Aston Martin representative Pedro de la Rosa spoke at the team’s preview for the Italian Grand Prix about the characteristics of the Monza circuit and how to configure the car appropriately.
Pedro de la Rosa: “Driving at Monza is all about braking as late as possible before entering a corner and pressing the accelerator as early as possible on the exit, while keeping the car’s behaviour stable.
To do this, the driver must position the car perfectly on the track. If you brake too late when entering, your corner position will be worse and you will be slow when exiting, which will affect your speed on the straight line.
When braking and exiting a bend, the car should drive straight ahead. This allows acceleration to begin as early as possible.
This year, the drivers will have to deal with a new first chicane, which has been widened. Cars may now be able to drive through it side by side. In addition, a new asphalt layer has been applied throughout the entire lap, which should now provide more grip on the track. Teams will have to take these factors into account.
The car settings should provide a balance between maximum speed on the straights and stability under braking. The less downforce, the less stable the car behaves under braking, and this has a negative effect on the tires. Therefore, it all comes down to reducing the downforce as much as possible, but not exceeding the limit beyond which the problems begin.
In addition, the car must allow for attacking curbs. This is necessary to ensure a better exit from the corner before the long straight. If you make a mistake on the curb, it will affect the exit of the corner and you will notice that you are slow. And finally, the car must accelerate efficiently, so that you can press the gas pedal as early as possible.
“Monza requires a different driving style because of its unique set-up and this makes it different from any other circuit on the calendar. As a result, we are told that the car has low downforce and the driver has to drive in a way that he does not drive at any other circuit. There is nothing on the calendar that can compare to the challenge of Monza.”
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.
