One of many cornerstones of the world championship, this weekend sees the historic Monza circuit host the Italian Grand Prix for the 74th time.
Recognized for the 2 ‘S’s – velocity and the Scuderia – one of the crucial well-known and beloved circuits on the calendar may have a barely totally different look to it this weekend for the fifteenth grand prix of the 2024 season.
With main driver market information anticipated and a champion set to be topped on the venue, this may seemingly be a memorable weekend each on and off the observe…
Ferrari a darkish horse?
Though the second of Ferrari’s house races this season, Monza has all the time been the circuit most synonymous with the workforce.
Final 12 months was a memorable weekend for Ferrari in addition to for workforce principal Frederic Vasseur in his first Italian Grand Prix main the workforce. Though they had been crushed by Pink Bull within the race, Carlos Sainz Jnr had secured a memorable pole place on Saturday after which emerged victorious from an exhilarating late duel with workforce mate Charles Leclerc to say the ultimate podium place.
Ferrari have gave the impression to be just a bit behind their rivals over previous few months, however they’re under no circumstances out of competition as Leclerc demonstrated final weekend in Zandvoort by taking a superb podium end in third behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. The approaching races ought to, in concept, be stronger ones for Ferrari – together with Monza – and a set of upgrades for this weekend will definitely not hurt the workforce’s prospects.
“Till the upgrades, I all the time stated that the precedence for us was simply to do injury limitation,” Leclerc stated after Sunday’s race. “Now I simply hope that the upgrades helps us to do a step ahead.”
Hamilton’s tofosi
This weekend will probably be Sainz’s fourth and final in a Ferrari, making it particularly poignant for the driving force who has loved 21 podiums, 5 pole positions and three grand prix victories with the workforce in that point.
The Tifosi have all the time appeared to understand Sainz’s efforts for the workforce alongside Leclerc over latest years, along with his pole and look on the rostrum right here final 12 months an apparent spotlight of his tenure. With this being his final Monza weekend in scarlet earlier than he strikes to Williams for 2025, the same consequence this weekend can be a incredible technique of celebrating his time with the game’s most well-known workforce.
However what will probably be extra attention-grabbing would be the reception that Sainz’s alternative for subsequent season – Lewis Hamilton – will obtain. The information that the seven-times world champion will transfer to Maranello subsequent season was one of many greatest driver transfer bulletins within the sport’s historical past. And with Hamilton taking two victories up to now this season to interrupt his win drought, the prospect of him in a Ferrari has solely grow to be extra intriguing.
Nevertheless, Hamilton has not all the time had the respect of the Tifosi at Monza. The Mercedes driver has been booed after successful this race earlier than, notably in 2018 throughout his championship battle with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel – however it appears extremely unlikely that he’ll obtain the identical reception this weekend.
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Enter Antonelli
This weekend might grow to be one which will probably be regarded again on many instances sooner or later as being a serious milestone second within the profession of one of the crucial thrilling younger driver prospects within the sport’s historical past.
Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli will make his first look in a grand prix weekend when he steps into George Russell’s W15 to take part in Friday’s first apply session. The F2 racer, who turned 18 years previous on Sunday, has arguably been essentially the most spectacular younger racing expertise since Verstappen. Similar to the present world champion who debuted in apply for the Japanese Grand Prix a decade in the past, Antonelli will make his first look on the earth championship on Friday.
The Italian prospect can be extensively anticipated to be confirmed as Hamilton’s alternative for 2025 – the place higher to announce it than at his house grand prix? Antonelli has already had a number of outings in a System 1 automobile this season, however this would be the first time he will get behind the wheel of the workforce’s 2024 automobile. After the session, he must instantly leap again into his F2 automobile for qualifying because the junior sequence will probably be racing alongside F1 as soon as once more this weekend.
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Reprofiled Rettifilo
What could possibly be generously described as an ‘awkward’ first nook and ungenerously described as ‘the worst first nook in System 1’, the Rettifilo chicane that splits Monza’s well-known pit straight in two has been the scene of many collisions since its introduction in 2000.
The very slender, very gradual right-left sequence could provide one of the crucial excessive braking moments within the sport and supply a transparent overtaking alternative, however with F1’s greatest and heaviest vehicles the Rettifilo chicane has lengthy been ill-suited to the world championship. Nevertheless, this 12 months, that will now not be the case.
The infamous chicane has obtained its most main reprofiling in virtually 1 / 4 of a century. Widened on the entrance to the primary proper kink and widened for the left kink too, the chicane now has way more room to accommodate a number of vehicles side-by-side – which ought to cut back the chance of carnage at race begins for all classes in addition to F1.
Past Rettifilo, the observe has obtained a resurfacing in a number of areas. Kerbs have additionally been made wider and flatter in some corners, most notably on the Ascari chicane. On account of these adjustments, cornering speeds ought to be barely sooner than final 12 months’s weekend, actually on the first chicane. However what which means for the standard of racing stays to be seen.
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System 3 finale
Whereas a number of consideration this weekend will probably be on System 2 driver Antonelli in what is going to seemingly be one of many greatest weekends of his life, this may even be a memorable three days for one among a number of System 3 drivers who will probably be topped sequence champion on Sunday.
Trident driver Leonardo Fornaroli sits atop the standings heading into the ultimate two races, however he is only one level forward of Alpine junior and fellow Italian Gabriele Mini. Williams prospect Luke Browning additionally has a robust probability of taking the title, simply six factors behind Fornaroli, will Pink Bull junior Arvid Lindblad lies simply 10 factors behind him.
This 12 months’s F3 championship has been as extremely aggressive as ever, with 11 winners from the 18 races up to now. With Monza providing loads of alternatives to overhaul, it’s shaping as much as be an exhilarating finale to the F3 season on the circuit as soon as once more.
One noteworthy distinction for this weekend in comparison with most rounds is that following some unsavoury scenes of site visitors jams in final 12 months’s qualifying session right here, the sequence has determined to separate qualifying into two teams for the ultimate spherical. Similar to in Monaco, the grid will probably be decided by the quickest total time, with the 2 teams of 15 then interlinked with the drivers within the pole winners group occupying the left aspect of the grid so as and the opposite group lined up on the correct of the grid.
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