The Autodromo Nazionale Monza will welcome the Formula 1 car next weekend for the Grand Prix of Italy. For the first time this season, the DRS (Drag Reduction System) will be used on a super fast circuit.
The circuit of 5.793km features long straightaways and slow chicanes. It is the fastest circuit of the season with an average lap speed of 255 km/h; the season average being 211 km/h.
The Italian circuit features the highest top speeds of the year at around 350 km/h and the highest percentage of the lap spent at full throttle with 83%.
“Technically the circuit of Monza is by far the lowest drag level circuit of the season,” explained James Key, Technical Director at Sauber F1 Team.
“To get the drag down to levels which are optimum you have to reduce downforce, which is why we call it a low downforce track, although fundamentally it’s a low drag track. It’s a mix of long straights with two chicanes. Certainly the first one provides an overtaking opportunity, followed by a whole range of low to high speed corners in sector two – with the Lesmo corners and the Ascari – and then a very tricky corner, the Parabolica at the end of the lap, which is quite critical for carrying as much speed as possible down the pit straight.”
Key added: “Although the lap is quite simple, it’s quite technical particularly with the downforce level you are running. You need a well balanced car through these corners. It’s also critical for braking, because the top speeds are by far the highest of the year, and you’re braking down to a very low speed for the two chicanes.
“In addition, the kerbs play their role in these chicanes, although in recent years the amount of kerbs you can use has been limited a bit. So it has a lot of different aspects to it. Overtaking can be expected in two places, although we don’t know yet how effective the DRS will be in such a low downforce setting. The tires will be the soft and medium compound, as in Spa-Francorchamps. For the car we will have a modified front wing for low downforce settings and a rear wing specific to Monza.”
The circuit of 5.793km features long straightaways and slow chicanes. It is the fastest circuit of the season with an average lap speed of 255 km/h; the season average being 211 km/h.
The Italian circuit features the highest top speeds of the year at around 350 km/h and the highest percentage of the lap spent at full throttle with 83%.
“Technically the circuit of Monza is by far the lowest drag level circuit of the season,” explained James Key, Technical Director at Sauber F1 Team.
“To get the drag down to levels which are optimum you have to reduce downforce, which is why we call it a low downforce track, although fundamentally it’s a low drag track. It’s a mix of long straights with two chicanes. Certainly the first one provides an overtaking opportunity, followed by a whole range of low to high speed corners in sector two – with the Lesmo corners and the Ascari – and then a very tricky corner, the Parabolica at the end of the lap, which is quite critical for carrying as much speed as possible down the pit straight.”
Key added: “Although the lap is quite simple, it’s quite technical particularly with the downforce level you are running. You need a well balanced car through these corners. It’s also critical for braking, because the top speeds are by far the highest of the year, and you’re braking down to a very low speed for the two chicanes.
“In addition, the kerbs play their role in these chicanes, although in recent years the amount of kerbs you can use has been limited a bit. So it has a lot of different aspects to it. Overtaking can be expected in two places, although we don’t know yet how effective the DRS will be in such a low downforce setting. The tires will be the soft and medium compound, as in Spa-Francorchamps. For the car we will have a modified front wing for low downforce settings and a rear wing specific to Monza.”