Alright, so everyone’s been asking about my Monza setup for F1 24. Figured I’d share what I’ve been wrestling with. Monza, right? Temple of Speed. Sounds easy – just rip all the wings off and go. Yeah, well, if only it were that simple this year, at least for me.
I jumped in, slapped on the lowest downforce preset, and thought I’d be king of the straights. First lap, into Rettifilo, car felt okay. Then Ascari, and whoa, the back end was just all over the place. Like trying to steer a shopping cart with a rocket strapped to it. Absolutely undriveable for me. Couldn’t get the power down without spinning or just sliding wide. Frustrating, to say the least. Spent a good chunk of time just looping back to the pits, fuming.
My Grind to Find Some Pace
So, back to the setup screen I went. I knew I had to keep the downforce low, obviously, it’s Monza. But clearly, zero-zero wings, or close to it, wasn’t cutting it with how this year’s car feels. The thing was just too nervous.
I started by nudging the front wing up a click, then two. Drove a few laps. Better turn-in for the chicanes, but still sketchy on exit. Then I did the same with the rear, adding a little bit more than I initially thought I’d need. It’s a delicate balance, you know? You want that straight-line speed, but you also need the car to actually go where you point it through Lesmos and Parabolica.
Then I moved onto the suspension. This took ages. The default stuff felt a bit stiff over the kerbs, and at Monza, you HAVE to attack those kerbs, especially at the chicanes.
So, I started softening things up.
- Softened the front suspension a bit.
- Then the rear, trying to find that sweet spot so it wouldn’t bounce me off into the wall.
- Played with the anti-roll bars too. Made them a bit softer than my usual race setup to help with traction.
Differential was another headache. On throttle, trying to get it to lock up just enough to pull me out of Variante della Roggia without lighting up the rears. I think I settled somewhere around 55% for on-throttle, maybe a bit less. Off-throttle, kept it fairly low to help the car rotate into the chicanes.
Brake pressure, I usually run it high, but I had to dial it back a bit here. Kept locking the fronts. And the bias, pushed that a bit more to the rear, around 56% or 57%. Seemed to settle the car better under braking for that first chicane. Tyre pressures were the usual game of cat and mouse. Trying to keep them from overheating but still giving me grip. Ended up going a bit lower than the presets, especially on the rears.
Look, is it the fastest setup out there? Probably not. I’m no alien. But it’s a setup that I can actually drive for more than a lap without wanting to throw my controller out the window. It’s stable enough, allows me to be aggressive with the kerbs, and still pretty damn quick on the straights. It’s a starting point, something I built up from scratch by just feeling it out.
So, yeah, that’s my Monza journey so far in F1 24. A lot of trial, a lot of error, and a lot of swearing at the screen. But it’s a setup that’s working for me right now. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas. Or maybe you’ll think it’s trash. That’s racing, I guess. Everyone’s got their own feel.
