Five big Italian GP questions: Ferrari’s home chances, Williams’ Colapinto conundrum and more.
The eternal question when it comes to the Italian Grand Prix: How will Ferrari perform in front of their adoring home support?
28 Aug 2024
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Well, if team principal Fred Vasseur is anything to go by from before the summer break, he was hopeful that Monza would be one of the circuits where the Scuderia would be able to mount one of their stronger challenges in the remainder of the F1 2024 season.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso even said the SF-24 “should be the car to beat” at the Temple of Speed this weekend, with its strengths seemingly suiting the long straights and sweeping corners that Monza provides.

The beauty of the F1 2024 season so far has been its unpredictability, and given track changes at Monza this year, Carlos Sainz predicts another weekend along the same lines. “It’s been resurfaced, Monza, so we will find a very different Monza to the last few years,” he told media including PlanetF1.com at Zandvoort.

‘Ferrari’s home chances’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/italia...lliams-ferrari


IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix
28 Aug 2024
Special Contributor: Chris Medland
Formula One - Official Site

Ferrari’s upgrades and home hopes: How can we start anywhere else but with a Ferrari section when discussing the Italian Grand Prix at Monza? But there’s more to look forward to this weekend than just passionate support…

Before the summer break, Team Principal Fred Vasseur had said the Dutch Grand Prix would be a case of damage limitation, before a run of races that would suit their car more. So Charles Leclerc’s excellent performance to secure a podium at Zandvoort was a positive surprise.

Ferrari wanted to make sure they didn’t lose too much ground to Red Bull in the constructors’ championship and limited that loss to just a solitary point. And now they look to increase the pressure.

‘5 storylines’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...cqvNtRGHPN2bP7


Williams make pitlane mistake in Monza with Colapinto's name
28 Aug 2024
Sandy van Wijngaarden
GPblog.com

This weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto will make his first appearance for the Williams team. His name is already hanging over the team's pit box, only there has been a mistake. On Tuesday, it was announced by Williams that Logan Sargeant will have to leave the team with immediate effect.

His replacement was announced simultaneously. F2 rookie Franco Colapinto will take over the wheel for the remaining races of this season. Next season, Carlos Sainz will race in that Williams seat.

Colapinto will thus have his first F1 seat this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix. With this comes the fact that his name hangs above the pit box. Now, only a clumsy mistake has been made. For his name is misspelled. It reads 'Franco Colopinto' instead of 'Franco Colapinto'.

‘Pitlane mistake: 'Franco Colopinto'!’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29735...-in-italy.html


Sainz ‘hopeful’ Ferrari F1 Monza upgrades eradicate bouncing
28 Aug 2024
Dan Lawrence
Motorsport Week

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is “hopeful” that the new upgrade package coming in time for the team’s home Grand Prix at Monza will eradicate its bouncing issues. With a new raft of upgrades, including a new floor coming in time for the Italian GP this weekend, Sainz is hoping the team has found a solution.

“I hope once we unlock or discover what is the actual thing that is generating this porpoising, which I feel like we’re a step behind in understanding that,” the Spaniard said at Zandvoort following the Dutch GP.

“Hopefully with this new floor or new upgrades that we’ll bring soon, these problems go away and we can just focus on adding downforce to the car.” Sainz rued that the team had to adjust its ride height at Zandvoort to mitigate its bouncing issues, which in the ground effect era of F1, means sacrificing raw pace.

‘Eradicate porpoising’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...cate-bouncing/


Monza resurfacing 'could have big impact on Italian GP'
28 Aug 2024
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com

New asphalt put down at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza could have a major effect on this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, according to tyre providers Pirelli in their pre-race analysis. "As is usually the case with newly laid asphalt, the surface is smoother than its predecessor and darker in colour," Pirelli pronounced. The darker surface also will pick up more heat from the sun and could reach highs of over 50C.

In theory the new surface should offer more grip, which will impact the temperature generated in the tyres and contribute to increased tyre degradation, which teams will have to account for with their race strategies.

Ideally teams will want to run a one-stop race because the time needed for a pit stop at Monza is one of the longest of the year, especially relative to the speeds the cars reach on track. However that might not be possible this year.

‘Increased tyre degradation’;

https://f1i.com/news/517531-monza-re...talian-gp.html


Verstappen and Norris in agreement over Italian GP 'unknown'
The two F1 title protagonists will go head-to-head once again this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix.
29 August 2024
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are in agreement that the Italian Grand Prix will be an unknown in terms of how each team will perform.

At low downforce, high-speed tracks like Monza, both the MCL38 and RB20 have appeared strong, with Norris, who is looking to prevent a third straight Verstappen Monza win, keeping his cards close to his chest. "I have no idea. You ask us questions like we're meant to know. I've got no idea," Norris told media including RacingNews365 when asked if McLaren's Zandvoort pace would translate to Monza. "Anyone could be on top. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, us. Ferrari were quite quick [in the Dutch GP], we probably didn't expect them to be as good as they were.”

Verstappen, who was also asked for his thoughts as to how the Italian GP would play out, pointed to a key problem with the RB20. "We just need to figure out our balance issues. I think that will already help a lot also with [tyre] deg," he said. "Of course, in Monza, a lot is new. You know, Tarmac, kerbs, even the layout in Turn 1, 2. So also we need to understand that a bit more. But we know we have quite a bit of work to do."

‘Italian GP 'unknown'!’;

https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...ian-gp-unknown


Why the Italian Grand Prix is particularly tough for F1 cars
28 August 2024
Sandy van Wijngaarden
GPblog.com

This weekend, the Italian Grand Prix is on the programme. Besides the long history the track in Monza has, it is also a unique track. Brembo's technical team explain what is special about the fast track. Brembo is an Italian manufacturer specialising in high-performance braking systems. The company supplies the braking systems of several Formula 1 teams. The manufacturer rates the 5,973-metre track at Monza as one of the circuits that demands the most from the brakes.

Besides being tough on the brakes, the circuit is also tough on the drivers. On a scale of 1 to 5, the Monza circuit gets a five in terms of difficulty from Brembo. In the three chicanes, brake pedal pressure exceeds 140 kilograms. Delays in corners create at least 4.5 g. There are six braking points with a total braking time of just under eight seconds per lap

‘Circuit is also tough on the drivers’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29722...rand-prix.html