The future stars of Formula 1 face one of Europe’s classic circuits for the second time in a week when the FIA Formula 2 Championship and GP3 Series move on to Monza: the home event for Pirelli.

The challenge

• Monza is dominated by its long straights and cars are set-up accordingly with low downforce to maximise the top speeds. As a result, they are more dependent on the mechanical grip from the tyres to provide grip through the corners.

• The most significant forces on the tyres at Monza come under braking and traction, particularly for the chicanes that punctuate the long straights. The lateral forces are greatest through the long Curva Grande and Parabolica corners.

• Drivers rely heavily on the kerbs to get the fastest line through the chicanes, adding to the stresses on the tyres.

The tyres and strategy

• The P Zero White medium and P Zero Red supersoft tyres have been nominated for F2, with the supersoft replacing the soft at Monza this year.

• In F2, each driver has five sets of slick tyres to use over the weekend: three medium and two supersoft. They also have three sets of wet-weather tyres. During race one, where there is a mandatory pit stop, both compounds have to be used unless it is declared a wet race. Pit stops are optional in race two.

• Just one tyre is nominated for each GP3 round: at Monza, it’s the soft. Drivers get three new sets of dry tyres plus one carry-over set of medium tyres from the Spa-Francorchamps round, which must be returned after free practice. There are two sets of wet-weather tyres as well.

What happened last year?
Rain meant the wet tyres were used throughout the F2 feature race, with Antonio Fuoco taking the victory after fellow Italian driver Luca Ghiotto was penalised. Ghiotto went on to win the sprint race on the medium tyre. The effect of the weather on the schedule meant that only one GP3 race was held, with George Russell winning on soft tyres in dry conditions on Sunday morning.

Quote

Mario Isola, Pirelli head of car racing: “With the supersoft and medium tyres nominated for Monza in Formula 2, we expect quite a gap in performance that should open up a number of different strategic options for qualifying and the race. With only a short free practice session as usual, this means that the drivers will have little time to formulate a strategy for the race, adding another element of interest. In GP3, tyre management will be very important to withstand the heavy demands and famous high speeds of Pirelli’s home track.”