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Formula One: Hamilton and Rosberg fastest in Monza practice!
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted September 4, 2014 | In Formula1, MotoGP, Sport News, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted September 4, 2014 | In Formula1, MotoGP, Sport News, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
Formula One: Hamilton and Rosberg fastest in Monza practice!
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topped the two Friday practice sessions for the 2014 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. McLaren, Williams and Ferrari appeared to be the greatest competition for the Silver Arrows with speeds reaching up to 217mph on the fastest track in F1.
Hamilton held a comfortable advantage of 6 tenths in practice 1 to take the fastest lap ahead of former team-mate Jenson Button for McLaren. Jenson had led for a majority of the session and managed to hold on to second ahead of the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg in 3rd. Ferrari hero Fernando Alonso took 4th fastest ahead of Kevin Magnussen, who underlined McLaren’s potential in 5th.
Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were 6th and 7th ahead of Sergio Perez for Force India. The Silverstone based team seemed to have a little trouble with the car on a few occasions and had to make a floor change to the Mexican’s car.
Daniil Kvyat was 9th fastest for Toro Rosso; a car that was unquestionably the fastest in a straight line after reaching a high of 217mph. Nico Hulkenberg was 10th.
4 drivers made a practice appearance in the session; Giedo van der Garde for Sauber, Daniel Juncadella for Force India, Charles Pic for Lotus and Roberto Merhi for Caterham (making his F1 weekend debut.)
Practice 1 results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’26.187 | 25 | |
| 2 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.810 | 0.623 | 27 |
| 3 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’26.995 | 0.808 | 26 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’27.169 | 0.982 | 23 |
| 5 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’27.228 | 1.041 | 30 |
| 6 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’27.271 | 1.084 | 27 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’27.493 | 1.306 | 27 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’27.687 | 1.500 | 13 |
| 9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’27.741 | 1.554 | 21 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’28.112 | 1.925 | 23 |
| 11 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’28.114 | 1.927 | 21 |
| 12 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.148 | 1.961 | 21 |
| 13 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.150 | 1.963 | 20 |
| 14 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’28.300 | 2.113 | 30 |
| 15 | 36 | Giedo van der Garde | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’28.429 | 2.242 | 19 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’28.487 | 2.300 | 12 |
| 17 | 34 | Daniel Juncadella | Force India-Mercedes | 1’29.192 | 3.005 | 10 |
| 18 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1’29.512 | 3.325 | 24 |
| 19 | 42 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’30.017 | 3.830 | 25 |
| 20 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’30.081 | 3.894 | 27 |
| 21 | 30 | Charles Pic | Lotus-Renault | 1’30.125 | 3.938 | 23 |
| 22 | 45 | Roberto Merhi | Caterham-Renault | 1’30.704 | 4.517 | 29 |
| 23 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 1’30.948 | 4.761 | 16 |
Nico Rosberg took over the top spot in the second session after team-mate Lewis Hamilton was forced to sit out for an hour with an electrical problem. Hamilton did manage to set the second fastest time and was just a few thousandths shy after being held up on his fastest lap at the Ascari chicane.
Both Ferrari cars showed promising pace in front of their fanatical home fans, with Raikkonen 3rd and Alonso 4th. Valtteri Bottas took 5th, half a second down on Rosberg, with Jenson Button remaining relatively strong in 6th.
Sebastian Vettel took 7th fastest ahead of rookie Magnussen and Felipe Massa. Daniel Ricciardo recovered from an ERS problem in practice 1 to take 10th fastest. Both Force India’s were just outside of the top 10 ahead of Kvyat. Lotus seemed to be struggling massively during the session, with both Grosjean and Maldonado finding it hard to stay on the track at the Lesmo corners and the braking zones.
Kamui Kobayashi returned to the track after being replaced by Andre Lotterer in Spa and Roberto Merhi in practice 1. He will remain in the seat for the rest of the weekend and finished the session ahead of team-mate Ericsson; as had Merhi in practice 1.
Practice 2 results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’26.225 | 41 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’26.286 | 0.061 | 16 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’26.331 | 0.106 | 31 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’26.565 | 0.340 | 26 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.758 | 0.533 | 34 |
| 6 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.762 | 0.537 | 34 |
| 7 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’26.762 | 0.537 | 27 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.881 | 0.656 | 44 |
| 9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.935 | 0.710 | 33 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’26.992 | 0.767 | 37 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’27.079 | 0.854 | 42 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’27.227 | 1.002 | 39 |
| 13 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’27.476 | 1.251 | 37 |
| 14 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’27.840 | 1.615 | 33 |
| 15 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’27.929 | 1.704 | 33 |
| 16 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’28.029 | 1.804 | 35 |
| 17 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’28.659 | 2.434 | 34 |
| 18 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1’28.700 | 2.475 | 42 |
| 19 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’28.786 | 2.561 | 29 |
| 20 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’29.085 | 2.860 | 29 |
| 21 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 1’29.178 | 2.953 | 32 |
| 22 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 1’29.275 | 3.050 | 37 |
Emanuele Venturoli
A graduate in Public, Social and Political Communication from the University of Bologna, he has always been passionate about marketing, design and sport.
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In an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
Save time and money
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
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Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
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We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
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Gianluca Degliesposti
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Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
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Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
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We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
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I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
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