The FIA’s Thursday press conference at Monza lined up six drivers.
Part one: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Franco Colapinto (Alpine).
Part two: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing).
Six voices. Six different storylines.
Alonso. Progress, but no illusions
Fernando Alonso kept it plain. Calm tone. Two decades of Monza Thursdays will do that.
Spa was the last proper low-drag test. Aston were slow. Since then, small changes to set-up. A tidier weekend approach. Enough that Alonso now calls it a different car to the one he started the season with.
Seven Q3s in nine prove it. Points most Sundays. The difference is aero. The car feels steady and predictable. Easier to lean on.
He isn’t talking big. “On paper, it’s not Budapest or Zandvoort.” Singapore could work. Maybe Brazil. Maybe a surprise. The message was clear. Turn up. Take what you can. Count it in Abu Dhabi.
Longer view. Factory tools now line up with track data. Upgrades do what they should. That wasn’t true before. With 2026 coming, that matters.
On format talk he was blunt. Society is restless, not the sport. Football is still 90 minutes. Short races won’t fix anything. Longer distances let strategy breathe. If he could change one thing, he’d bring back refuelling.
Antonelli. Second home, sharper focus
Kimi Antonelli called Monza his second home race. Last year it was the scene of his Mercedes announcement. This year is about showing growth.
Imola was messy. Too many pulls on his time. He burned energy. By Sunday he was flat. Lesson banked. This week the buffers are tighter.
Performance chat stayed careful. Mercedes were quick here last year. Trends often repeat. Montreal traits in sector one. Then the bite of Lesmo 1, Ascari, Parabolica. Back on the older suspension that gives him feel. Confidence follows.
Zandvoort still stung. Pace was there. Contact killed it. “My only chance,” he said. The takeaway is simple. Execute clean. Results come.
On sprints he sat in the middle. They sharpen weekends. They also hit rookies on unknown tracks. Prep well and it evens out.
Colapinto. Settled into his rookie season
Franco Colapinto came back to Monza with memories of last year’s sudden call-up. That was the debut. This time he arrives as an Alpine driver, still finding his feet but more comfortable with each round.
He says Alpine are improving. Close to points in the last two races. The car is starting to respond the way he wants. The big step has been learning to work with the scale of a factory team. “More than a thousand people behind the car.” He’s finding how to channel that effort.
He knows Monza can be hard on inefficiency. Long straights tell the truth. If the race opens up, he wants to be there. On sprints he kept it simple. Short practice is fine. Sim prep fills the gaps. “I just want laps.”
Hamilton. First Monza in red (blue), with a setback
Lewis Hamilton’s first Monza as a Ferrari driver comes with baggage. Milan gave him the roar. Maranello gave him goosebumps. But Thursday it was the penalty.
Double yellows at Zandvoort. He lifted, not enough. The sanction rolled forward. Five-place grid drop. Penalty points too. He said he was shocked reading it at home.
A podium now looks unlikely. Ferrari were strong here last year. This is a new car. Qualifying is tight. Recovery at Monza is never easy. Hamilton’s line was telling. “More to fight for.”
The season has been volatile. New team. New culture. He says the grind is making them tougher for the run-in.
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Sainz. Monza’s rhythm fits
Carlos Sainz always lights up Monza week. Big braking. Low drag. A track that rewards aggression.
Williams expect to be in the mix. The car is strong in straight-line braking and short 90-degree corners. Weak in long loaded turns. That hurts at Lesmo 1 and Parabolica. The job is to cash in where it works and survive the rest.
He revisited Zandvoort. Met the stewards. Still believes the penalty was wrong. His larger point was consistency. Fixed stewards. Same people every race. Same interpretations. “You need to know what you’re dealing with.” Willams have since confirmed they have lodged an appeal against the penalty at Zandvoort.
Tsunoda. Quiet momentum
Yuki Tsunoda feels at home in the RB21 at last. Zandvoort’s points backed it up.
Monza hasn’t been kind to him. Three DNFs in four. But he resets every year. “I enjoy this track. It races well when you have confidence.” He knows Laurent Mekies is watching. “You always need results.”
The format fight
Stefano Domenicali wants more sprints and maybe shorter Grands Prix. The drivers split.
Antonelli likes the sprint intensity but doubts shorter races change much. Colapinto praised the leadership and said he just wants laps. Alonso dismissed it. “Football is still 90 minutes. It’s society, not the sport.”
Monza reality
Monza doesn’t hide anything. Drag shows. Braking shows. Fatigue shows.
Alonso arrives pragmatic. Antonelli arrives prepared. Colapinto arrives more settled. Hamilton arrives in red with a climb to make. Sainz arrives with a Williams that can sting in short corners. Tsunoda arrives with quiet momentum.
Talking done. Slipstream season starts tomorrow.
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