As Ferrari prepares for the Italian GP this weekend, we look at the famous Monza circuit – scene of so many famous victories for the Scuderia
Maranello is home. But Monza is surely Ferrari’s second home. Site of the Italian Grand Prix and of some of Ferrari’s most famous victories, it lies just 200 km north-west of Maranello, in leafy parkland not far from Milan. It is historically one of the fastest tracks: little wonder it is known as the Temple of Speed. It has few corners, yet the Lesmo, Parabolica and Curva Grande are among the most challenging and famous in motor racing. It regularly produces the most exciting racing – including the closest finish in GP history – and surely has the best atmosphere. In no small part, that’s due to the frenzied enthusiasm of the tifosi, cheering on the red cars.
See 75 years of Ferrari racing history at Monza…
Monza is the most historic of all current F1 circuits, and the third purpose-built racing track – after the now defunct Brooklands in the UK and the Indianapolis speedway (which still hosts the Indianapolis 500). Built in 1922, it hosted the second-ever Italian GP (the 1921 race was held on a road circuit near Brescia).
Seventy years ago, it was completely revamped, including a new high-speed oval. This was used intermittently until 1961, before being deemed unsafe. The classic pistol-shaped circuit – without the supplementary oval – has been used ever since with various modifications, most notably chicanes to reduce speed and boost safety. Nonetheless, the fastest lap in F1 history – set at an average speed of 264.4 km/h – took place in qualifying at Monza in 2020.
Above: the start of the Italian GP at Monza in 1949. Alberto Ascari took victory for Ferrari, the marque's first GP win
Ferrari has won 20 Italian GPs at Monza, more than any other manufacturer. Its first was in 1949, a year before the F1 world championship began. Alberto Ascari led home a Ferrari 1-2. Scuderia Ferrari was then only two years old. It was a sign of the conspicuous Grand Prix success to come.
Ascari won again in 1951, heading another Ferrari 1-2. (The Scuderia would also finish fourth and fifth that year.) Ascari was victor once more in 1952, the year he won his – and Ferrari’s – first world title.
In 1960, the supplementary high-speed oval was used, and Phil Hill scored his first Italian GP win for Ferrari – and the first F1 win for an American driver. In 1961, he repeated the feat and claimed the world title, the first US driver to be crowned champion.
From left: Ascari wins the Italian GP in 1951; Phil Hill on his way to victory at Monza in 1961; John Surtees at the Italian GP in 1964; Gerhard Berger ahead of his win at the Italian circuit in 1988
Yet there was little celebration in the Ferrari pit. Hill’s teammate Wolfgang von Trips was killed after his car crashed and somersaulted up the banking. Fifteen spectators, pressed against the fence, were also killed. It highlighted a darker side to Monza. It is statistically one of the most dangerous racing circuits, due to the high speeds.
Former motorcycle racer John Surtees won in 1964, paving the way for his world title that year. He is the only man to win the championship on two wheels and on four. Local hero Ludovico Scarfiotti would win for Ferrari in 1967, the last Italian winner of an Italian GP. It was the first and only F1 world championship win for the Torinese, grandson of one of the founders of Fiat.
Above: Michael Schumacher wins the Italian GP in 1996
In 1971, Englishman Peter Gethin in a BRM won by 0.01 seconds, the closest finish in F1 history. The top five were covered by 0.61 seconds. At an average race speed of 242.6 km/h, it was the fastest F1 race on record (two chicanes were added for 1972 to slow the action).
It stayed the fastest until the 2003 Italian GP, when Michael Schumacher won for Ferrari at 247.6 km/h. Ferrari’s win at Monza that year remains the fastest F1 race victory.
In between 1971 and 2003 great Ferrari victories included Clay Regazzoni’s 1975 win at the Monza GP with Niki Lauda taking third place, before going on to take the F1 Championship for the first time with Ferrari later that year (2025 will be fiftieth anniversary of that glorious victory). Another notable Monza win was Jody Scheckter’s 1979 triumph – handing the South African driver the world title. Then there was Gerhard Berger’s 1988 win, with Michele Alboreto taking second place – an emotional 1-2 victory coming just a few weeks after the death of founder Enzo Ferrari. Michael Schumacher’s first (of five) Italian GP wins for the Scuderia came in 1996.
Above: Charles Leclerc following his victory at Monza in 2019, in his first season racing for Ferrari
Ferrari’s most recent win was in 2019, when Charles Leclerc took glory in his first season for the Scuderia. As the tifosi flock to the most storied circuit in Grand Prix racing this September, they’ll be hoping for a 21st Ferrari Italian GP victory.
Cover image: Ferrari fans swarm the Monza circuit following Michael Schumacher's win at the Italian GP in 2000