Both the overall pace order and the long run averages are even more fraught with peril at Monza – in addition to the usual caveats about practice fuel loads and engine modes. This is because the teams were trialling various downforce levels and specific set-up tweaks around the ATA requirements.
Then there were the experiments with tows, which included Perez towing Verstappen at the start of his disrupted FP2 soft run just after the Mexican had set his personal best lap. The pair tried different downforce levels in FP1, with Perez chosen to sample Red Bull’s trimmed rear wing flap trailing edge arrangement.
Red Bull practiced a tow that could be used in qualifying on Saturday
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
On how the downforce trials impacted run plans, Mercedes, for example, only had George Russell complete a soft tyre qualifying simulation as Lewis Hamilton had been running a rather higher downforce level – particularly centred on the aero parts around the rear brakes – to try and find additional cornering speed.
When this didn’t arrive compared to what Mercedes had anticipated from its previous simulator running, it was decided Hamilton would save his first soft efforts for FP3 – with Mercedes also lacking enough time to change his rear wing package in any case.
This explained Hamilton’s lowly 17th in FP2, with the seven-time world champion not even fitting a single set of softs all day.
Mercedes also reckons Russell failed to get the best out of his run on that rubber in FP2, so it expects to close up to the rest come qualifying. It is, however, pessimistic that it can reach the head of the pack behind Red Bull over a race stint at this stage – even though the team calculated that the later laps of Hamilton’s medium-shod long run late in FP2 were better than the opening tours where he was spotted dipping his wheels into the gravel exiting the second chicane.
Red Bull reckoned that shortened running means it is yet to show its hand even slightly when it comes to race stint pace
Ferrari should be very encouraged with its apparent return to form following its slog of a weekend at Zandvoort. The Scuderia’s rivals reckon right now it is looking solid and genuine prospect for the podium this weekend, where it was comparatively nowhere special just a week ago.
Although Red Bull remains the favourite for pole, Sainz in particular feels Ferrari has made a turnaround in a week. Leclerc, however, is still struggling with his car balance over a lap.
But he did produce the best long run average on the medium tyres (see above), although these were disrupted for all teams by Perez’s crash cutting short the running and so have to be viewed through the prism of tyre degradation not biting as might be expected over a further distance.
Red Bull reckoned that shortened running means it is yet to show its hand even slightly when it comes to race stint pace.
McLaren performed strongly despite downplaying expectations ahead of the weekend
Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images
Plus, data Autosport has seen, which corrects the long-run averages for fuel loads and engine modes via dedicated software, puts Red Bull several tenths quicker on average in the FP2 long runs. This is when compared to Leclerc’s 1m25.221s average in the table above, even when the Ferrari data has been similarly adjusted.
McLaren fell down the order slightly over the FP2 long runs compared to its lower fuel pace, but it nevertheless felt satisfied with its attempts to compare downforce levels around its new, slimmer rear wing package today.
Williams should be very pleased with its showing so far on what is fond ground for the slippery FW45 given Monza’s long straights.
After addressing a balance problem for both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in FP1, Williams got amongst the leaders on one-lap pace and led the midfield on the medium long run averages. The team feels it has a very solid platform on which to build over the weekend.
At Aston, the team is lacking a hefty dose of data and opted to spend Alonso’s long run assessing the soft as a race option. But it is thought he encountered considerable degradation during this, which is seen in the 1.5s average loss to the best of the medium long runs logged in the table above.
For the first time in what seems like many ages in 2023, the Monza weekend is forecasted to run dry throughout. It is predicted that track evolution will be a big factor in qualifying, where this circuit tends to produce small gaps between the cars due to the long time spent on full throttle. Traffic could therefore become a major talking point once again…
In terms of race strategy, it had been thought that if the softer compounds could hold up on degradation, a one-stop race might be possible using that rubber. But with the ATA surely set to leave the teams with more race tyres than usual and the high chance of a safety car intervening, two stops are more likely.
Sainz ended Friday on top of the timesheets at Monza
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Plus, the degradation levels logged by Pirelli in FP2 suggest that the medium and hard tyres are set to the most important race tyres. But, again, the track evolution and possible race interruptions could mean the soft regains importance.
So, it’s first blood to Ferrari on home soil. But Red Bull is as mighty as ever, on a circuit where even if it did find itself knocked off the top spot in qualifying, its potent DRS would surely make another Verstappen or Perez recovery a formality in the race for 2023 perfection.
What they say:
Sainz: “Overall it was a positive Friday for the team. The car looks to be back on the pace this weekend and the track characteristics seem to be suiting us better. It’s only Friday and tomorrow is not going to be easy, as the field is super tight with several cars within a couple of tenths. We’ll keep trying to find more performance, especially for the long runs where I think there is more room for improvement.”
Norris: “A good day in terms of progress made. I don’t think we started off in the best position but we made a few good changes and it’s definitely helped us with our overall pace, which is a good thing. However, we’re still a little way off being as competitive as we want to be. We’ll work hard overnight to try and improve on that, and we have a few ideas. But a nice way to end the day, and if we can find some more, I’ll be confident we can have a decent result.”
Perez: “I understeered off on the exit [of Parabolica] and I tried to keep it nailed. I thought I had it under control but then I touched a bit of the gravel and that was game over. It doesn’t look too bad, the damage. It was fairly small, so I don’t think we lost anything in the end. A few laps, so nothing representative in that regard. The positive is that the car is performing well. I’m feeling comfortable with it. And I think we are in a good position for the rest of the weekend. I really felt that we had a very strong Friday. This has been the best Friday in a while for us. I think we found some positive steps in the car, so hopefully we can show it all tomorrow and on Sunday.
Verstappen: “From my side it could have probably been a little bit better today, there is still some fine tuning to do from the low speed to the high speed, but I am, of course, quite confident we will get there. We have been trying a few different wing levels and I think we still need to analyse which way to go, it is sometimes a tricky thing around Monza. We were a little bit interrupted with our programme in FP2, so it was hard to get a read on a few things. On the short run I was blocked a bit in sector two and then on the long run we didn’t get to do a lot of laps, so you don’t really get a good idea but that’s the same for everyone.”
Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director: “It’s been a messy day, partly with red flags but also because we’ve not got the car in a good place at the moment. That means we have a bit of work to do overnight to get the set up in the right place for the rest of the weekend. Single lap and long run both need work if we want to be competitive. There’s not much else to say; we just need to get on with the job of sorting the car out.”
Can Ferrari retain its advantage into Saturday?
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
