Italian Grand Prix

Points at the Temple of SpeedPoints at the Temple of Speed

2023 season

FernandoAlonso

9th

RACE POSITION

3rd

DRIVER STANDING

Fernando's profile

LanceStroll

16th

RACE POSITION

9th

DRIVER STANDING

Lance's profile

Fifty-one laps fly by at the Temple of Speed as Fernando and Lance make up places and we leave Italy with more points on the board.

2023 season

Italian Grand Prix circuit figures

Number of pitstops

Longest stint (laps)

Total laps

295.45

Total kilometres

FernandoAlonso

9th

Final position

10th

Starting position

Positions

Points

LanceStroll

16th

Final position

20th

Starting position

Positions

Points

Fastest lapM:S.MS

1:26.105

Fernando

1:26.617

Lance

Max speedKM/H

346.5

Fernando

343.6

Lance

Practice laps

Fernando

Lance

Felipe

Qualifying laps

Fernando

Lance

Race laps

Fernando

Lance

Total laps

134

Fernando

Lance

Italian Grand Prix

The Debrief by Aramco

We extend our points-scoring run to 16 consecutive weekends as Fernando keeps it clean at Monza and comes home ninth.

Need to know: Italy

Toggle below to highlight parts of the track.

Sectors
Turns
DRS

Talking points

AMF1 Team Test and Reserve Driver Felipe Drugovich is in the cockpit for Free Practice One and is eager to get our Italian Grand Prix off to a strong start following our podium last time out at Zandvoort. Before his FP1 appearance, he looks ahead to driving the AMR23, the unique challenges of Monza, and learning from Lance and Fernando.

Describe your emotions as you prepare to take the wheel of the AMR23 at Monza?

"It's great to have the opportunity to get back behind the wheel of the AMR23 this weekend at the venue where I secured my F2 title last year. A few months after that, I made my Free Practice debut for Aston Martin at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and it was an unforgettable experience. The physical and mental demands of driving a Formula One car are on another level – the feeling is like no other – and I can't wait to experience it again at Monza.

"FP1 on Friday will be a chance for me to learn more about the AMR23; I'm curious to see how it has evolved since I drove it in pre-season testing at the beginning of the year."

What will the FP1 session at the Italian Grand Prix have in store for you?

"Pirelli's Alternative Tyre Allocation is being trialled again this weekend – so Hard, Medium and Soft tyres must be used in Qualifying on Saturday – which means we have fewer sets of tyres available for practice sessions.

"It's therefore likely that I'll spend a long time on one set of tyres in FP1, but it's still a great opportunity for me to learn."

What are your objectives on Friday?

"To learn as much as I can, give precise feedback to the team, and to help with the initial set up of the car before Lance gets back behind the wheel for FP2. Those are my main goals."

Monza is a very fast track. Everyone runs very low downforce to reduce the drag and be as fast as possible on the straights. Driving an F1 car in a low-downforce specification will be a new experience for me.
Felipe Drugovich-Test and Reserve Driver

What are the biggest challenges of a lap around the Temple of Speed?

"Monza is a very fast track. Everyone runs very low downforce to reduce the drag and be as fast as possible on the straights. Driving an F1 car in a low-downforce specification will be a new experience for me; previously it's always had a high, or quite high, downforce setting.

"I'm eager to see how an F1 car behaves with a low wing level – just sliding around a little bit more – and the key focus will be to maximise my exits out of the corners and speed down the straights.

"When I'm not behind the wheel, I'll be trackside watching Lance and Fernando and trying to learn as much as I can from them."

How will you work with Lance and Fernando over the weekend?

"There's always a lot I can learn from both of them. I'll study Lance and Fernando's data to see what they’re doing, how they're getting the most out of the AMR23 and compare their telemetry with my performance in FP1.

"Obviously, it will be difficult to make direct comparisons because I'm not driving at the same time as them and the track will have evolved. That's why Free Practice One is so important for me this weekend, so I can create a solid reference point and improve my own performance too."

Cognizant

Insight and Speed

Discover Cognizant

Race interruptions

Stoppages are likely to occur and provide a prime opportunity to pit: in the last five dry Grands Prix at Monza, there has been an average of one Safety Car and one Virtual Safety Car per race. Last year, both were deployed during the Grand Prix.

Overtaking

Although Autodromo Nazionale Monza has many long straights, overtaking difficulty hovers around the season average. The best opportunities are into the opening chicane, Turns Three and Four, and down the shorter DRS zone into Turn Eight.

Strategy

The tyres are a step softer than last year and the Alternative Tyre Allocation is in place meaning that teams get two fewer sets of tyres overall per car for the whole weekend. Furthermore, Hards must be used in Q1, Mediums in Q2 and Softs in Q3.

Aramco

Powered by How

Discover Aramco

How do you prepare a car for the unique demands of Monza?

Monza is a special circuit in that it requires a low-drag set-up. This is most evident on the rear wings of the cars where a cursory glance reveals shorter main planes and therefore smaller aerodynamic surfaces, which reduce the amount of drag – but also the amount of downforce – produced by the wings.

There is a trade-off between straight-line speed and cornering speed – a dilemma which presents itself at every circuit – and at Monza, straight-line speed is prioritised, with drivers spending more than 70 per cent of the lap at full throttle. If rain is expected, set-up might be tweaked to add a bit more downforce and drag, and give the drivers an advantage in slippery conditions.

Given the amount of time spent at full throttle, it's also imperative to ensure that the engine and related components are in top condition in a bid to maximise power and reliability.

SentinelOne

Unlocking the Lap

Discover SentinelOne

The long run to the Rettifilo chicane gives drivers plenty of time to nail their braking point at the hardest braking zone on the circuit – made even more tricky with a low-downforce set-up. A perfect exit out of Turn Two is key to gaining an advantage through Curva Grande and onto the short straight that follows.

Then comes the high-speed Della Roggia Chicane, where it's tempting to take plenty of kerb. However, the run-off area and its gravel comes quickly and can trigger a spin, so it’s important not to use too much of the exit kerb. The high-speed Lesmo corners follow: Turn Six is slightly cambered which allows drivers to carry more speed into the corner and the track is even more cambered into Turn Seven – but the run-off area is once again waiting to punish any drivers who take too much exit kerb.

The short DRS zone follows the Lesmos into Turns Eight, Nine and 10 – the Ascari Chicane. This requires precision and a hefty use of the kerbs on corner entry to position the car to take plenty of the inside kerb and outside kerb on exit of the chicane. Finally, drivers blaze into Curva Alboreto, a constant radius corner, where it's important to get on the throttle early for a rapid run down the main straight.

NetApp

Cloud Report

Discover NetApp

We look at the weather for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix together with Global Partner NetApp, a global hybrid cloud storage partner with solutions that perform across a diverse environment, allowing us to gain insights on weather-related data as well as telemetry data.

After a rainy weekend at Zandvoort, it's set to be dry this weekend at Monza. On Friday, the weather is set fair with no chance of rain with light winds at this stage and a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

On Saturday, it's again set to be dry with a slightly higher temperature for Free Practice Three and Qualifying, which should please the fans in attendance and make tyre warm-up easier.

Sunday is set to be the hottest day with a high of 28 degrees for the Grand Prix and a light southerly wind. The risk of rain at this early stage is less than 20 per cent. Therefore, it's unlikely that we'll see the Intermediate or Wet compounds in use this weekend.

XPerience Points

Discover XP

In Formula One, you're constantly learning. Every lap, every mile, every second, is an opportunity to further your understanding and, ultimately, discover ways to unlock performance. In partnership with XP Inc., here are some of the key points for the Italian Grand Prix.

1.2

The average margin of victory in seconds at Monza from 2020-2022, reflecting how close the Italian Grand Prix has been in recent seasons.

7.5

The number of race wins at Monza achieved by drivers starting further back than the second row – an example of how open a contest the Italian Grand Prix can prove to be.

12.5

The loss in seconds from pitting at Monza is high due to the high-speed lap. Pitting during a Safety Car or VSC is particularly advantageous here and one-stop strategies are common.

32.5

The percentage of passes that used DRS in last year's Italian Grand Prix, which is below average given ample opportunity to overtake throughout the track.