Alonso and Aston Martin on the defensive
Maximum Verstappen of Red Bull is the focal point this weekend at Monza, the famous temple of speed. He seeks a tenth consecutive victory at the Monza Autodrome as the Italian Grand Prix returns for the fourteenth round of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old Dutch driver is enjoying the sweetest stretch of his career, on track for a third world championship, with races still ahead in October in Qatar or the United States. He currently sits on 339 points, with a comfortable 138 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez.
Verstappen could also become the longest winning streak in Formula One history this Sunday, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s nine-win run in 2013. He has won 20 of the last 24 races, and Red Bull’s win tally continues to climb, marking a historic start for the team in this stretch. If the team’s current form extends, the streak would include the final race of 2022 as well.
Alonso and Aston Martin on the defensive
Monza’s long straights are synonymous with high speed, and Red Bull remains the favorite, with McLaren showing encouraging pace lately. Aston Martin faces a tougher challenge after recent upgrades and development at Zandvoort. Fernando Alonso impressed by finishing second in the previous race, cementing his podium streak just over two months after Canada. He crossed the line 3 seconds behind Verstappen, with the 33-year-old Spaniard targeting another strong result in Italy. This season has him position himself just shy of the podium, pushing hard for a higher finish as the year progresses.
At 42, Alonso sits third in the standings with 171 points, chasing a stronger finish to overtake the chase for second place, currently 33 points behind Pérez. He has recorded seven podiums this season, contributing to a remarkable run spanning two decades with Formula One’s top teams. The weekend in Italy adds another chapter to his storied career and could redefine his place in the championship battle.
Last weekend brought two notable records for Alonso: the longest span between first podium and most recent appearance, a gap of 7,462 days stretching back to 2003, and the longest time between the first sprint and the latest sprint, 7,378 days. If Aston Martin continues to push the AMR23 forward, Alonso will likely keep chasing records. He remains the only driver to have finished in the top three in every sprint this year, showing consistent form across sessions and grid positions.
Opportunity for Ferrari and Sainz
The Italian Grand Prix is a celebration for the tifosi, and Ferrari approaches the home event with renewed focus. The Scuderia arrived with some pressure to perform, aiming to reclaim a strong result at Monza following a difficult stretch. The last Ferrari victory at this track came with Charles Leclerc in Austria 2022, while Carlos Sainz took the triumph at Silverstone earlier the same season. Historically, Leclerc has shown speed at Monza, winning there in 2019, with a long gap since Fernando Alonso’s 2010 success and Michael Schumacher’s final Ferrari win in 2006. Hope remains high that a podium for Sainz or Leclerc could create a dramatic shift in the weekend atmosphere and lift the spirits of the home crowd.
Sainz has yet to reach the podium this season and sits fifth in the standings. Leclerc has claimed second place in Austria and two thirds in Baku and Spa, ranking sixth in the World Championship and just three points behind his teammate. Maranello fans will bring special decorations to honor the endurance team that celebrated the Le Mans centenary in June, adding to the weekend’s emotion and significance for the Scuderia.
Watch out for tires
Monza’s legendary layout, with its power-heavy demands and minimal downforce setup, makes it one of the fastest tracks on the calendar. The 5,793-meter circuit hosts eleven corners, with four to the left, and is a true test of engine performance and tire strategy. From Friday’s practice sessions, which are expected to be dry, teams will race with a selection of softer compounds known to deliver peak performance. The compounds in use are C3 for the hard option, C4 for the medium, and C5 for the soft, each marked by distinct color stripes so teams can easily identify them during the session run plans.
Pirelli’s chosen tire allocation for Monza mirrors what was tested in Hungary. The approach includes eleven sets per driver for the weekend, a reduction from the usual fourteen, and a scheduled sequence for qualifying that prioritizes hard tires in Q1, medium in Q2, and soft in Q3. The goal from racing authorities is to reduce both costs and environmental impact while keeping the competition vibrant. While the strategy may lead to varied outcomes, early results at the Hungaroring showed teams focusing on conserving tires to optimize race-level performance rather than chasing the quick lap alone.