Monza, from Temple of Speed to home of challenges. The challenge on the Brianza circuit will be one of the toughest for the new 2026 power units, which will hunt for energy at every possible point – among the few available – to try to curb the phenomenon of superclipping and lose a lot of top speed on the long straights.
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A possible patch to performance will come from lower aerodynamic load available compared to the previous ground effect generation. While on other tracks this represents a challenge, at Monza it could represent a advantage to still reduce lap times (some simulations even estimate them to be lower than 2025).
The fact remains that the spectacle and the performance itself will depend heavily on the management of energy and the power unit itself, which is why Ferrari has done everything to bring to Monza the evolution of its thermal engine made possible by the ADUO.
Monza: nightmare qualifying
Qualifying will be a sore point from a technical point of view, at least according to Andra Stella. “There is a paradox with this year’s regulations, namely that in qualifying we will have lower speeds than those seen in Hungary“, explained the McLaren team principal in the press meeting, attended by FormulaPassion.it. “Despite the fact that very high speeds will not be reached, we will still spend a lot, a lot of time on the straights.”
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According to Stella, however, having an efficient and high-performing engine on the straight is not enough: “What we have seen so far is that on the straights Mercedes, with the same engine, manages to achieve higher speeds than McLaren. For this reason, they are more favored than us at Monza because one of Mercedes’ characteristics is being able to develop more speed”.
Ferrari under scrutiny thanks to the new engine
If Ferrari does not start exactly as the favorite here at Monza, the introduction of the new power unit still puts rivals on alert.
“From what we have seen on other circuits, Ferrari seems to have a little more aerodynamic drag or a little less power. But I understand that there will be updates on their power unit here, so they can definitely get back into the fight because we know that they will be very strong in the corners” concluded Stella.
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