Monza holds the record for most Formula 1 World Championship races, with this year’s edition being the 75th Grand Prix, held at Temple of Speed. Only in 1980, the Italian Grand Prix, held at Imola, was upgraded by Monza and the top ten in each of his last two visits with Williams, with the guide to the high-speed 3.6-mile tracks being Williams Racer Alex Albon.
“I first came to Monza in 2012 and have been racing here every year since 2021. So it’s quite a bit. My first race in single theatre was Monza. I had the biggest crash of my life. My biggest crash in motorsport was my first race in single seater.
“I got out of Ascari and I clipped another car, the back of the rear wheel, and basically did a backwards flip, landing on my nose and landing about four or five times.
“That has changed a bit since then, but there is the way they resurfaced it last year, and they also changed the Parabolica quite a bit.
“I think I probably liked it the most when I first drove it. When it was kind of an old school curb, there was no spill area or anything else.
“The brake points are really difficult. One of the odd things about this truck is that the tire compound is soft, very low rear wing, very low downforce, and generally a hot track. So, despite only seven good corners, it’s really hard to keep the lap and lap lasting.
“The deg here is massive. It’s all straight, you’ll think the tires are cool, but that’s not. So, that’s a challenge. Focus on getting on the curb well and driving a low, hard car or a slightly higher, soft car. The trade-offs are very important.
“Unfortunately, when they resurface it, it doesn’t get too big. Today the car is a little stiffer and a little lower than it was a few years ago. It’s easy in that sense.
“I find it strange that it’s driving here compared to other trucks. You always come to FP1 here and complain, ‘The car is terrible, there’s no grip.’ And as the weekend progresses, you adapt to it.
“That’s weird. For example, Drs does little around this track. I think they get a tenth of a turn when they’re not using DRS. There’s a strange quirk around the track.
“From an engineering setup perspective, it’s not easy. There are slow corners and everything else is the fourth or fifth gear corner. Even at low speeds, it’s not medium. At low speeds it’s medium/fast.
“You’re almost always in the balance between the two. You can’t get a good car at slow and fast speeds. You have to trade somewhere along the way. You do a lot by analyzing your competitors and seeing where your rivals are. You give up a little.
The combination of high-speed and slow sections gives you a compromise on setup on Monza. Lars Baron/Getty Images
“Essentially, there are a lot of front ends for turns 1 and 2 and turns 4 and 5 because it’s the corner of the direction change. With these slower chikanes you need to turn the front, carry the minimum speed and get straight at the exit.
“If you look at Parabolica and Resmos, it’s good to have stability on these long combinations of corners. You want to have minimum speed and get on the throttle and not activate the rear very much. Then you’re fighting.
“I think it’s actually a bit overrated in that sense when it comes to driving trucks. It’s stopped and started so there’s no spa or Zandvoort flow.
“There’s a lot of thought time between straights, but it’s interesting. It’s like golf, so it’s a challenge in itself. You can rethink it, and you can rethink it.
At a glance
Race distance: 53 laps/190.8 miles
2024 pole time: 1M19.327S (Lando Norris, McLaren-Mercedes)
2024 Winners: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Pirelli tire allocation: There hasn’t been a change in the compound compared to last year, when the track just resurfaced at the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza. C3 is hard, C4 medium, and C5 soft. After 12 months, the surface will inevitably age, but it is unlikely that this circuit will have a significant impact on the scope of possible strategies.
The most popular choice in the race itself can be hard and medium. With the truck sleeping, we can assume it will be lower than last year. The time lost in the pit lane due to tyre changes is the longest time of the season, so the team is aiming to try stints as long as possible and change one tire.
Pirelli Italian Grand Prix Weekend Schedule (All Times et):
Friday, September 5th
7:25 AM -8:30 AM -First practice, ESPNU
10:55 am -12:00 PM-2nd practice, ESPN2
Saturday, September 6th
6:25am to 7:30am – 3rd practice, ESPN2
9:55am – 11:00am – qualifying, ESPN2
Sunday, September 7th
8:55am to 11am – Italian Grand Prix (53 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN2