This weekend, Formula One heads to the well-loved Monza circuit in Italy. Littered with motorsport history, and the home race of two of our F1 teams, it can be something of an emotional weekend. A challenging track, Monza represents the final round of the European leg of the calendar, with the final flyaway races waiting just around the corner.

Red Bull kicked up quite a fuss in Belgium but still managed to win the race with a dominant 1-2, extending their practically unassailable lead in both championships. With the title almost out of reach, it's down to the rest of the teams to provide entertainment, if not a challenge for the crown.

Event schedule

Although Vettel won the last race in Spa, Jenson Button put in another good performance after being held back by a team mistake in qualifying. Paul di Resta also suffered at the hands of his team. They'll both be hoping their qualifying goes a little more smoothly than at the previous race weekend - although that may rely on the weather more than anything else.

Ferrari have promised that 2011 will be their last disappointing year which is fighting talk for next season, but does indicate that they've written off any chance of doing well in 2012. They tend to run well in warmer climates, so once again, the weather will play a huge part in their performance in Italy.

Support racing for this event includes GP2, GP3, and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

The weather

The long range weather predictions suggest that there will be clear and sunny days as the weekend approaches, with warm temperatures for practice and qualifying. However, that is all change for race day, with clouds rolling in and even the potential for some light rain showers.

Circuit map

The circuit

Monza is another fast circuit, with highs of almost 350kph, and an average cornering speed of 139kph. There will be 53 fabulous laps around the Autodromo, and for the first time this year we'll see two distinct DRS zones. Rather than two zones with one activation point, each will have their own. The circuit is low downforce, though, so teams are unsure exactly how much effect the systems will have.

The pit lane loss is roughly 23 seconds, and, according to Williams, the average safety car appearance per race is 0.4.

Tyre compounds

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process was changed last year to include a former F1 driver to give added insight. These are the stewards overseeing this weekend's action.