Monza “not going to be easy” – de la Rosa

Posted by Mikel on September 3rd, 2010 at 12:56pm

Pedro de la Rosa is not expecting his C29 to suit the high-speed configuration of Monza in next week’s Italian Grand Prix.

The Sauber driver said:

This track is a classic, it has a lot of personality and is different to any other we race on. This is what I like a lot about Monza, because with all the modern circuits nowadays it is exceptional to find one that is unique.

You also have to drive it differently to any other race track. Obviously the speeds are very high, you run low downforce, have very hard braking and need to cut the chicanes. This all together makes it very demanding, especially for the engines, brakes and suspension.

It is definitely not going to be an easy weekend for us, as it is not somewhere that should suit our car too well. But we have proven, for example in Budapest, that we can also do well at places which theoretically should be difficult for us.
Pedro de la Rosa

Team mate Kamui Kobayashi added he thinks Monza, “will be difficult for our car”. Technical director James Key explained the set-up demands of the circuit:

All the teams run the minimum drag levels, because the very long straights and few corners make it beneficial to run far less drag.

We will run an aero package on our car which is designed specifically for there. It consists of different rear wing options, as well as front wing versions to match them.

The important part of the set-up of the car will be to tune the downforce levels correctly to find a good compromise for some of the more tricky areas like the Lesmo corners, the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica, but at the same time also giving high braking stability, which has significant influence on the lap time.

Also important is the performance over the kerbs, particularly in the first two chicanes with probably the biggest kerbs of the year. You can find a good lap time there if the car is working well.

For us it’s difficult to pin expectations because it’s such a unique event. It’s possibly not a circuit best suited to our car, so we will work hard to make sure we can do the best possible job.
James Key

2010 Italian Grand Prix

• Monza “not going to be easy” - de la Rosa
• Schumacher expects tough race in Monza

Browse all 2010 Italian Grand Prix articles

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