Bloody Monza

Few racetracks invoke emotion to the extent of Monza. Located on the outskirts of Milan in the north of Italy, the parkland circuit is famous for its fanatical racegoers and infamous for its bloody history.

Built in 1922, the Monza circuit – or Autodromo Nazionale Monza, as it’s properly known – was constructed by the Milan Automobile Club to mark the 25th anniversary of the club’s founding. At the time, a location worthy of rivaling the French Automobile Club was order of the day, and after much discussion, Monza was deemed “worthy” of a circuit for hosting the Italian Grand Prix.

The track was driven for the first time by Pietro Bordino and Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat 570 on July 28, 1922 and officially opened on September 3, 1922. The first official race held at Monza was the Motorcycle Grand Prix of Nations five days later.

Since its construction, Monza has claimed the lives of 52 drivers and 35 spectators, and is still heavily criticised for its lack of run-off space, especially at the notorious chicane at Variante della Roggia. It was also infamous for its banking.

The most deadly incident to occur at Monza was just six years into its history. At the 1928 Grand Prix, Italian driver Emilio Materassi lost control of his vehicle on the high-speed loop and killed 27 race goers as the vehicle careened out of control through the crowd.

In 1929, the Monza Grand Prix was held on the high-speed loop, with the Maserati of Alfieri Maserati himself touching 200km/h for the first time.
   
Monza played host to the Formula One Grand Prix in 1950, the year of the sport’s inception. By 1951, Scuderia Ferrari had made its mark on what would become its home track, winning at the hands of the legendary Alberto Ascari (who now has a corner named after him at Monza).

Originally comprising a high-speed bowl and road circuit, the track has undergone several changes from its original 10 kilometre-long format (c 1922-1933) and now measures 5.793 kilometres in length. The majority of the changes were made in response to a series of high-speed fatal accidents.

In the late 1960s, a series of chicanes were installed to reduce the high speeds of which F1 cars had become capable. By 1976, cars were now exceeding an average speed of 206km/h, rising to 212km/h by 1979 (set by Jody Scheckter in a Ferrari, of course!).

More recently, Gerhard Berger’s win at the 1988 Monza Grand Prix still holds a place in Ferrari fans' hearts as one of the most emotional. His first place (the team had a 1-2, with Scuderia teammate, Michele Alboreto in second) came just a few weeks after the death of Ferrari founder, Enzo Ferrari.

Still the world’s fastest F1 track, Monza continues to confirm itself as the authentic “Tempio della Velocita” (Temple of Speed), and when you take in the emotion, and the spirit of the fans who still flock there, it’s not hard to see why.

Fast facts: The current Monza lap record is held by Juan Pablo Montoya who achieved a remarkable 1’19.525” lap in pre-qualifying for the 2004 Grand Prix. In the V10 era of the late 1990s, the top speed recorded by an open-wheeled F1 car hit 372km/h, though in the current V8 format, most cars top out at just over 320km/h.