DRC's Italian GP Preview with a Dutch recap
The F1 circus travels to Lombardy for the Italian Grand Prix following a thrilling race in Zandvoort which saw rain, red flags and a record number of overtakes.
After a record-equalling weekend for Max Verstappen, we head to the 'temple of speed' for the 2023 F1 Italian GP. Ferrari's home race, where the Tiffosi paint the town red, is one weekend that features arguably the most passionate fans in the sport.
As the 14th race of the season, the Italian GP arrives with Red Bull having clinched victory in all 13 previous races, setting the stage for an exciting battle as they continue their winning streak. The cancellation of the Imola race earlier in the year only adds to the anticipation, with crowds expected to flock to the circuit in large numbers.
The Dutch Master Does It Again!
Max Verstappen stunned his home crowd with record-tying 9 consecutive victories amid a wet race. He equalled Sebastian Vettel’s 9 straight win records increasing his point lead to 138 as he races to his third world championship title.
Reflecting on his feat, Verstappen shared, "After about five wins in a row or something, I received a text from Seb congratulating me and encouraging me to keep up the momentum. Nine consecutive wins is incredibly impressive, and I never imagined I would reach eight, so if the opportunity arises tomorrow, I will definitely go for it."
Sergio was the first to pit at the end of lap one and take the lead from Max by the end. As rain relented, Verstappen could reclaim the lead by lap 11 as he undercut Perez after pitting and emerging as P13. Later at the end of the race he was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane promoting Gasly to P3.
While Verstappen's success shines, Sergio Perez faces uncertainty regarding his future at Red Bull. With only two wins this season and a series of disappointing qualifying performances, his position within the team is under scrutiny.
On Friday at Zandvoort, Marko told Sky Germany that Red Bull wants to keep him for 2024 “but he needs to perform for that”.
At Monza, all eyes will be on Verstappen as he attempts to create history with a 10-win strike record and also extend the Red Bull win strike to over 15 races in a row which started at the final race of the 2022 season.
Incompetence and Ferrari Goes Hand in Hand?
Ferrari's performance at the Dutch GP was marred by pit strategy errors and driver mishaps.
It all began with the free practice itself but things got accelerated especially in qualifying when on many occasions the drivers lost control for which the Spaniard was also fined 5000 euros for a “potentially dangerous manoeuvre”.
On the following day in Q3 Leclerc was caught out by the fact track was damp which led to a turn 9 right-hander setting him off-line and further into the barriers side on as he slipped on the wet grass setting him a lap time of 1'12"665 which earned him a 9th place. With four minutes remaining, Carlos set up a lap time good enough for P6.
Although the team expected a far better result following race day, those handfuls of drivers’ mistakes and haywire pit strategy handed them DNF and P5.
Ferrari aims to bounce back at Monza by introducing upgrades tailored to the circuit's characteristics. Notably, a new wing suited for Spa may enhance performance, with reduced drag and optimized aerodynamics. Monza's unique demands, particularly the Lesmo corners, pose a challenge that Ferrari aims to address. Along with the team would be celebrating the success of 499P which won the 24 Hours of Lemans back in June. The Hypercar and SF-23 already have Rosso Le Mans red in common as a base colour, but the latter will wear the former’s yellow ‘V stripes’ on the engine cover and nose.
Williams: Alex Albon and Jame Vowles: Power Couple
Alex Albon’s three-point finishes have resulted in Williams’ most competitive season in years in 2023, with the team sitting seventh in the Constructors’ standings with 10 rounds remaining. While Sargeant faded to 12th in FP2, Albon forced his way into third – only behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen and ahead of Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Alex also finished with his career-best P4 in qualifying and ended up P8 after a couple of wrong pit calls.
The William couple ie James Vowles and Alex is in full gear mode to make the team 5th fastest on the grid. New team boss James Vowles, who continues to impress in that role, has already stated that Williams’s 2023 development is fully geared towards its machine for next year. And he revealed at Zandvoort how that car is being conceived as new chief technical officer Pat Fry is still yet to join from Alpine.
The ex-Red Bull affiliate also took encouragement from being able to overtake Russell ahead of Formula 1’s return to Monza: a low downforce circuit configuration that should suit Williams’ FW45 package.
Failed To Capitalise: Mercedes
George Russell lined up third on the grid with his teammate 10 places behind him after a horrific qualifying. The early rain at the Dutch GP potentially was the opportunity to undo the mistakes of qualifying and get to the front of the grid. The call for the intermediates was taken in lap 3 for Hamilton and a lap later for the other Brit but by then it was too late. As the rain slowed down both the drivers were found to be at the rear end of the grid.
Toto Wolff called the Dutch weekend frustrating saying they “failed to recognize the potential of the car”. Thus what was “forecasted” to be a podium finish for young Brit turned out to be a recovery driver along with his teammate.
Indeed both the drivers drove well and were able to score points for the team with No. 44 ending up sixth and No. 63 ending up eighth sandwiching Norris between them.
Looking forward to Italian GP, Mercedes has also added a new beam wing, as well as a change in inboard mirror stay geometry atop the sidepod inlet to improve flow conditioning. That is also the reason for the change to the forward floor edge wing as the Brackley-based outfit searches for rear downforce.
AMR Resurgence
Looks like the team is back on track with Alonso finishing P2 at Dutch GP. Towards the end of the race when the rain conditions worsened further many drivers including the race leader decided to pit for the full wet tyre. After Sergio aquaplaned off in turn 1 Alonso came up to be second but did not elect to go for full wet tyres after which a rolling restart took place which was preceded by Zhou’s crash. This marked Alonso’s and the team’s first-ever podium after 2 months with the last being in Canada.
When asked if it was Alonso's decision to stay out on Intermediates, Krack told Sky Sports: "Yeah, absolutely. We knew that this could happen in such situations and it's about survival mode, if we can call it like that. I think his [Alonso] experience at Le Mans and his experience in other categories in such a situation is really paying [off], because you have multiple classes in Le Mans in different conditions where you just have to stay out because the pitstops are so long. So I think this experience, but also you have to have the skills to do it. It's also not so easy to stay on track in such conditions."
For the Italian weekend, the team has submitted to FIA a heavily revised floor and diffuser. A revised lower surface of the floor body, reshaped floor fences and tweaked floor edge have been conceived in tandem to improve airflow to increase the downforce generated. These will work in conjunction with a new diffuser, for which the upper corner has been modified and a small winglet added, to improve the efficiency of the lower surface.
Moreover, the team recently confirmed its reserve driver Felipe Drugovich would be making yet another appearance for the team and would run the car ahead of Friday’s free practice sessions.
Commendable Fighting Spirit: McLaren
Once the flurry of tyre changes was complete to react to the track which was soaked and then dry, Norris found himself going from competing for a podium spot to just hoping for points, ultimately achieving that with a P7 finish.
All said and done Mclaren seems to be one of the fastest teams on the grid bagging a few podiums and pretty good points in the last few races pre-summer break. Although the Netherlands didn’t seem to be an ideal weekend for the team their qualifying P2 and then further emerging in seventh place at the end of the chaotic race makes them a promising contender in front of the grid.
What to Expect at the Italian GP?
Coming to the high-speed Monza circuit which presents a very different technical challenge, the lessons from McLaren’s disappointing performance at the Spa point to a troublesome weekend for the team in Italy.
Alfa Romeo and Haas have fallen off the cliff in terms of the strong performances they showed at the start of the regulations in 2022, similar to the fate of Ferrari. Alfa who initially had strength due to its weight has now fallen in the battle as the other teams caught up with gaining pace by managing weight through development.
Haas which this season has been a Qualifying car, might again fail to impress at Monza.
Mercedes can be a strong contender for being second fastest as they showed pace last year when George Russell finished on the Podium in P3.
Ferrari who struggled in the twisty Zandvoort can benefit in the low downforce setup at Monza, with spurts of pace they showed last year at this track, with Charles Leclerc taking the pole on Saturday and finishing in P2 on Sunday behind Verstappen who beat him in Race pace.
In the Backmarkers/Lower Midfield Liam Lawson, who replaced the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri at very short notice at Zandvoort, and Williams driver Alex Albon – fresh from qualifying fourth on the grid in the Netherlands – may be the ones to watch.
F1 will also test the Alternate tyre strategy at Monza -
Weather Predictions
Monza promises dry and sunny conditions throughout the weekend, a contrast to the variable weather at Zandvoort.
Friday afternoon's second practice session has a small chance of being affected by a short shower, Come Saturday morning there may once again be the chance of a short shower, but any moisture should have disappeared by the time the cars take to the track for FP3, Race day on Sunday is set to be the warmest of the three days, with the mercury rising to 29 degrees Celsius and a 0% chance of rain.
Incidentally, if conditions remain dry throughout the three days of on-track action in Monza, it will be the first Grand Prix weekend without any rain since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Here’s a detailed Schedule for the Weekend
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