Lando Norris says McLaren can now go 20km/h faster down Monza’s straights compared to its 2023 Formula 1 car after topping Italian Grand Prix qualifying.Norris claimed his fifth career F1 pole at Monza, with team-mate Oscar Piastri second ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, the Ferrari pair and Lewis Hamilton.Max Verstappen was the lead Red Bull driver in seventh – his lowest qualifying at …Keep reading
The 2024 Italian Grand Prix is baking – 3°C hotter (at 34°C ambient) than in the 2023 Monza race so far, with a near 10°C accompanying rise on track temperatures. This may well combine with the major track surface change here to significantly alter race strategy.Again this term, four Formula 1 teams seem to be in the hunt – based on what we’ve seen so far in Monza practice. Their …Keep reading
Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff says Williams’ James Vowles “could have done without” his blunt evaluation of Mick Schumacher.Mercedes reserve Schumacher was in the frame to replace ousted Logan Sargeant from this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix onwards, as was Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson.With Red Bull wanting to be able to recall Lawson should it require his services on short notice …Keep reading
Red Bull plans to continue experiments with a hybrid version of its old floor at Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix.As the world champion squad seeks to answer why its RB20 has lost competitiveness compared to closest rivals McLaren and Mercedes, it has been evaluating whether the upgraded floor it introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May was the trigger for its problems.In a bid to get to …Keep reading
The private WhatsApp group of Formula 1 drivers became a hotbed of animated debate on Thursday amid frustration over the Monza track changes.As the reality of modifications made to the kerbs at the historic Italian Autodromo became clear, F1 drivers agreed amongst themselves that the new flat designs were a step backwards.But perhaps of even greater annoyance to them was the fact that they …Keep reading
Lando Norris says he has found a way to channel the pressure of racing at the front in Formula 1 after admitting he can still ‘barely eat or drink anything on Sundays’.From racing at the upper end of the midfield for years, McLaren’s vast car improvements have propelled Norris into a bona fide frontrunner in F1, taking his first two wins this season to become an outside title contender against …Keep reading
A host of drivers have been left unimpressed by the changes to one of Formula 1’s “old school” tracks, Monza.While the resurfacing of the circuit will be the most eye-catching feature over the course of the weekend, there have also been changes made to kerbs, with the profile of some being altered and others being installed from scratch.Even though no F1 cars have run on the altered layout as of …Keep reading
Lewis Hamilton is excited by the prospect of seeing what Andrea Kimi Antonelli can do in his Italian Grand Prix FP1 debut for Mercedes, but was eager to remind people that the young Italian is just 18.Antonelli has long been considered as the potential heir to Hamilton at Mercedes when the seven-time world champion moves to Ferrari, although the second seat alongside George Russell currently …Keep reading
In Formula 1 there is no greater competition than that between team-mates as both drivers look to prove their position within the team.Some teams will have clearly defined first and second drivers, but others will allow their racers to compete on an equal footing. Here, the need to come out on top is even greater to gain the upper-hand not only in contract talks but to get crucial updates on their …Keep reading
Max Verstappen’s suspicion that something has “gone wrong” with Red Bull’s RB20 explains why the Formula 1 team was experimenting with some older specification parts at Zandvoort last weekend.In an attempt to get to the bottom of what has made its 2024 challenger “more difficult to drive”, Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez split floor configurations in a bid to help the squad …Keep reading