Racing at home is always a source of immense pleasure and pride for us, particularly because many of our employees who don’t normally travel to races get to see our tyres in action for the only time all season. Our home race also happens to be one of the most demanding races of the year for the tyres, due to the rapid layout of the circuit: the reason why Monza is known as ‘the temple of speed’. The faster a circuit is, generally the more stressful it is for the tyres because of the heat build-up that all these forces entail. The cars run a very low downforce set-up for Monza to maximise their top speed on the straights. This has a distinct effect on the tyres, as less downforce means that the cars tend to slide more and run a greater risk of wheels locking up in the braking areas, which are a key element of Monza. These lock-ups can lead to flat spots, although the design of our tyre structure and compounds this year means that flat spots are a much less common occurrence than they used to be.