John Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Nico Hülkenberg in Monza
Some familiar faces appeared again at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. In addition to Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, John Surtees, the only world champion on two and four wheels, and Jackie Stewart also took part.
Surtees and Stewart each won twice at the Autodromo di Monza. John Surtees won on September 6, 1964 in a Ferrari and on September 10, 1967 in a Honda.
Jackie Stewart crossed the finish line first on September 12, 1965 in a BRM and on September 7, 1969 in a Matra. He owed the second victory not least to the meticulous preparation of his racing car. The gear ratio of the Matra was chosen so that Stewart no longer had to change gear from the exit of the Parabolica corner to the finish line. Back then, the race was practically lost if you started the last lap in the lead. Stewart stayed in the slipstream of Jochen Rindt and Jean Pierre Beltoise until the start-finish straight. Here he took advantage of his gear ratio (no time-consuming gear change) and the slipstream of the cars in front to win the race by 0.19 seconds.
John Surtees is still a "racer" of flesh and blood in his old age and he confessed to me over dinner his enthusiasm for the young German Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg.
Nico, for his part, surprisingly secured third place on the grid in qualifying for the Grand Prix. Reason enough to bring the two of them together for a brief chat before the race. Both were delighted and showed their enthusiasm for the other's performance. And Hülkenberg ended the weekend with a good fifth place overall.
