This year Ferrari is not heating up Monza. With a Maranello team unable to fight for the victory, the pre-sale of tickets for the Italian GP suffers and goes very slowly. The Red Italian National team does not seem to attract the passion of its compatriots for the moment, as compared to what happened in Zandvoort with the Dutch who went wild in supporting Max Verstappen.
But which Ferrari should we expect in the “temple of speed”? Often the Italian GP represented an opportunity for redemption for the Maranello team even in the darkest years, but this year’s (too) stringent FIA rules prevent the hosts from preparing something special for Monza and, therefore, , the realistic expectations are low, such as not to feed the fans’ imagination…
In reality, the Racing Department is working hard to get the most out of the SF21 which has certain issues (engine), but also some advantages (traction and good load in the chicanes). The weather forecast ensures that it will not rain and that the weekend will be quite hot.
It is right to point out that Ferrari has marked a specific development work for Monza that takes into account environmental factors. Once the higher downfornce aerodynamic package with specific wings for Monza was approved and a very closed bodywork that seeks efficiency in order to reduce the drag to raise the maximum speeds on long straights, at Maranello they are carrying out qualifying simulations and then of race to seek maximum exploitation of Pirelli tires as the air and asphalt temperatures vary.
The testers are very busy in defining the simulator different work maps that change in the suspension settings and in the wing loading when the temperatures vary by a few degrees, to ensure that the Pirelli tires can always be in the right window of use, transferring the necessary energy to avoid tyre issues.
Of course the aerodynamics and the engine are essential to reach the peaks of speed at the speed trap, but it is equally important to have suspensions that know how to attack the corners ensuring the indispensable traction in acceleration, because it would mean having a greater speed of cornering and a cue also in the initial phase of the long straights.
The Italian GP proposes the second Sprint Qualifying after Silverstone and it will be essential to put on the track an SF21 car that is capable of expressing its best after just one Friday free practice session for a qualifying that will take place on Friday. The drivers (except the Red Bull ones) are not used to tracks like Monza which are of minimal load, so preparation for the Italian race becomes fundamental, as Ferrari tried not to leave anything to chance.
The Scuderia is called to a test of pride that will erase the bad memory of 2020 with Charles Leclerc crashing out of the Parabolica and Sebastian Vettel running out of control at the first variant …
“We must expect a better Italian GP than last year – guaranteed Binotto -. We want to show that we have grown compared to last season. I think that regardless of the engine that represents a disadvantage, Monza also offers other difficulties such as braking and changing direction at the Prima Variante and the Roggia or having to attack the curbs, all characteristics that are important.”
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