F1 | ITALIAN GP, GIAN CARLO MINARDI: “AS WE WAIT FOR THE HISTORIC MINARDI DAY (13-14 SEPTEMBER), WE GO TO MONZA. I HOPE THAT HAMILTON HAS FORGOTTEN ZANDVOORT”
A week away from the 9th edition of the Historic Minardi Day, to be held at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit, we move to Monza for the sixteenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
The drivers and teams arrive at the Temple of Speed, a track that is decidedly different from the Dutch one, with about 80% of the lap at full throttle. This puts the reliability of the racing car to the test and, as we saw a week ago, can play a crucial role in the outcome of the race, including possible penalties for the replacement of components.
We await an electrifying weekend, especially in McLaren, with Norris determined to make up for the points lost at Zandvoort. Piastri currently heads the ladder with a lead of 34 points. They may seem a lot, but with the supremacy of the MCL39, they are still not enough to let him sleep soundly
Barring surprises, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull will fight it out for a place on the podium. So far, we have seen mixed performance by these three teams, making the fight for second place in the constructors’ championship particularly absorbing.
Just as interesting is the battle in the second half of the ladder: Aston Martin and Racing Bulls are separated by just two points, while Sauber and Haas are not far behind.
At Ferrari, we hope to see a revitalized Hamilton, capable of putting the difficulties in Zandvoort behind him. Despite the penalty of 5 places on the grid, Monza offers various opportunities to make up ground. But watch out for the first corner, it could hold some surprises.
At Monza Pirelli will conclude the celebrations for the reaching the milestone of 500 Grands prix, achieved at Zandvoort last weekend. The compounds chosen are C3 as the Hard, C4 as the Medium and C5 as the Soft., just like last year, when the circuit had just been resurfaced.
Gian Carlo Minardi
