In a sport where numbers are everything, there has been ever less room for sentiment. But when Ferrari headed to Monza, it couldn't help but pull out all the stops.
Over 304,000 disciples headed to the temple of speed across the Italian Grand Prix weekend. While the wait for a first constructors' title in 15 years goes on, Ferrari fandom remains religion in Italy, with the pressure of expectation from the thunderous tifosi omnipresent regardless of the Scuderia's form.
In 2023 Ferrari has struggled to convert its often-solid qualifying speed into consistent race pace, floundering on most high-downforce circuits so far. So, when in Baku its relative strength on low-downforce tracks became apparent, it became an easy call for Ferrari to go all in for its home race.
F1's budget cap and its aerodynamic testing restrictions demand a certain discipline, as teams have to pick and choose their CFD and wind tunnel projects. Therefore, most teams, the dominant Red Bull among them, tweaked and trimmed existing wing profiles for Monza's flat-out blasts.
But Ferrari came up with a bespoke package for Monza, despite knowing its efforts would be useless on further tracks. The team also fitted fresh power units to the cars of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to maximise its power output.
The 'Monza special' paid off, with Sainz defeating Red Bull's dominator Max Verstappen in qualifying by a 0.013s margin, followed by the second scarlet chariot of Leclerc.
"[I've had] goosebumps since I crossed that finish line, the whole in-lap watching the crowd and obviously getting out of the car and seeing this," Sainz said after claiming the most meaningful pole of his career.
Source: Autosport