2023 Italian Grand Prix - Monza, Sep 01 - 03

[Cs98]

If Verstappen leads after 1 lap, it is goodbye

Copy and paste that every weekend

Only hope, entertainment wise, is if T1 creates an opportunity for front wing damage or puncture. Max has played it very safe on lap 1 this season, so can’t see him coming a cropper.

Wait three or four laps, DRS flyby to take the lead, and then drive to the flag. See you in, Singapore.

I think the Ferrari is pretty close on race pace, at least early in stints. Their only realistic hope is that they are 1-2 coming out of the first corners, and that the faster guy is in front and building a decent gap in the first stint.

[Unc1eM0nty]

[quote=marcel171281 post_id=1156903
If Verstappen leads after 1 lap, it is goodbye. But if there is one of more cars in front, I reckon he will patiently wait behind, save tyres, extent his stint and build a decent tyre offset. He will blast by in the second stint in that case. And he has the advantage when there is a (V)SC when staying out longer.
[/quote]

The Red Bull looks great through Parabolica, with a good drive out of that corner any car without DRS will be a sitting duck.

Undercut, overcut they have so many options it's a matter of when, not if

[darkpino]

I think it’s pretty obvious that RBR went for the tyre advantage as Max won most time in the corners. My guess is that Max will win easily just because they/he will manage tyre wear/temperature better

[Unc1eM0nty]

Perez will be 20 / 30 seconds behind if there are no safety cars. Its not that he can't match Max's pace, he just can't do it over a race distance and keep the tires in good shape.

Max is like a metronome just tapping out laps, AND, conserving the tires. Lewis seems to have the same advantage over his teammates.

[Juzh]

sainz q3 lap
https://streamable.com/8ae3o4


ver q3 lap
https://streamable.com/6ct2iu


rus q3 lap
https://streamable.com/vsxgei

[organic]

The air temp will be about 30 degrees for Monza. What could track temps be?

Tyre management at this temps should become a lot more important

[AR3-GP]

From Russell’s qualy lap I’m convinced that part of Mercs top speed issue is the fact that they are bottoming quite a bit.

[Cs98]

From Russell’s qualy lap I’m convinced that part of Mercs top speed issue is the fact that they are bottoming quite a bit.

They don't have a top speed issue. Russell v Verstappen on the straights, in order. 341 v 343, 320 v 320, 333 v 335, 323 v 324. There's basically nothing in it, maybe a half tenth. No tow for either. It's all corners.

[chrisc90]

The air temp will be about 30 degrees for Monza. What could track temps be?

Tyre management at this temps should become a lot more important

Probably worse deg than expected for those running a lower DF configuration.

I will be massively surprised if Ferrari can handle the tyres.

Sense would be to start sainz on the faster tyre and Charles on the harder of the 2 and pressure RB into something.

Could be crucial for Perez to clear Russell asap

[chrisc90]

https://x.com/albertfabrega/status/1698 ... B6rHbJDvyw

(If someone could pull the image URLs off as I’m on mobile this weekend)

[Cs98]

https://x.com/albertfabrega/status/1698 ... B6rHbJDvyw

(If someone could pull the image URLs off as I’m on mobile this weekend)

[organic]

From Russell’s qualy lap I’m convinced that part of Mercs top speed issue is the fact that they are bottoming quite a bit.

They don't have a top speed issue. Russell v Verstappen on the straights, in order. 341 v 343, 320 v 320, 333 v 335, 323 v 324. There's basically nothing in it, maybe a half tenth. No tow for either. It's all corners.

Even if they're close to RB, it's still a top speed issue. They're pretty slow in the corners due to running very low wing and still very weak in the speed trap.

Comparing with RB this weekend flatters Merc as RB are using a medium DF mainplane which is causing a lot of drag for them in the DRS zones

But top speeds still show merc's deficit

[chrisc90]

Wow, they really are behind.
I’m expecting them to get eaten up on the straights today.

[Cs98]

From Russell’s qualy lap I’m convinced that part of Mercs top speed issue is the fact that they are bottoming quite a bit.

They don't have a top speed issue. Russell v Verstappen on the straights, in order. 341 v 343, 320 v 320, 333 v 335, 323 v 324. There's basically nothing in it, maybe a half tenth. No tow for either. It's all corners.

Even if they're close to RB, it's still a top speed issue. They're pretty slow in the corners due to running very low wing and still very weak in the speed trap.

Comparing with RB this weekend flatters Merc as RB are using a medium DF mainplane which is causing a lot of drag for them in the DRS zones

But top speeds still show merc's deficit

https://i.redd.it/tix55c2cbwlb1.jpg

A pretty useless graphic because it doesn't tell you who had a tow and who didn't. The tow can easily be worth 5+kph on this track if you are close behind someone, and Merc avoided the tow basically the whole session. It's much more valuable to look at like for like runs and compare. Take for example Lec v Ver v Rus, final run in Q3. No tows, peak power. And when you do that you will see that Merc is not especially draggy, at least relative to the RB.

And keep in mind Merc are also using a relatively inefficient cutout wing, as opposed to the likes of Ferrari.

[DGP123]

Agree. Don’t envisage it to be as bad as McLaren at Spa