McLaren F1 team reverts to long nose design for Italian Grand Prix

McLaren introduced a shorter specification of nose on Fernando Alonso's car for June's Austrian GP, and the short nose has featured on both MP4-30s at every race since.

But AUTOSPORT understands the Woking squad will use the older specification of nose as a one-off for Monza, because it provides the car with a better aerodynamic balance and lower drag levels than the shorter nose on a track where peak downforce is not required.

McLaren will then go back to using its short nose for the next race in Singapore, where the team is planning to introduce a new front wing package.

BETTER THAN SPA

Jenson Button is hopeful McLaren-Honda will enjoy a better weekend than at Spa last time out, even though both he and team-mate Fernando Alonso will again receive grid penalties for engine changes at Monza.

"I've got a penalty, Fernando's got a penalty; mine's five, his is 10 places at the moment; there are two Red Bulls with penalties, there's a Toro Rosso with penalties; in the race, I don't know what's going to happen," Button said.

"I don't think our pace will be as bad as it was at Spa.

"[ERS] deployment was a massive issue for us at Spa, because it's such a long circuit, and we don't have as much deployment as other people, so here it should be less of an issue, we should be closer, but still it's going to be a hard race.

"I think we've got a pretty good package, in terms of low downforce, but this is a toughie, whereas in two weeks [in Singapore] it should be a good race for us - hopefully a Monaco, Hungary-spec race."