Autodromo Nazionale Monza

The site has three tracks - the 5.793 km Grand Prix track, the 2.405 km Junior track and a banked 4.25 km speed track. Major features of the main track include the Curva di Lesmo, the Curva Parabolica, and the Variante Ascari.

The circuit, best known for hosting the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, is notable for the fact that drivers are on full throttle for a higher-than-average percentage of the lap due to its long straights. The current circuit record is 1:21.832, set by Michael Schumacher in 2003.

Site history

In the 1928 Italian Grand Prix the most serious Italian racing accident to date ended in the death of driver Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators. Because of this further Grand Prix races were confined to the high-speed loop until 1932. The 1933 race was marked by the deaths of three drivers and the Grand Prix layout was changed with two chicanes added and the longer straights removed.

There was major rebuilding in 1938-39, constructing new stands and entrances, resurfacing the track, moving portions of the track and adding two new bends. The resulting layout gave a Grand Prix lap of 6.3 km and was used until 1954.

Because of the war, racing at the track was suspended until 1948 and much of the circuit degraded due to lack of attention. It was renovated over two months and held a Grand Prix on October 17. In 1955 work began to entirely revamp the circuit, resulting in a 5.75 km course and a new 4.25 km high-speed track with banked curves. The infrastructure was also improved.

Grand Prix returned to the track in 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961. This last race had another serious accident, with Wolfgang von Trips and eleven spectators dying. New safety walls, rails and fences were quickly added and the refuelling area was moved further from the track. Run-off areas were added to the curves in 1965 after a fatality in the 1000 km race, the track layout was not changed until Grand Prix returned in 1966 with new chicanes at the banked curves.

Both car and motorcycle Grand Prix were regular attractions at Monza from 1966, but with increasing speeds the track was 'slowed' in 1972 with two more chicanes. Grand Prix motorcycles continued to use the un-slowed road track until two races resulted in five deaths in 1973, including Renzo Pasolini and Jarno Saarinen. Motorcycle racing did not return to Monza until 1981. The 1972 chicanes were soon seen to be ineffective at slowing cars and one was remade in 1974, the other in 1976, and a third also added in 1976, with extended run-off areas. The Grand Prix lap was now 5.8 km long.

With technology still improving vehicle speeds the track was again changed in 1979, with added kerbs, run-off areas extended and tyre-barriers improved, the infrastructure was also upgraded. These changes encouraged world championship motorcycling to return in 1981, but further safety work was undertaken through the 1980s. Also in the 1980s the podium, paddock and pits complex, stands, and campsite were either rebuilt or improved.

In the 1990s the three main long curves were 'squeezed' to reduce speeds in 1994-95, reducing the Grand Prix lap to 5.77 km. In 1997 the stands were reworked to expand capacity to 51,000.

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