05/09/2011
NEWS STORY
The fastest track in Formula One. It's known colloquially as 'La Pista Magica', and with good reason: the atmosphere is second to none. The old banking, lying adjacent to the modern racetrack, gives the circuit a sense of history that can't be found anywhere else in the world and the Italian fans are passionate about F1 and Ferrari in particular.
The cars exceed 320kph at four different points on the lap, so the combination of straight-line speed and braking stability is the Holy Grail for race engineers and drivers.
"The car feels completely different at Monza," says Rubens Barrichello. "The lack of downforce helps acceleration and it feels like someone has put a 3-litre V10 in the back when you first go on the track. The car moves around a lot more than normal as well, but you quickly get used to it."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: Monza is such a unique circuit that we design and manufacture front and rear wings specifically for use only at this event. The lowest drag aero set-up is used in combination with a mechanical set-up that is optimised for kerb riding. Overtaking should be common given the long straights and DRS.
Rubens Barrichello: Monza is a circuit that I like very much. Having good brakes and traction are important factors here so setting the car up becomes crucial for a good race. Having won there in the past, I really look forward to racing in Monza again. The tifosi also make it feel very special.
Pastor Maldonado: Monza is a very special circuit for me and I have great memories of winning there in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2006. I used to live very close to the track so I am looking forward to seeing many Venezuelan and Italian friends there this weekend. It is a wonderful track, especially because it is so quick, one of the quickest of the year. It is a low downforce circuit so you need a good aero balance for that. As we showed at Spa-Francorchamps, our car is working well on these types of tracks so I hope to be in the points again this weekend.