|
Vrooom is an
onomatopoeic word that captures the sound of a powerful engine under
acceleration, or running high revs, typically associated with any form of
motorised vehicle such as a car or motorcycle, evoking the idea of speed,
energy and movement. The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is known as the Temple
of Speed, an appropriate moniker given that, at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix,
Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari set a record for the highest ever average
speed over a race distance of 247.585 km/h. What better way then to
recognise this fact than to name the trophies that will be presented to the
three drivers and the representative of the winning team on the podium on
Sunday 1st September, “VROOOM.”
Ever since 2021, the trophy for the Italian Grand Prix, of which Pirelli is
the title sponsor, has been designed by an artist through a collaboration
with Pirelli HangarBicocca. This year, the task was entrusted to Andrea Sala,
a highly respected artist in the contemporary art world, whose work is found
in important museums and private collections and who has always explored the
relationship between art and the history of Italian design and industrial
manufacturing. The work of art he designed, entitled VROOOM represents, in
abstract form, the long history of Pirelli tyres, combined with impressions
of speed and acceleration. The main part of the trophy, four of which have
been produced for the three drivers and the winning team representative, is
made from Valchromat with a chromed aluminium base.
“The ideation and concept for the trophy resulted from a series of site
visits to many areas of the Pirelli world, from R&D departments, to the
production process to discover more about the world of tyres, from the
natural rubber to the materials used in their construction, as well as
looking through the Pirelli Foundation archive,” explained Sala. “The name
VROOOM captures what I wanted to represent, namely the image of Formula 1 I
have always had since I was a child: the start, the cars lined up on the
grid, the lights going out and the sprint down to the first corner. The
trophy transforms this moment – the starting point for everything, the
sprint, the speed – into a sculpture.”
The VROOOM trophies will be on display at the Pirelli Tyres Talk event for
press only, on Friday 30 August in the Pirelli Hot Laps garage (pit boxes 7
and 8) just prior to the first free practice session. Attending the event,
along with the artist, will be Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Single-Seater Director
and Mario Isola, Motorsport Director of Pirelli.
Another new element for the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2024,
will be a special edition of the Podium Cap, which as was the case this year
in Miami, Montreal and Silverstone, will feature the Italian national flag.
The third and, from a purely technical point of view, most important change
for this year’s Italian Grand Prix concerns the asphalt. The circuit has
embarked on a process of renovation and modernisation of its facility, aimed
at ensuring its future and part of the first phase of this work has been the
complete resurfacing of the entire track. In addition, some of the
underpasses have been changed: the one at Santa Maria delle Selve and the
two on the straight between the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica, along
with building a brand new one linking the Vedano entrance to the Parabolica,
aimed at keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart. In addition, the circuit’s
water collection and drainage systems have been refurbished.
The work involved a crew of 240 and 92 vehicles. Once it was completed, in
early August a team of Pirelli engineers carried out an inspection of the
new surface, sharing the data with the FIA and the teams, in preparation for
the final European round of the Formula 1 season. As is usually the case
with newly-laid asphalt, the surface is smoother than its predecessor and
darker in colour. This latter factor will have an impact on track
temperature, which if the sun is shining could see it get hotter than in the
past, even reaching significant highs of over 50 °C. In theory, the new
surface should offer more grip, which will impact tyre performance and their
operating temperature range. It is highly likely that track evolution will
be very high over the course of the weekend, as the various categories
racing at this event rack up the laps.
At Monza, cars usually run in the lowest aerodynamic configuration of the
season to reduce drag, in order to favour top speed. Stability under braking
and traction coming out of the two chicanes are the factors that most test
the tyres and, in addition, the lateral loads in the fast corners, such as
the Parabolica, now named in honour of Michele Alboreto and the Curva
Grande, should not be underestimated. For this year’s event, the three dry
compounds selected are the same as in 2023: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5
as Soft.
This is a track where the time needed for a pit stop is one of the longest
of the year so, on paper, a one-stop strategy is quickest. In free practice,
it will be important to evaluate what effect the new surface might have on
tyre behaviour over a long run, both in terms of performance and of
degradation. Last year, the race was very linear, with the two hardest
compounds being the clear choice. 17 of the 20 drivers chose to start on the
C4, while only three – Hamilton, Bottas and Magnussen – preferred the C3. 14
drivers pitted just the once, six pitted twice, although in Piastri’s case
that was down to the need to change the front wing after a collision with
Hamilton. The remaining five - Gasly, Zhou, Lawson, Hulkenberg e Magnussen –
adopted this strategy because the drop in performance from the tyres was
already too high in the first stint.
The Italian Grand Prix has been a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 World
Championship calendar since its inception, making this year’s event the 75th
edition. It has been run at Monza every year with the exception of the 1980
race, which was held at Imola. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have
won here the most, with five victories apiece, followed by Nelson Piquet on
4. When it comes to pole positions, Hamilton leads the way on 7, followed by
Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna with 5 each. Hamilton and Schumacher
also share top honours when it comes to podium finishes with 8, while
Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso are joint third on 6. Ferrari tops the
table for team wins on 19, pole positions with 23 and 17 podium finishes.
Actually, the Scuderia is not the only Italian team to have triumphed at
home. The Faenza-based team has raced under a license issued by the Italian
Automobile Club since it was first known as Minardi, all the way through to
its current incarnation as Visa CashApp Racing Bulls. Under its Toro Rosso
banner it won in Monza courtesy of Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and again in
2020, when known as AlphaTauri it took its second and only other win to date
with Pierre Gasly at the wheel. |
