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ITALIAN FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX

Built in 1922 in only 100 days by the Automobile Club of Milan, Monza is Europes oldest permanent circuits still in use. Orginally comprising both a road course and a banked oval, sometimes combined for major races until the 1960s, only the road course is used today. The impressive banking still exists, but there are now plans to demolish this historic structure.

 

Monza, Italy
First F1 Race:	1950-01-01
Lap Distance:	5.793 km
Number of Laps:	53
Total Distance:	307.029 km

 

Set in a former Royal park on the outskirts of Milan, Italys second major city, the contemporary circuit is still one of the fastest in Europe being a series of long, straight flat-out blasts and long high-speed corners, interrupted only by the inevitable chicanes.

Altough it survives more or less in its original layout, the track was used as a military vehicle park during World War II and suffered extensive damage through bombing. The banking in particular required reconstruction before being used again in 1948. All manner of circuit combinations were used in the 1930s and curiously this included the early use of chicanes. Well worth a visit just to experience the enthusiasm of the famous "tifosi".