There is less and less time left until the green light goes on for the first Free Practice session of the Italian Grand Prix 2024always on the historic circuit of Monzabut which presents several novelties that are not at all secondary. For this edition, in fact, some works aimed at modernizing the track have been completed, which include above all a new asphalt. A theme that, on the eve of the weekend, was analyzed by Mario IslandHead of Motorsport of PirelliMilanese company, sole supplier of tyres in Formula 1.
Could the new asphalt first of all create problems during the sessions or the race? A question to which Isola responded as follows during the Pirelli debrief: “No, but there could be more warming than last yearbecause the asphalt is very black and so we know that in good weather conditions, which is what we expect, it will heat up more – he explained – when we measured it it was already over 50°, so we will have a definitely hot asphalt. In addition it still has a layer of bitumen on the surface. With this we expect lots of grip, probably more than last year. More grip could lead to more heating and therefore more thermal wear. We will definitely do be careful of the gravel too and we will check for any cuts caused by the latter which is closer to the kerb”.
New asphalt which, always according to the indications provided by Isola, could also generate a notable track evolution: “We expect a lot of track evolution over the weekend, because there was a lot of dust due to the work which will obviously be cleaned up as the riders go around – he added – furthermore, there is no rain forecast, so there will be no track reset from one lap to the next.”
A new Monza will bring great improvements especially on the occasion of the qualificationswith the asphalt favoring lower times for pole position than those set in 2023, by as much as a second: “It is difficult to simulate the grip of the asphalt, but according to the predictions the pole position should be on1:19.1“. It should be noted that Carlos Sainz stopped the clock at 1:20.264 in Q3 last year.
These are the main indications of what the new Monza track could provide this weekend, but Pirelli’s Motorsport Director also focused on the 2025 and on the development of the new rubber, namely the C6: “We will try it in testing soon, but it will be a very soft tyre, especially for some street circuits where the C5 compound is too hard.”
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