Honda prepared for fastest race of the year

Round 15 of the FIA Formula One World Championship comes on the back of a three day test at the home of the Italian GP – Monza. The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is bursting with motor sport tradition and remains one of the most challenging circuits in the world. Possessing a unique character and ambience, Monza is Formula One’s oldest road course and despite being altered from its original layout in the interests of safety, it is still the fastest circuit on the calendar.

“The circuit itself is very unique with very long straights and the highest top speeds that we will see all year, placing a premium on the aerodynamic efficiency and top end horsepower,” says Sporting Director Gil de Ferran. “This year, most of the track has been resurfaced which has slightly changed the requirements on the tyres. Together with most of our competitors, we spent three days in Monza this week optimising our tyre choice and set-up for the track, including a very unique aerodynamic configuration.”

“It’s a unique circuit and easily the fastest in the F1 calendar in terms of speed,” confirms Rubens Barrichello. “You have to get the braking right and obviously the traction and the power of the engine are important too.

Due to the pace of the circuit, cars must be set up with the lowest downforce levels possible without causing stability problems under braking. They must also be able to ride the Monza curbs effectively and remain well balanced without too much understeer at high speed. In addition, good traction is important for exiting the revised Rettifilo and Roggia chicanes effectively and braking must be optimised to cope with the very high temperatures generated when drivers slow from top speed to negotiate these low speed sections.

Overtaking is possible at the first and second chicanes but the fast corners before each passing place make it hard to follow another car closely because of the vagaries of modern aerodynamics and races can become quickly strung out. These days, the slipstreaming manoeuvres of yore tend to take place only when cars on two-stop strategies have a significant performance advantage over heavier one-stoppers.

“We had a good test this week in preparation for the race,” continues Rubens, “focusing mainly on tyre choice and car set-up for the lower levels of downforce that you need here, so we hope to look forward to another good race next weekend.”