Nothing in Formula 1 stirs the spirit like the sea of Tifosi at Monza.
The circuit has played host to nearly every Italian Grand Prix in F1 history, and with a new deal signed it will be on the calendar for years to come.
In F1 2019 the track is slipstream heaven full of long, flatout, straights and tricky chicanes.
READ MORE: All F1 2019 setup guides
Table of Contents
With four points where you hit 200+ mph having a slippery car with stopping power is a must. Here is how you should setup your car for the Italian Grand Prix.
Aerodynamics
The wing angle needs to be set as low as you can possibly bear around here. We have gone with 1-3 wings which makes the car ultra-fast down the straights while maintaining just enough downforce to keep the car stable through the corners.
The trickiest corner for this setup will be the Ascari Chicane, which will see the car go light as you flick through, but if you can handle that with these wings then you will fly for the rest of the lap.
Transmission
Traction is vital to success around Monza. The track is rear limited, meaning the rear tyres wear out faster than any other. So balancing traction with tyre life is important.
We have gone with a 65% on-throttle differential. This allows the rears to rotate more independently when we put our foot down, keeping the car settled when accelerating on kerbs.
READ MORE: F1 2019 track guides
Our 100% setting for the off-throttle differential forces the tyres to rotate at the same rate when we are off the throttle. This makes acceleration easier and less snappy but it does drag the outside tyre a little.
Suspension Geometry
With top speed the crucial factor here and the front tyres under less stress than almost anywhere we can go extreme with our suspension geometry.
The full right on camber and full left on toe is the fastest setup for single-lap pace and is always at the top of time trial setups, and thanks to the kind nature of Monza we can run it here with a slight twist.
The camber setting of -2.50 & -1.00 stays, but the front toe moves to 0.07 to aid turn-in on the slow chicanes a little. Rear toe is at its lowest of 0.20 to help with contact patch when accelerating.
Suspension
Soft suspension is the name of the game in F1 2019. We have used the 1-1 setting to allow us to ride the kerbs at the slow chicanes.
The 6-6 anti-roll bar setting keeps the car relatively poised when flicking through the chicanes without stressing the tyres in long corners like the lesmos and parabolica. If you are particularly kind on your tyres with your driving style then upping the rear anti-roll bars can lead to a better transition of power out of the corners.
READ MORE: Everything there is to know about F1 2020
Ride height is set to 2-3. This makes the car ultra-fast down the straights and increases the impact of slipstreams. It can make riding kerbs a bit harsh, so out-braking yourself into turn 1 will come with a big penalty.
Brakes
Stopping from 200+ mph does not come easy. We have set the brake pressure to 90% to help keep slow the car down. This is very high, so if you don't use the ABS assist then you should probably lower it.
Brake bias is set to 54%, this keeps the front responsive when braking. If you are overheating the rears or struggling to stop then you can bump this forward.
Tyres
Tyre pressures are pulled down to help both with wear and with traction. The fronts are at 21.8 psi and the rears at 20.3 psi to help spread heat across the tyre and stop the wear becoming too much.
The lower pressure does increase rolling resistance at top speed but it also aids traction out of the slow corners.
READ MORE: How to drive without traction control
So that's our setup for the Italian Grand Prix. This race is one of the more simple ones on the calendar, with the track being so dominated by power and top-end speed. You do need some patience with the throttle to protect the tyres and keep it a one-stop race, but in qualifying trim, you can up the on-throttle differential and fly through around the track with this setup.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!