“A number of different strategies are possible at Monza” – Pirelli’s Mario Isola

The FIA Formula One World Championship rolls into the final part of the third triple-header of the season this weekend, at Pirelli’s home race the Italian Grand Prix.

For the third consecutive season the middle range of Pirelli’s tyres will be in operation, the C2, C3 and C4 compounds at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. This weekend does have a twist however, as the second trial of sprint qualifying will take place this weekend. The teams will only have the red soft tyre available for Friday’s qualifying and will have twelve sets of tyres instead of the traditional thirteen at their disposal across the weekend.

The Italian Grand Prix is usually one of the most exciting of the season due to the circuit’s design of high speed and heavy braking. The race was famously won by Pierre Gasly in 2020, after a red flag stoppage led to a twenty-six lap sprint to the flag which went all the way down to the final lap.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing, is expecting many strategies to be attempted this weekend, especially with the added element of sprint qualifying.

“We have seen from the past that a number of different strategies are possible at Monza, and with sprint qualifying adding another big variable into the mix, the teams are forced to re-think their entire tyre strategy for the weekend.

“It’s a rear-limited circuit with the focus on traction, so the particular challenge is to stop the rear tyres from sliding and overheating too much, as the low-downforce set up means that there is not much pushing them into the ground. The weather plays a part as well, as this issue is emphasised if temperatures are higher.”