02/09/2025
NEWS STORY
Monza and its Autodromo Nazionale circuit is gearing up for the most eagerly anticipated weekend for fans of the Prancing Horse, at the home of Italian motor racing, universally known as The Temple of Speed. The Italian Grand Prix is the 16th round of the Formula 1 season and of course it's the home race for the Maranello team.
As in recent years, the Scuderia has once again chosen Monza for special celebrations of its history and supporters. As from Wednesday in Milan they will be able to get up close with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a series of unmissable events. On track, the centre of attention will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda's first world championship win with Scuderia Ferrari, which he clinched in Monza on 7 September 1975, in front of a record crowd that had packed out the circuit to witness the crown coming back to Maranello after an absence of 11 years.
Built in 1922, The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza has remained substantially unaltered ever since, very high speed and one of the most iconic venues on the calendar, on which it has featured every year apart from 1980 when the Italian Grand Prix was held at Imola, as Monza was being renovated. Over the 5.793 kilometres, the cars travel at great speed down the long, fast straights. The quick parts are linked by equally famous corners, such as the Variante del Rettifilo at the end of the start-finish straight, Roggia which comes after the Curva Grande, which the drivers tackle flat out and the Ascari chicane after the two Lesmos before leading into the famous Parabolica, now named in memory of the great Michele Alboreto. Aerodynamic efficiency is the key to having good top speed which is why all the cars run minimal wings. However, the track layout means that the car's handling through the chicanes must be taken into consideration, where good traction is essential to look after the tyres and to be able to defend during the race. The brakes also need to work very well as the drivers have to slow the cars from 340 to 80 km/h in just 150 metres, for example at the first braking point after the start. There are two DRS zones, one on the main straight and one after the second Lesmo, even though this is the track where the moveable rear wing brings the least benefit given that even with the wing closed, drag is minimal.
Based on what was seen last year when Charles Leclerc won for Ferrari, a one stop strategy seems the most likely, but not until the cars have been on track for practice will a clear picture emerge. What is clear is that qualifying well is vital when it comes to dealing with traffic. Slipstreaming brings a significant advantage and everyone will be looking to get a tow, but that can involve a driver finding himself in traffic. In the worst case, in the final seconds of each of the three sections of qualifying, there's a risk the driver does not cross the line to start a final flying lap before the chequered flag has been waved. Getting it right is far from easy and drivers and strategists will have to be on the ball.
Fred Vasseur: As every year, we are eagerly looking forward to hitting the track at Monza, especially so just a few days after Zandvoort, which didn't deliver the results we'd hoped for, even if we demonstrated that we had the race pace to do well. For the entire team, being surrounded by the passion of our tifosi is an incredible motivation to put our hearts into everything we do. We are aiming to give our very best to repay them for their constant support. However, in order to do that, we need to put emotions aside and focus on ensuring that we execute the weekend to the best of our ability, from the very first lap of free practice right through to the final lap of the race. Over the course of this season, we've made progress in terms of competitiveness, but with such a closely matched field, we must be flawless to get the results we're aiming for. We'll give it everything we have, knowing we can count on all the love and support of our tifosi.
Ferrari at the Italian GP
75 GP Contested
1952 Debut (A. Ascari and D. Serafini 2nd; P. Whitehead 7th; C. Biondetti ret.)
20 (26.67%) Wins
23 (30.67%) Pole positions
19 (25.33%) Fastest laps
72 (33.33%) Podiums
Three questions to Piero Ferrari, Ferrari Vice President
This year at the Italian Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari HP will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda's first title with the team. What convinced your father to pick Niki, an almost unknown young Austrian, back in 1974?
Piero Ferrari: It was a mix of instinct and trust. Clay Regazzoni had told my father that Niki had extraordinary talent and sensitivity, something beyond the ordinary. Then came the Monaco GP where Niki was brilliant in a car that couldn't compete with the top teams. My father watched that race from Fiorano and decided right there that this was a driver worth betting on. Looking back today, it's incredible to think that such a simple decision, based on instinct and a race seen on TV race, changed Ferrari's history.
You were at Monza on September 7, 1975, when Niki secured his first world title. What do you remember most vividly about that day?
PF: I'll never forget the atmosphere. Clay Regazzoni won the race, and with Niki finishing third, we had clinched the championship title. After the podium, Niki and I embraced, and I remember wishing that moment would never end. It wasn't just a victory for Ferrari, it was the beginning of a new era, and it felt deeply personal, like celebrating with a lifelong friend.
Niki was known as "the human computer," but your memories reveal a very different side to him. What was he like away from the track?
PF: He was brilliant, yes, but also funny, relaxed, and full of life. In the evenings we'd go out for dinner in Modena, laughing, joking, even betting on Grand Prix results and whoever lost paid for everyone. Behind the precision and discipline, there was a young man who loved life and friendship. That's the Niki I'll always carry with me.
Italian Grand Prix: Facts & Figures
1. The number of Monza-born drivers who have taken part in the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale. Vittorio Brambilla competed in his home race seven times, his best result coming in 1976 when he finished seventh in a March-Ford. He was also seriously injured here in 1978 when hit by a loose wheel in the pile-up that led to the death of the Swede Ronnie Peterson. Two other local drivers made Formula 1 appearances. Fabrizio Barbazza scored two points in the 1993 season in a Minardi-Ford. However, his only Monza appearance was in the mediocre AGS-Ford in 1991 when he failed to qualify. The other was Ernesto "Tino" Brambilla, Vittorio's brother. In 1963, he failed to qualify with a Maserati-powered Cooper, entered by Scuderia Centro Sud and six years later he only took part in the first practice session of the 1969 edition, before pulling out from the rest of the event for reasons that are lost in the mists of time. Brambilla said he pulled out as the 312 F1-69 was uncompetitive (with which Pedro Rodriguez actually finished the race two laps down). Another version is that the driver had hurt himself riding his brother Vittorio's Paton motorcycle, falling off it at Monza a few days before the Formula 1 event. The last version of events has it that Brambilla broke his arm doing something stupid on a motorbike in front of the "Bar dei stupid" (the "Bar of Fools") which he often used to frequent on the Via Ghilini. Who knows the truth? But one thing's for sure, Ernesto didn't take part in that race, nor any other world championship round.
11. The number of ingredients needed to make a Monza risotto, Brianza's answer to the Milan version. It consists of rice, shallots, butter, vegetable stock, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, white wine, thyme, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and a "luganega" sausage. This sausage from Monza is the real distinguishing ingredient although in Milan, saffron is added to give the rice its distinctive yellow colour, while the Monza rice is white.
39. The number of cars entered for the 1961 and 1989 Italian Grands Prix at Monza. In 1961, 32 drivers started, with four Ferraris at the front of the field with Germany's Wolfgang von Trips on pole ahead of the Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez, the American Richie Ginther and the other title contender Phil Hill. Hill would go on to win the race and the title in a race marred by the collision between Jim Clark and Von Trips, which claimed the lives of the German along with 14 spectators. In 1989, 26 cars started, Ayrton Senna was on pole in the McLaren, over a second ahead of Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell second and third for Ferrari. The race was won by the Brazilian's team-mate, Alain Prost ahead of Berger and Thierry Boutsen in the Williams.
55. The municipalities of Brianza, the area in which the Autodromo Nazionale is located, cover an area of 405.4 square kilometres, with a population of 870,113. The largest of them is naturally Monza with 123,983 citizens, while the smallest is Aicurzio with just 2,080 inhabitants.
1810. The year in which the "La Legge Nuova" (New Law) statue was placed on the Milan Cathedral. The work of Camillo Pacelli it was clearly later used as the model for the Statue of Liberty, created by the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, and which France gifted to the United States in 1886.