Ferrari power deficit at Monza will be 3 tenths per lap. Ferrari power deficit at Monza will be 3 tenths per lap.

The second triple-header of the 2021 Formula One championship will end with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, one of only two races, the other being the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, that have featured on the Formula 1 calendar every year since the World Championship started. This year will be the 92nd edition of the event, the 72nd since the world championship began and in that time, it has always been held at Monza apart from 1980 when it moved to Imola. The biggest change since the 2020 Italian Grand Prix is that fans, who have always been one of the defining elements of this Grand Prix, are being allowed in, despite a limited 50% capacity. Another innovative aspect is the return of the Sprint Qualifying format first trialled at Silverstone a few months ago.

Analyzing Scuderia Ferrari’s prospects for the next round of the season, it is useless to look at it too much and feed false hopes: Ferrari will struggle at Monza. The issue in question was admitted by Team Principal Mattia Binotto several times ahead of the Monza race. The engine deficit that Ferrari has as compared to Honda and Mercedes, which can rely on the best power units at the moment, will inevitably make things difficult for the Italian side this weekend. Taking into account the power deficit mentioned above and calculating an estimated gap of 15 horsepower, the SF21 cars, with the engine alone, with the same set-up, will lose about 3 tenths per lap.

In this regard, a further reflection must be made. Usually the Maranello technicians try to unload the car a bit more than the opponents. This is to overcome the aforementioned lack of power and gain top speed. In Monza, however, where the engine has a much greater impact than other circuits, choosing a setup with less downforce generated by the wings will not have the same effect. This is because overall all the cars will adopt such a set up and the “game” of unloading the car to gain top speed, in percentage terms, will work much less.

For the historic Italian team, therefore, it will be of vital importance to find the perfect balance between top speed and speed in medium-slow corners to minimize losses. We must also not forget the support of the hybrid system. On a track where there are many high-speed sections, the 120KW (about 165hp) produced by the MGU-K motor generator must be spread efficiently to avoid excessive clipping (electronic power cut) which, in turn, would negatively affect the overall lap time.