With only nine races to go, the Italian Grand Prix has arrived and will debut a new driver.
After last week’s race win by Lando Norris, McLaren will be trying to keep that momentum, and surpass Red Bull in the Constructors Championship.
Ferrari had surprisingly good results, a third place for Charles Leclerc and fifth for Carlos Sainz. The Italian team will have to keep up the good work to have a good home Grand Prix.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget, after finishing seventh and eight. Mercedes will have to improve if they want to try to catch up with Ferrari in the standings.
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The track
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza was built in 1922, and was part of the inaugural Formula 1 calendar in 1950.
The first driver to win was Nino Farina, it was a home 1-2-3 with Alberto Ascari and Dorino Serafini sharing second place, and Luigi Fagioli in third.
It's the quickest track on the calendar. In 2004, Juan Pablo Montoya recorded F1’s fastest lap ever in this circuit - 260.6 km/h! (162 mph). The drivers are full throttle about 80% of the lap.
The track consists of 11 corners and two DRS zones and has a total length of 5.793 km (3.6 mi). The lap record is held by Rubens Barrichello who set a time of 1:21.046 in 2004.
It’s one of the busiest circuits on the calendar too, because of the high-speed layout, drivers try to find a tow from the car ahead to increase their velocity. Meaning no one wants to be first in the queue, creating a lot of traffic.
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What to watch out for
Williams announced earlier this week that Formula 2 driver, Franco Colapinto, would be replacing Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season, starting from this weekend.
It came as a shock to a lot of people, but last weekend after Sargeant’s crash during FP3, rumors that he would be replaced in Italy started surfacing.
Colapinto was participating in his first season in F2 with MP Motorsport. The Argentine is sixth in the standings, and had three podiums, including a win in Imola during the sprint race.
Although there is still a 70-point difference between Norris and Max Verstappen, only 30 points separate Red Bull and McLaren. The Milton Keynes team will have to do everything in their power to not let their lead go.
Ferrari will be having high expectations for the weekend. The Italian team will be bringing new upgrades for their car. There will be a special atmosphere with the tifosi in attendance.
Kimi Antonelli will be taking Russell’s Mercedes’ during FP1 this weekend. The Italian driver has been rumored to be Hamilton’s replacement for next year, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Formula 3 will also be on track for their 2024 season finale. Leonardo Fornaroli is the current leader of the Driver’s Championship by only one point. The first five places are separated by only 29 points, so it is up for grabs for anyone.
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Schedule
Free Practice 1 - Friday 30th August - 7:30 am EST (4:30 am PST)
Free Practice 2 - Friday 30th August- 11:00 am EST (8:00 am PST)
Free Practice 3 - Saturday 31th August - 6:30 am EST (3:30 am PST)
Qualifying - Saturday 31th August - 10:00 am EST (7:00 am PST)
Race - Sunday 1st September - 9:00 am EST (6:00 am PST)
All sessions will be available through F1TV and ESPN in the United States.
