|
THE ROAD TO
POLE
* Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, in a special yellow tribute livery,
claimed a 17th career pole position and his eighth of the season, in front
of the Scuderia’s home crowd. The Monegasque driver qualified in front of
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz (although
the start order tomorrow will be affected by grid penalties).
* The weather was warm and dry, with ambient temperatures of 30 degrees
centigrade and track temperatures of 41 degrees centigrade during
qualifying.
All the drivers used the P Zero Red soft tyre from start to finish of
qualifying. Both the Red Bulls and Ferraris used just one set to get through
Q1 and Q2. The soft tyres proved well-suited to the qualifying hour in
Monza, showing a strong and consistent level of grip.
* The FP3 session took place earlier this afternoon, which is more
representative of race conditions thanks to more comparable weather
conditions and fuel loads than qualifying. This has been the case for a
number of FP3 sessions this year already. Verstappen was fastest in FP3 on
the soft tyre.
* Gabriel Omar Batistuta, known as the “Angel Gabriel” presented today’s
Pirelli Pole Position Award. The Argentine footballer, rated as one of the
greatest strikers of all time, started his career at home before making a
name for himself in Italy, where he played for clubs like Fiorentina, Roma,
and Inter Milan, which has enjoyed a long association with Pirelli. |
|
STRATEGY
NOTEBOOK:
The 53 laps of the
Pirelli-sponsored Italian Grand Prix at Monza’s “Temple of Speed” should be
a one-stop race, thanks to the relatively contained degradation levels
expected if the weather remains as forecast, not to mention a comparatively
big pit lane time loss. The best one-stopper on paper involves starting on
the soft to make the most of its initial grip, before moving onto the P Zero
White Hard, which should provide a consistent and competitive performance in
the predicted warm weather conditions. The alternative one-stopper consists
of a longer initial stint on the P Zero Yellow Medium before then going on
to the hard. |
