ITALIAN FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX

I was eagerly anticipating my trip to Monza, as it has been hailed as the high speed mecca of grand prix racing. When we arrived in the airport into searing heat on Thursday, we found that there was a direct transfer available to the region of monza, admittedly, it was quite expensive, but sometimes convenience is important! When our hotel rang for a taxi, we had no idea what lay ahead. We had no idea that our taxi driver was mental! He drove us up to the very entrance of the paddock, a feat I never seen repeated over the whole weekend. First thing I see, Mark Webber signing autographs! We watched practice from the parabollica grandstands, back straight general admission areas, ascari chicane grandstand, the straight after the lesmos, and the lesmos themselves! They were all amazing viewing spots, I can guarantee you that NO other circuit allows you such a view of 215 mph! The locals are absolute nutters, in a good sense! This was proven when I was nearly mauled by a MOB of people looking for Alonso`s autograph outside the paddock on Saturday. I thought that I was passionate? It`s debatable! We watched FP3 from the curva grande, which was mind boggling, the noise! It is on youtube, if you so wish..! Qualifying we watched from our grandstand (as there is NO roving on Saturday, a great system, SILVERSTONE!) Atmosphere... electric! Naturally enough, a visit to Monza wouldn`t be complete without a visit to the old banked circuit, which we did, with names of the past legends graffitied all over the walls. This place is magic, honestly, for an F1 fan, surely this must be Mecca, not Bahrain or China! By the way, grandstand was 10/10, perfect, but a heads up, bring a cushion :P! Sunday, the atmosphere was electric, as 110000+ entered the circuit. We watched the GP2, then took refuge under the trees from the very un-Irish 30 degree heat! Before the race, the tifosi were handing out red, white and green balloons (150 years of Italy) it was just a fun loving atmosphere! The race began, and we witnessed ALL of the 1st corner chaos! I roared Vettel pulled Alonso around the curva grande! Cheered as Schumacher kept the hungry Hamilton at bay! We decided to leave the grandstand 2-3 laps before the end to be ready to run to the podium. It was pandimonium! As we were let out, we ran for ALL we were worth to try and reach the podium, I thought: "THESE PEOPLE ARE ******* CRAZY!" It was unbelievable, but funnily enough, we made it from the first chicane to the podium in plenty of time. And as the tifosi screamed at the sight of Alonso, it was a sight to behold. People as far as the eye could see. It was a MAGNIFICENT TRIP, best one ever, and I`ve been to Spa. Merchandise was good, food was actually very good, facilities were not bad. Sorry if it was a bit long winded, but there you are, THANK YOU MONZA!

What can I say. This is my third Italian GP in a row. 2 of them on my own. I never felt alone! I will go without food to go here every september. It is as simple as that and bok F1 are as professional as you would ever want. I will employ their professional services with confidence.

Everything went smooth.

Book F1.com - professional and dates were kept to.

Recommend (as always) book your accommodation in advance.

Don't worry about the train transport in Monza, quite easy to work out once you are there - do not wait in line, the ticket machines translate to english and are straight fwd. If you want to get clever, get the next days ticket the night before.

Stay near centrale station this is what we did and it worked a treat, including airport transport when time to depart.

There is a cool bar area in Milan Central, cant give you street name, however just follow the high heels and you will find it.

Done a few GPs and Monza is up there with the best, Italians are great and food and wine is second to none.

Have a great time!

Monza is one of the great races to attend. The track is historic and the race and tifossi make it a unique event in The F1 season.

Had a great view of the first chicane and the crash on race day. Plenty of shade when not watching which was great as it was very hot and humid. Book F1.com provided tickets and all information needed in plenty of time and answered queries quickly. Enjoyed the pit lane walk too on the Thursday and managed to get some autographs and great photos. All in all had a fab weekend

Free train service to the track was a fantastic unexpected bonus, well done Italy but be prepared to be packed in like sardines in 39 degree heat with no air con and standing for the 30 minute trip. Race circuit is a very long and dusty trek through the park, not very well signposted, horrendous toilet facilities (take own paper), bad food and expensive drinks but the laterale parabolica benches were a fantastic vantage point on the fastest straight. Be prepared for a very very long queue on return to the train station and allow plenty of time for connecting trains from Milan as they cancel and mismanage the return free shuttle train to Milan Centrale. Once only trip, an experience to remember, but there are much better circuits, nothing beats Silverstone, Yet.

Second time at Monza and just as good. Great general entry viewing from the terraces at Paraboloica. Easy and frequent train connection from Milan ( 15mins journey ) and the free shuttle bus to the circuit. Silverstone have much to learn.
Greta ticket service from Book F1

Great atmosphere and lovely people but not as much going on as at silverstone - getting there confusing very few signs though they increase towards race day - parking was fine 10 euros Sat and 15 sunday, would suggest taking own food and drinks and cushions as very expensive.

Really. Enjoyed. Even. The tefosi was ok only thing was train then bus to circuit was packed. On sat. But free sun. Generally great time and bookf1 i would defiantly use again. Joni b

Looks like our first comment got cut off. Info on transportation very difficult to come by and we live in Italy! It took 3 hours to get to the track from Milan and we missed the race on Saturday. Having to walk such a distance from the drop-off points on the edge of the park didn't help either and it would have been nice to know how long it was going to be so we could have planned better. Food and drinks pretty pricey (not to mention the long lines) and would suggest bringing it from outside. Also always have that little package of tissues with you, you never know! Strange thing about personnel, many didn't speak Italian. Good to see so many police and civil protection people around. The viewing was great and the atmosphere electrifying. We learned a lot and we'll put it to good use when we go back. Ticket service fantastic: helpful, corteous, punctual and reliable.

1. Views of the racetrack very limited due to trees. We could see about 300m of the track at the first chicane but the big screen helped a lot. Good spot for much of the action.
2. Monza has many roadworks with considerable delays, Saturday was the worst.
3. Sign posts to the car parks were very confusing. We tried to follow signs to the west carpark but were directed in circles. Eventually we parked in the east car park which we found by luck.
4. Car parking was in closed off streets. The buses were about 20 minutes walk from the farthest parts of the car park. The busses dropped off in the Monza National Park and there was then a 1 or 2 km walk to the entrance gate and the track depending on where your seat was.
5. More car parks closer to the circuit plus closer drop of and pick up locations for the buses would improve the enjoyment of the race.

Would have appreciated earlier access to single ticket purchase, rather than 3 day pass, which I did not use. Also, more specific directions for public access to track, shuttle buses, trains, etc. It took me 3 hrs. to return to Monza.. Try to have more staff at gates next time....the crowd was really getting restless.

Other wise, exciting race!

Excellent race weekend great racing between Schumy and Hamilton we were in the Vedano stand which was looking across to the entrance to the pit lane, we purchased the 3 day ticket which arrived a few weeks before the race (excellent service). Travel to the circuit on friday and saturday was easy the Metro tickets were only 1.50 Euros with a train to Monza from Milan centrale station 2 Euros each way and free buses from monza station to the circuit, however its a 1 1/2 mile walk through the park to the circuit and it was 31 degrees. On race day the the trains from Milan central were free and the train drops you off at Lesmo station which is only a 10 minute walk to the circuit (much better) all directions for the circuit travel were excellent. cant wait till next year.

First trip to Monza after 30 years of watching F1 - such an evocative place! Standing on the old banking and walking the circuit after the race is priceless. The noise in the stand when Alonso led into the first chicane was electrifying. Can't wait to return.

Having eventually found the park and ride we were fleeced 20 euros for the privilige. It was free last time I went but it does provide a quick and easy way to get into the circuit.

The atmosphere at Monza is always good but the circuit is certainly showing its age with poor seating in terms of space i.e. don't even think about leaving your seat when the race starts as you are packed into the stand and also the general facilities which are 'festival friendly' rather than reflecting the fact you have come to watch top end motorosport.

Don't get me wrong I would go again but you have to treat it like an adventure rather than a day at the races!

A great friendly atmosphere and crowd.Only criticism was the lack of train service from the north end of the track on the sunday as we had used it for the other 3 days.not sure if a strike was on but made access to the race a lot harder.

The toilets, both the permanent and temporary ones - were unhygienic, they were ill-equipped to handle the amount of use, i.e. not enough toilet paper and not cleaned frequently enough.

Everything else was as expected, all in all a great weekend, very much enjoyed and will re-visit Monza again in the future!

Very few websites give information about how to get to the circuit. Yours was by far the best. We got the free train from Milano Central Station but although is was supposed to stop at Monza it didn't and went to the next station. There were no shuttle buses there(or if there were we didn't see them) and had to walk. Very few signs indicating where the various stands etc. were. After the race there were no signs showing way to shuttle bus. When we found them there were many available.
Can't say that I was very impressed by the organisation in Milan.

good weekend, good seats, parking good, good signs from A4 used the blue line park and ride no problems perfect 15 euro per day to park includes bus ride but very long walk to track once bus parked in park.

Great visit for 3 day pass to monza, which entitled us to pit lane walk on the Thursday, fabulous, and so close to the event. Tickets 21F Parabolica were good, and event marshalling was very good, which allowed unobstructed views through the fencing to see the track action.