By Carlo Platella
It’s a first day of track action that is decidedly difficult to interpret at Monza, with the four leading teams confirming themselves separated by a handful of tenths. While waiting for qualifying and the race, the movements in the pit lane are capturing attentionThe protagonist on this front is Ferrariwhich remains firm in its ideas and carries forward the same development philosophy promoted since the beginning of the season. Red Bull, on the other hand, is going back on its steps, showing glimpses of competitiveness on the track but also showing some signs of difficulty.
Ferrari plays the ace
In Monza, the Rossa is back with some updates almost three months after the last time. The picture that emerges from listening to the Maranello representatives is that of a Ferrari that does not change development direction. The extensive package that arrived in Brianza, including new features on the bottom, diffuser and sides, continues the same philosophy as at the beginning of the year, focusing on reducing sensitivity to the bouncing that had been exacerbated by the previous innovations in Barcelona.
On Friday in Monza, the Prancing Horse drivers did not report any bouncing problems, with the Italian track not being particularly critical on this front, even less so after the recent resurfacing that flattened the road surface. It should also not be forgotten how the most critical session in this regard is the qualificationwhen the cars travel at the highest speeds of the entire weekend. Ferrari is covering its tracks, however, anticipating that further interventions will be needed to definitively resolve the problem, expected by the end of the year.
Red Bull out of ammo
The general updates are not the only new features that have appeared on the Ferrari. At Monza the Reds also mount new low-downforce rear wings dedicated to the Temple of Speed, on a par with McLaren, very fast on the Brianza straights. Different story for Red Bull and Mercedeswhich feature the same ailerons as Spa, modified in the mobile flap part. The two are particularly surprising, as they were already without a new wing in Belgium, replacing the one from Jeddah.
The impression is that Red Bull is increasingly close to running out of development resourcesafter having already spent heavily on the bodywork for reliability reasons and with the numerous funds introduced during the year. In this regard, in Monza the Milton Keynes team continues the experiments begun in Zandvoort. After Verstappen had raced with the start-of-season bottom in Holland, in Italy it is Perez who mounts it in the first free practice sessions, with Max who aligns himself with his teammate in the afternoon session. It is a Red Bull apparently forced to retrace its steps, giving up part of the efficiency in favor of better balance and driveability, while waiting for the next corrections.
Mercedes is also unsure about the latest news. After Toto Wolff had not ruled out that the Spa fund could be responsible for the disappointing performance at Zandvoort, the Brackley team take advantage of Italian Friday to conduct investigations. In the morning Hamilton returns to the old Miami floor while Antonelli runs on the latest spec, then fitted by Sir Lewis in the afternoon with Russell on the old one. All that remains is to wait until Saturday to find out which spec the Star will decide to fit for the rest of the weekend.
Open weekend
Coming to the action on the track, the standings at the end of the first day make it very difficult to express judgments. Lewis Hamilton is in the lead, while in the afternoon Verstappen fails to complete the fastest lap on soft tyres due to the red flag, but does not fail to complain about the behaviour of the RB20 in the fast corners. The gaps between Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are in any case very small, also influenced by factors such as wake and engine mappingsnever as important as in Monza.
The qualification promises to be very importantgiven the overtaking problems due to the limited amount of slipstream and the difficulty in following each other at high speed. The race could still provide some surprises, with the very hot and slippery asphalt generating unexpected graining. The pace simulations also appear difficult to interpret, with the impression that the Verstappen-Norris duo enjoys a small advantage over the competition. The positive news for Ferrari is the reasonable consistency of pace maintained by Leclerc, despite his great aggression on the first lap with an attack time one second lower than the competition. It is an Italian Grand Prix that remains open to any outcome, but which will largely be decided starting on Saturday.
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