Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack has stated he is expecting a large amount of overtaking at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.
The 54-year-old went so far as to say that it could set a new record for the highest number of passes in a single race.
The current record was set at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, which saw 186 position changes throughout the field during a chaotic event impacted by rain.
This year’s F1 cars race somewhat differently compared to challengers from the past, with energy deployment playing a major role following the increase in battery output.
Across the opening events of the year, it was common for cars to be repassed shortly after completing a move due to running out of energy.
With Monza’s layout featuring many long straights which could see a repeat of such a situation, Krack is expecting to see many overtakes take place on Sunday.
“It will be an interesting exercise to validate your models, but also to see how operationally you manage it,” Krack told media including RacingNews365.
“It is one side to say the effect big or small, but also you have to be in a position to follow someone.
“So there are quite a lot of restrictions on the energy side this weekend. It will be interesting to see how teams we we go about it, first of all, in free-of-tow deployment, but then also in a tow situation.
“Then also in the race, how easy passing will be, and especially the passing and repassing games. It probably will be a record of all time here, or like MotoGP.”
Monza sits as one of the fastest F1 tracks on the race calendar, with speeds peaking at around 360 km/h in modern times – however, the figures are set to decrease this year.
Should drivers use different energy deployment strategies throughout the upcoming event, Krack admits that it could create a dangerous situation.
“Normally, the deployment profiles converge over a weekend, so I do not expect any major differences.
“But if people deploy completely differently, then there is always a risk.”