10 Fast Facts for Monza

One of Formula 1’s original Grands Prix, this great sport has visited Autodromo Nazionale Monza in every season but one since 1950.

The quickest venue on the calendar sees drivers at full throttle for at least 80% of the 5.793km circuit, pushing these intricate pieces of machinery right to the very limit.

Here are 10 statistics we think you ought to know ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

Atlassian Williams Racing have an excellent record at Monza during the hybrid era, finishing in the points in nine of the 11 races held here since 2014. This includes a streak of four in a row stretching back to 2021, with George Russell, Nyck de Vries in 2022, and Alex Albon in both 2023 and 2024.

Monza is the quickest track in Formula 1 and has played host to the eight fastest races in World Championship history.

We started on the front row at Monza as recently as 2017, when Lance Stroll became the youngest driver ever to do so in F1 Grand Prix history, aged 18 years and 309 days – a record that still stands.

When Nyck de Vries was called up on Saturday morning for Williams in 2022, he became the first driver in 44 years to race for two different teams in the same Grand Prix weekend. The previous instance came at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, when Harald Ertl began with Ensign in pre-qualifying before switching to ATS for qualifying – failing to make the cut in both sessions.

In 2004, Juan Pablo Montoya set an F1 record for the fastest lap, averaging 264.24 km/h — a benchmark that stood for 14 years.

Our cars have qualified second on the grid at Monza on 11 occasions, more than in any other starting position at this track. Our most common finishing result at the Italian GP is P3 (10 times), the most recent coming in 2014 and 2015 with Felipe Massa.

Monza is known as the Temple of Speed, but just how fast can you go here? Last year, Alex Albon hit 348 km/h (216.2 mph) through the Speed Trap.

Both our drivers boast a combined eight podium finishes at Monza. Carlos has twice stood on the F1 podium here, along with three wins and a second place in the junior categories, while Alex has taken P2 in GP3 and P3 in F2.

Monza has enjoyed a near-perfect run of appearances on the F1 calendar since the inaugural season in 1950. The only exception came in 1980, when the Italian Grand Prix was held at Imola while safety upgrades were carried out at the historic venue.

Perhaps Monza’s most recognisable relic is its steep, decaying banking. Despite its legendary status, it featured in just four World Championship Grands Prix – 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961.