The Formula 1 circus goes to Italy this weekend, and Haas F1 Team‘s Romain Grosjean is looking forward to driving the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
The new breed of Formula 1 cars has been faster around many of the circuits on the calendar this year, but ironically, Grosjean thinks that the ‘temple of speed’ may not be that much faster than in previous years.
“I think it’ll (Monza) be pretty good,” commented the Frenchman.
“It may be one of the circuits where we don’t improve the lap time that much compared to the past. It’s going to be fun though, with big straight lines and a lot of low downforce. The Lesmo corner and the Ascari chicane – they’re great fun.”
The circuit is famous for many things, but it is recognised especially for its overtaking opportunities that occur in almost every braking zone, according to Grosjean.
“The good thing with Monza is there’s lots of overtaking opportunities. There’s turn one, three, eight and then the Parabolica. It’s more or less every single braking event.T”
“I think qualifying’s going to be key to finding the right tow. The race is always fun to play with the tow and having some fun overtaking manoeuvres. We’ll see where we are and how well we get the car to work. There aren’t that many corners so it’s very hard to get the tires to work properly, but we’ll be on it.”
All of the drivers appreciate the support at Monza, and even though many don’t experience anything of the level of the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, they still soak up the atmosphere.
“The atmosphere is crazy in Monza. The Tifosi, the fans – they’re just great. The track is in the middle of a park. It’s like nowhere else. There are so many people coming and watching, cheering for the drivers and, of course, for Ferrari. The atmosphere is electric. I love it.”
