Pirelli became the title sponsor of the Italian Grand Prix in 2021 and since then the trophies awarded to the winners of the Monza race have been created in collaboration with Pirelli HangarBicocca, the Italian tire company’s museum.
In fact, it is a centre for contemporary art, and in 2024 the design of the prestigious trophies was entrusted to Andrea Sala, a famous Italian artist whose work is exhibited in many museums around the world.
According to the author, these abstract images should create an image of speed, velocity and dynamic acceleration.
“The image of Formula 1 has always stayed with me, and it developed in my childhood,” said Sala. – The cars are lined up on the starting grid, at the exact moment of the start, when the traffic lights go out and the peloton rushes towards the first corner. That is why the cup is an attempt to transform into the form of a sculpture, at the exact moment when it all begins…”
The cups will be presented to the press on Friday 30th August at the Pirelli garage in Monza, before the start of the first practice session. In addition to the author, the presentation will be attended by Nicholas Tombasis, FIA Director of Single-Seater Racing, and Mario Isola, Head of Pirelli Racing Programmes.
From a technical point of view, the most significant change for this year’s Grand Prix will be the new asphalt surface, which was laid along the entire length of the circuit shortly before the Italian round of the season as part of the first phase of a major modernisation of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
A team of Pirelli engineers inspected the new surface in early August, after which they shared the information gathered with the FIA and the championship teams.
As always with new asphalt, the surface is smoother and darker, which increases the temperature of the road surface in sunny weather. It is possible that it will warm up above 50 degrees.
In theory, the new asphalt should provide more grip, which will make the tyres perform more efficiently. It is also quite possible to assume that as the weekend progresses, the condition of the circuit will change rapidly, partly because Monza will host numerous support races.
The classic Italian circuit is characterized by very high speeds, so in fast corners the tires will experience lateral loads that are close to the maximum. Pirelli prepared tires for their home round with the same compound as a year ago, i.e. C3 – Hard, C4 – Medium, C5 – Soft.
Tyre experts predict that the optimal tactic will be a single pit stop, but as practice progresses it will be necessary to carefully analyse the effect the interaction with the new asphalt surface has on the tyres over long periods of laps.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
