Technical Brief: Italy
Chief Trackside Engineer Paul Williams breaks down the performance factors that will define the 2026 Italian Grand Prix weekend
Published
02 SEP 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
Ahead of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, Paul Williams, Chief Trackside Engineer, shares insights into the key technical factors that will shape the weekend.
What are the key technical challenges of Monza?
“Long straights and slow chicanes mean teams will run the lowest drag setup of the season. With so few braking zones to recover energy, managing power deployment across the lap becomes crucial, and with the 2026 cars, we could see towing used as a significant tactic.”
“Heavy braking into slow chicanes puts the focus on braking stability and traction, with aggressive kerb use at the first two chicanes essential to a quick lap time.”
“Tyre preparation has historically been difficult, particularly generating front tyre temperature - a challenge that's compounded by the energy management demands.”
How do the 2026 regulations influence the approach this weekend?
“Monza will be a challenging circuit for energy management under the 2026 regulations. Deployment will be very limited, and sensitivity to energy is among the highest of the season. Harvesting opportunities are limited, and to minimise super clip, the FIA harvest limits are the lowest of the season.”
“For low fuel performance, the outlap will be critical not only for tyre preparation but also for preparing the battery ahead of the long run to Turn 1.”
“Four SLM zones have been added for 2026, all remaining active in the wet, albeit with delayed activation points.”
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What are the tyre challenges of the circuit?
“Pirelli have selected the softest compound allocation, suited to a very low lateral energy density track. The circuit is very smooth and has the highest left-hand-side loading bias of the season.”
“Despite low corner energy, tricky tyre preparation can be overcome on the long straights through heavy weaving in qualifying.”
“In the Grand Prix, the long straights give the tyres a chance to cool and reset between corner sequences. The main limiting factor will be wear on the left-hand side of the tyre.”
What are the strategic considerations for the race?
“The race is expected to be a clear one-stop, so expect most teams to keep five sets of softs for qualifying, retaining one medium and one hard for the Grand Prix.”
“All tyres are raceable, and teams will dedicate long runs to understanding the hierarchy between soft, medium and hard.”
“Overtaking a single car is easy at Monza, but the layout is conducive to trains forming - making qualifying pace as rewarding as race pace.”
“Safety Car probability sits at 40%, VSC at 30%, though the last three races in Monza have been incident-free.”
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