R16 – Tyre Selection

The Monza event is always special but this year, it is even more so. It will be the 75th time that the Autodromo has hosted a Formula 1 World Championship race, more than any other circuit in the history of motor racing’s blue riband category.

The Monza track holds the record for the highest average race speed, courtesy of Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari with a figure of 247.586 km/h in 2003, as well as the fastest average speed of 264.362 km/h for a qualifying lap, set by Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of a Mercedes in 2020.

Last year pole went to Lando Norris with an average speed of 263 km/h. Easy to understand therefore why the venue is universally known as the Temple of Speed.

The 5.793 kilometre track has 11 corners and drivers spend 80% of the lap at full throttle, the cars running the lowest aero downforce level of the season with the aim of reducing drag to a minimum.
In this context, stability under braking and traction out of the corners is key, especially at the chicanes such as the Prima Variante and the Variante Ascari, where the drivers need to scrub off speed very rapidly.
Lateral forces come into play at the fastest corners, such as Biassono and the legendary Parabolica, now renamed in honour of Michele Alboreto.

After the track was completely resurfaced in 2024, this year Monza has concentrated on improvements to the public areas.

There is no change in compounds compared to last year, when the track had just been resurfaced for the Italian Grand Pri at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.
The C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

Twelve months on, inevitably the surface will have aged, but it is unlikely to have any significant effect on the range of possible strategies at this circuit, where cars run in the lowest aerodynamic downforce configuration of the season.

It is likely that the most popular choices for the race itself will be the Hard and Medium. One can assume that the level of graining will be lower than last year as the track will now be bedded in.

It is difficult to overtake at Monza, primarily because of the reduced effectiveness of the DRS, with the cars running minimum aero downforce levels. This too tends to swing the balance in favour of a one-stop strategy.