Circuit detail and Pirelli trackside branding during the Italian GP at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)
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Formula 1 News: Drivers disappointed with upgraded Monza track

Andrew Maitland

(GMM) Multiple Formula 1 drivers have expressed their disappointment with the upgrade works carried out at Monza.

The historic circuit has not only been totally resurfaced, some corners were even widened or had subtle camber tweaks – while the new curbs at Ascari have been made much more like a modern F1 track.

Circuit curb detail and Pirelli trackside branding during the Italian GP at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Sam Bagnall / LAT Images)

“We’ve said many times that the drivers are often the last to know where changes are happening on a track,” George Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association GPDA, said on Thursday.

“Personally, I think it is a bit of a shame because Ascari was an example of a corner that had its own character, with really unique curbs. I’ve always said that these old-school tracks need to be preserved.”

Circuit curb detail and Pirelli trackside branding during the Italian GP at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

Daniel Ricciardo told the media after his Thursday track inspection: “I can’t say I’m impressed, because I think some details have taken away the character of the track.

“It was a bit of an old-fashioned track, but that’s over now. The asphalt looks great, but I’m disappointed about the curbs. I think they underestimate how important the curbs are on a track and how they change the feeling, the character, the attitude.”

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Haas’ Kevin Magnussen added: “I just hope it still feels like Monza.”

Fernando Alonso revealed that Aston Martin even scrapped its original plan to run reserve driver Felipe Drugovich in initial free practice on Friday.

“We realized that the amount of changes was greater than we thought at first,” said the Spaniard.

Some insiders initially thought the new surface was to blame for Bernd Maylander’s bizarre high speed crash at Parabolica while testing the F1 safety car on Thursday.

However, it appears to have been a rare brake failure.

“It was quite a bang,” the German said after his ultra-rare crash, “but I’m not hurt at all. It was my first experience with Tecpro. When I was still a racing driver, TecPro didn’t even exist.”