The so-called ‘party mode’ setting for power units is being outlawed from this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, with teams now limited to what they can do with their engines, particularly during Saturday’s Qualifying session.
Mattia Binotto, the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, says it will be interesting to see just which teams, or in particular, which engine suppliers are hit hardest by the change in the regulations, and he is curious to find out if the grid will close up as a result of the technical changes.
“Monza, certainly, will be difficult as well,” Binotto is quoted as saying by Racer.com. “It’s a circuit where power performance is important, certainly where we are not the best.
“There will be a new technical directive in place for qualifying, where somehow (it) may affect some of the teams. I will be curious to see how much, which team — I think it will be interesting in that respect.”
Ferrari come to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on the back of one of their worst performances in recent memory at Spa-Francorchamps when Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc could only finish thirteenth and fourteenth respectively, with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN’s Kimi Räikkönen the leading Ferrari-powered finisher in twelfth.
Binotto is not expecting a sudden turnaround in fortunes this weekend, and with Ferrari suffering with a distinct lack of straight-line speed compared to their rivals, he is expecting another tough weekend for the Maranello-based outfit.
“It’s a circuit which is high power sensitive; especially it changes a bit the balance of competitiveness in the qualifying itself,” he said. “And we know how important it is to start ahead, as when you are in traffic it is always more difficult as well to make the car work.”
