Fresh from a torrid weekend at Zandvoort, Ferrari will return home to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, where they’ll aim to put on a show in front of the ever-faithful Tifosi.
The Scuderia continue to play catch-up because they’re fourth in the constructors’ standings behind Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Red Bull, while their drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc, are fifth and sixth in the drivers’ standings, respectively.
Meanwhile, another Italian Formula 1 team, AlphaTauri, is also trying to make up for lost time. The Faenza-based outfit is dead last in the constructor standings, and because of it, they are mixing things up since they have nothing much else to lose.
Learn more about these two teams ahead of their home Grand Prix this weekend here at SBOTOP.
Ferrari already looking ahead for next year?
You can never prepare too early for next year, especially with the Formula 1 championship now out of Ferrari’s reach.
And according to Ferrari’s Head of Chassis, Enrico Cardile, they are already working on the 2024 car, with the focus on redesigning the chassis and gearbox, which have been two of the SF-23’s main problems this season. He also stressed the fact that the SF-23’s aerodynamic characteristics have been underwhelming this year.
“It will be very different because, while developing this year’s car, we realised that some architectural choices we did were not right. It was constraining the development too much,” said Cardile.
“It will be a brand new car: a different chassis with a different design, different rear end to allow our aero to better develop the car to achieve their targets,” he added.
Such a development is music to the ears of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., who endured yet another tough weekend during the Dutch Grand Prix.
Leclerc was forced to retire for the third time this season after his car collided with Oscar Piastri’s on the opening lap, while Sainz Jr. lamented his car’s poor pace, which led to him only finishing P5 in a race that had wet-weather drama, safety cars, and a red flag.
Neither Leclerc nor Sainz Jr. have yet to win a single race so far this season. The best Ferrari performances so far have come from Leclerc, who finished P2 in the Red Bull Ring and P3 in Baku and Spa.
Lawson relishes rare opportunity at AlphaTauri
Liam Lawson is going to get another shot at AlphaTauri after the Italian Grand Prix 2023 news revealed that Daniel Ricciardo will be sidelined again for this weekend’s race.
Ricciardo broke his hand during a practice session at Zandvoort as he crashed into the barrier to avoid hitting the stricken McLaren of Oscar Piastri, and the Australian is now on the mend after going under the knife.
Lawson did well as Riccardo’s replacement, finishing P13 in the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend. Considering he had just one wet practice session to get acclimated with his AlphaTauri car, that was impressive, to say the least.
History
After Lewis Hamilton won the race at Monza in 2017 and 2018, there have been four different drivers who have claimed the chequered flag. The Mercedes star is level with Michael Schumacher in terms of having the most wins on this track, with five.
Charles Leclerc won in 2019, which was Ferrari’s first win in their home Grand Prix since Fernando Alonso in 2010, and he took pole position last season.
After Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo came out of nowhere to take turns winning the chequered flag.
Gasly, who was with AlphaTauri back then, won his first career Grand Prix here in 2020, while Daniel Ricciardo followed suit in 2021, which was his last Formula 1 victory while driving for McLaren.
What are the odds?
Max Verstappen is the heavy favourite to win here at Monza, as the Red Bull star is priced at 1.40 in the qualifiers compared to 2.72 against any other driver. And in the race itself, the Italian Grand Prix 2023 odds have him as a 1.25 favourite compared to 3.32 against any other driver.
Red Bull (1.22) are likely to rack up the most points this weekend, but it’s a tight battle between Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. The odds have the Silver Arrows on top of the chasing pack at 1.56, with Ferrari (2.35) and Aston Martin (3.08) right behind them.
Moreover, Charles Leclerc is not far behind Verstappen at 1.70, while Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton are also contenders for the two other podium spots at 1.52, 1.91, and 2.13, respectively.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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