty town that is about 30 minutes away from Milan assuming there is no traffic. When there is traffic, which there always is in Milan, it can take up to an hour and a half! It also depends on how familiar the driver is with the route :-) Our driver's name was Georgio. Georgio didn't speak very much English, and he had never been to Monza before. He was also driving on about 3 hours sleep. I guess he has a second job at night in a bar or a restaurant or club or something. He also, as we learned later on, has "a girl". We taught him that in America we call that a "main squeeze" :-) The drive to Monza was quite an adventure - but a lot of fun! He was a pretty easy-going guy with a great sense of humour :-) And, in the end, we got there before the practice began at 11, and we got to see most of Monza, and some of the surrounding area to boot!
Here are a few of my pictures from Day 1 of the Grand Prix in Monza.
Tim took a whole bunch more great photos of the cars.
The Day 1 qualifying sessions finished at 3:00pm. It took us a little while to get back to Milan (but not as long as it took us to get out there - Georgio had an opportunity to take a nap while he was waiting for us, and Steve showed him a faster route, and proactively navigated). Angie and Steve had made reservations at a great restaurant for dinner later in the evening. (more on that below) so we had a bit of time to kill and we decided to take the opportunity to go and visit the main attraction in Milan (besides the fashion district, of course) and that is The "Duomo". Duomo is Italian for Cathedral. (If you want to verify that, see for yourself!). In Milan, however, when people say "Il Duomo", they mean only one cathedral. The cathedral.
The Duomo is in the center of Milan - quite literally. Milan's roads are laid out in spokes and concentric circles. The spokes all lead to the piazza (square) that contains the Duomo, and the concentric circles run around it. It's not quite as straightforward as that though - there are a lot of little roads, and alley ways, and weird bumps and turns and wigglies and other little concentrations of roads that branch out. But that's the general concept.
We're told by our concierge that the Duomo is about a 15-20 minute walk from the hotel, so we decide to give it a try. Very straightforward directions - go out of the hotel, turn left, follow the road until the bend, and then stay with the trolley tracks until you hit the center. Easy easy easy. We followed the instructions (stopping to take a few pictures of random statues and fountains and churches here and there, and to look in store windows on the way) and sure enough, found ourselves in the Piazza Duomo.
The Duomo is magnificent! It took more than 500 years to build (started in 1387, and finished in 1887) and is just an absolutely amazing architectural and artistic feat. And it's HUGE. Of course, as I was later to learn, it is dwarfed by St. Peter's Basilica but on it's own it is absolutely monstrous.
Across from the Piazza is an enormous arch that serves as the entrance to a shopping "mall". That too is quite impressive. If you pass all the way through the mall you find yourself on the edge of the infamous and exclusive shopping area of Milan A few blocks away is the main drag - Via Monte Napoleone. This is where all the top names in fashion and design have their stores. We saved that for another day. Suffice it to say we did a lot of window shopping in Milan, and no actual purchasing :-)
We had a great time wandering through the cathedral - the pillars reminded me of huge forests of giant trees - and enjoyed ourselves people watching in the Piazza, and checking out the mall. We left what we thought was plenty of time for the 20 minute walk back to the hotel, so that we could shower and change for dinner.
Now - remember I told you about how the streets of Milan are laid out - spokes and concentric circles with the Piazza Duomo at the center. Many of those "spoke" streets come very close together at the center, and it is very easy to pick the wrong one. And, since the spokes radiate outwards, if you stray too far down the wrong one before you realize it is the wrong one, you have quite a hike across the wheel to get back on the right spoke. So by now you've figured out that is precisely what happened to us :-) We were a little panicked but thanks to Tim's trusty sense of direction and navigation skills we eventually got back on track. And saw some interesting buildings in the process :-)
We got back to the hotel in time for a quick wash and change, and then we headed out to dinner. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant - about a 10 minute walk. The restaurant was called "Al Penny". Which translates to "To the Penny". Tony was our waiter at "Al Penny". Tony was very cool, and a lot of fun - it was a great evening! "Al Penny" is a bit of an odd name for an Italian restaurant. So I had to ask. "Tony," I said, "Why is this restaurant called 'The Penny'"? It clearly was referring to a real penny - the restaurant logo was on the window and one the wine bottles and it was clearly a penny. Tony didn't know but he told us he'd ask the proprietor and come back. And he did. With a strange story. I'm not sure I have it right because my Italian is limited to pasta dishes and coffee drinks, and Tony's english, although much better than my Italian, was still a challenge. I believe the story is this: Many years ago the proprietor went to America. I don't remember why - I think just for a visit. And on that trip he met a woman. The woman was apparently quite beautiful or at the very least, quite memorable. And either the woman's name was Penny, or she gave him some change and as she counted it out she said something to the effect of "to the penny". The proprietor returned to Italy but never forgot the woman. And when he opened his restaurant he decided to name it "Al Penny" as a reminder of her.
In either case, a good story. I should have known it would have involved a woman somehow :-) And very well told by Tony - he was very patient with me, and I think enjoyed hearing the story himself and relaying it back to us and was quite amused that I had even asked! I just wish I had listened better, or clarified at the time. But he was doing so well I didn't want to interrupt him!
We took a bunch of pictures from Piazza Duomo, from inside the mall (it has a name - I wish I could remember it) and from inside the cathedral itself. Oh - and a couple of those interesting buildings we saw when we were lost (ahem... detoured). And there are a couple in there of "Al Penny" and Tony too. And then a few shots of us straggling back up to our hotel room, tummies full of absolutely yummy Italian food and great wine, ready for bed :-)