Tech Preview | How the new asphalt could be a decisive factor in Monza

New asphalt, new kerbs and a longer DRS section 

The Monza Eni Circuit faced many changes since the last time F1 raced here around a year ago: a new tarmac has been laid on the whole surface, and most of the kerbs have been revised but with no changes in the layout. 

The new tarmac removed bumps and holes that were present before and the very “dark” colour underlines that it’ll provide a very high level of grip and that track evolution could play a crucial role in the set-up choices and the balance. 

Mario Isola, Head of Pirelli, declared that: “We’re expecting quite a high grip from the new asphalt, more than last year. More grip could bring more overheating and thus a higher thermal deg (on the tyres).” 

This aspect could be something to have a look at, especially for Sunday’s race: if the tyre degradation is high, then the team will preferably adopt slightly higher downforce rear wings, especially to keep the rear tyre temperatures under control and limit the tyre wear. It should not be a surprise, then, that many of the top teams (like Red Bull and McLaren) will test two different rear wing configurations between their cars during Friday’s FP1 to gather data and have a clearer idea of which spec better suits the track and the new asphalt. 

Moreover, the front left (which is the most stressed tyre around this circuit) could suffer a lot and even more so in the forecast high temperatures. All these factors combined could push teams to use the harder compounds for the race (the medium C4 and the hard C3).

Kerbs have been flattened especially through Ascari and Parabolica and some changes have been made also to the run-off areas. These changes will have a big impact on the lap time too, as it’s said that cars will be able to be more aggressive on kerbs and the cornering speed through T8-9-10 will be much higher, as drivers will cut much more without unsettling the car. 

The changes, however, didn’t convince all the drivers, as Alex Albon underlined that the track “has maybe lost a bit of its character. I feel like some of the kerbs they've put in are a little bit more generic.” While Daniel Ricciardo pointed out that: “It was kind of old school, and now that's gone. The resurfacing looks great. The asphalt looks really nice, but the kerbs, I'm a bit disappointed.”

Last but not least, the DRS section on the main straight has been lengthened compared to last year and it now starts 12 meters after the finish line. This can play quite a big role on Sunday, as it could make overtakes easier. 

Friday’s FP1 and FP2 will then be crucial to evaluate how these changes will impact the tyres, especially. The last race at Zandvoort also pointed out how entering the tyres’ working window can be a determining factor for a good weekend. 

Minimum drag, maximum mechanical grip 

To be fast around Monza, two properties are essential: a very efficient (and thus a good top speed) car and a good mechanical set-up. 

For aerodynamics, teams usually adopt very skinny rear wings to reduce drag as much as possible on the straights and limit fuel consumption on Sunday’s race. This choice means that, however, DRS is less powerful on this track, as the airfoils have a shorter chord than usual, and thus, there’s a smaller window when the system is activated. 

As usually happens, teams that already have a very efficient chassis (like Red Bull or Williams) may decide to adopt a bigger DRS flap (a flap with a longer chord). This can produce a bit more downforce and stabilise the rear under traction, but it also makes the system more powerful during the race, allowing overtakes. 

From the mechanical point of view, this year teams will probably adopt stiffer set-up than last year, because the circuit is flatter and the kerbs are shorter and less aggressive, which means that drivers can use them without unsettling the car too much. 

This choice should also bring some advantages to performance: With a stiffer set-up, cars will have a much more stable aerodynamic platform, able to run closer to the ground and produce a lot of vertical load from the Venturi channels and bodywork. As a consequence, teams will then use skinnier and less loaded rear wings to have higher top speeds without compromising their cornering performance too much. 

Longitudinally, however, they’ll predilige quite a soft set-up, to maximise the power discharged to the ground under traction and maximise the thrust on the straights. 

Finding the perfect match between mechanics and aerodynamics is vital around the Italian Circuit to perform strongly not only in qualifying but especially to look after the tyres during the race. 

A tight battle at the top

As happened when F1 raced in Spa, it’s very difficult to make predictions about which car will perform better this weekend. 

Certainly, the changes made to the circuit and the “high-speed” nature of the layout should favour Red Bull’s RB20, which strengths on the straights and in the high speed corners should be highlighted this weekend. A lot will also depend on team’s ability to find a good set-up that makes the car as balanced as possible between front and rear, which has been a weakness in the last weekends.  

On the other hand, it could be a more difficult race for McLaren this weekend compared to Zandvoort, as the MCL38 still seems to lack a bit in terms of efficiency compared to the Red Bull RB20, but has proven to have a very solid mechanical platform, which can clearly help to find a good balance. Despite this, the updates brought last weekend should have helped to improve the overall efficiency of the car and its result may be fully appreciated around Monza.

Mercedes and Ferrari should be very close to the top two teams this weekend, even if there’s still an unknown related to the updates: the Brackley team still need to find the right key to reading for the floor introduced in Spa, which caused some major balance issues last time out in Zandvoort, while Ferrari is expected to bring some upgrades this weekend which could improve the SF-24 performance by adding downforce, something that the Maranello car has lacked compared to the MCL38 and the RB20.  

In conclusion, everything is set for another exciting weekend, where the new asphalt, the hot temperatures expected and the different set-ups among different car can all be decisive factors in the temple of Speed.