Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Monza marks the end of the European season and the end to a triple-header that has taken in Spa and Zandvoort. Whilst Monza shares some characteristics with Spa, it is still a very different track that requires a very different approach. Low drag is clearly important, but the corners cannot be underestimated and there is only so much downforce that can be removed to sensibly achieve a competitive drag level. We have a good baseline from Spa, and we’ll use Friday to experiment with some alternative rear wing options to see how far we can reasonably lower the drag level.
The tyre compounds are the same as we raced in Spa, but the behaviour will be different with the left-hand tyres in particular exposed to high stress in Monza. All three compounds could be viable race tyres, and with overtaking a little easier in Monza than at Zandvoort, there could be a range of strategies at play on Sunday.
Nicholas Latifi: I always look forward to going back to Monza as it’s a very cool and historic track to race at. It’s a great track for racing because of the long straights so it always makes for close and exciting wheel-to-wheel action. The new generation of cars will present a unique challenge as it will probably be the lowest downforce anyone will have ever run with them to try to optimise the straight-line speed, which has tended to suit our car better at similar tracks this season. Hopefully that’s the same this weekend and we can have a strong one.
Alex Albon: I’m excited for Monza, especially after a good couple week’s where the team has made further progress, fine tuning the current package on the car. This circuit has similar characteristics to Spa so I think we can take some learnings from that weekend and hit the ground running.
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