Toto Wolff: Monza and Madrid begin an important period for us.

The field has compressed to the point where several teams can win on merit, and the price of a mistake is much higher. We have put ourselves in a strong position in both championships, but nobody in our team is under any illusion about how difficult the next races will be.

For us, Monza begins with a challenge. Kimi will take a power unit penalty and start from the back of the grid. It's disappointing for him and for the fans who want to see him fighting from the front in his home race, but our sport doesn't reward sentiment. When you make decisions that benefit the championship campaign, sometimes you pay a short-term price. The objective now is straightforward: recover as many places as possible and maximise the points. On the other side of the garage, George arrives with good momentum after Zandvoort and will be looking to put himself firmly in the fight from the start of the weekend.

Monza is an energy-poor track; you spend much of the lap asking everything from the power unit and don't have many opportunities to charge the battery. With the current regulations, that creates compromises that will need to be managed carefully. It is an interesting challenge and one that will likely lead to an exciting weekend.

Third Driver Insight with Frederik Vesti

With its long straights and unique demands, Monza is very different to circuits like Zandvoort and Budapest, which are much more energy-rich. At Monza, energy management will be a key factor, so both the engineers and the drivers will need to be extremely efficient with the energy available. That could create some fascinating racing and open the door to different strategic approaches throughout the weekend.

As always at Monza, teams will be working hard to achieve the lowest possible drag levels to maximise top speed on the straights. It will be a challenging weekend for the team, particularly with Kimi taking an engine penalty, but Monza is one of the best places on the calendar to make progress through the field. The slipstream effect creates overtaking opportunities, so there will be chances for him to fight his way forward.

Monza is a truly special venue. The circuit is steeped in motorsport history and has a unique atmosphere that you don't find anywhere else. Racing there almost feels like stepping back in time, connecting today's F1 with generations of drivers and teams that have competed at this legendary track over the years.

Did you know?

• The high-speed nature of Monza means the Italian Grand Prix is often one of the shortest races of the year. If run uninterrupted, it usually takes around one hour and 15 minutes from lights out to the chequered flag.

• Monza can also prove to be one of the hottest races of the season for air temperature, with averages highs of 28.2C, and 31.3C max.

• The Italian Grand Prix is the only Grand Prix to have appeared on every single F1 calendar since 1950.

• No circuit in F1 history has held more Grands Prix than Monza.

• Mercedes has recorded seven wins at the Italian Grand Prix. Two with Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954 and 1955, four with Lewis Hamilton and one with Nico Rosberg.

• In 2021, Monza hosted the F1 Sprint format, which was won by Valtteri Bottas.

• George won races at Monza at both GP3 (2017) and Formula 2 (2018) levels.

• Kimi won races at Monza in Italian F4 in 2022 and FRECA in 2023.