We're headed to the home of the Tifosi
Monza, the temple of speed, is the last European race on the calendar this year
The Italian GP is the most held grand prix on the F1 calendar, having taken a single year—1980—off. It’s even been held at Monza since its inception without bouncing around tracks the way some GPs have.
Monza itself is also legendary. Built in 1922, it was the third purpose-built race track in the world. It’s the fastest-ever circuit, called “the Temple of Speed” and “La Pista Magica.” Considered Ferrari’s home race, it’s also the home of the Tifosi—Ferrari’s hardcore fan base—which lends it a unique culture.
It’s legendary for a different reason, however. Monza is by far the most dangerous track in F1. It’s claimed the lives of 52 drivers and 32 spectators. While work is continually done to improve track safety, it would be wrong to visit Monza without acknowledging the lives that have been lost.
This year Ferrari are looking to take a win at home to shore up an otherwise rough season. Max Verstappen is looking to get his tenth win in a row—breaking the record and the Monza curse at the same time. Liam Lawson stays in the driver’s seat for AlphaTauri this race, probably hoping to to replicate Nyck De Vris (though without the ending).
There are so many storylines going into on as we make our way to one of the finest tracks on the calendar. Let’s get ready for the Italian GP!
Italian GP quick facts:
Held 92 times
The record for most driver wins is 5, held by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton
The record for most constructor wins is 20, held by Ferrari
The race is 53 laps long
The lap record is 1:21.046, set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004
Charles Leclerc took pole in 2022, but finished P2. Max Verstappen won and George Russell finished P3.
The way people talk about the “Monza curse” makes it sound like something that’s been around forever—but in reality, it’s only been around since 2019. It become such a big legend in such a short time.
So what is it? Well, the legend goes that whoever wins one year is cursed to DNF/crash/just have a bad race the next year. It started with Charles Leclerc, who won in 2019 and crashed out in 2020; continued with Pierre Gasly, who won in 2020 and crashed out in 2021; and happened again to Daniel Ricciardo, who won in 2021 and had a DNF in 2022.
Max Verstappen won in 2022, so all eyes are on him this weekend to see if the Monza curse strikes again. Look, if anyone can avoid this curse, it’s Max Verstappen—calling him “unstoppable” feels like an understatement now—but it still has people on edge. It would be less exciting if he wasn’t on track to break the record for longest win streak at Monza with a tenth potential win.
So, what do you think? The Dutch weather couldn’t stop Max, but will a recent curse have what it takes to stop him from taking Sebastian Vettel’s record?
Aston Martin fell off the map after a great first start to the season thanks to some confusion regarding their upgrades. But Alonso, Mike Krack, and more all swore that Aston Martin would return to their heights after summer break. Some believed, some were skeptical, but all were eager to see what the green team would look like at Zandvoort.
To put it simply, they looked good. Alonso finished in P2. Data showed they had the second fastest car. They were consistent through the weekend. So, all in all, a good sign for Aston Martin. But then comes the big question… was this weekend representative?
To say the Dutch GP was weird would be putting it mildly—I don’t think I’ve seen a race ping back and forth between wet and dry so rapidly. Zandvoort itself is a relatively unique track. Is it just that Alonso is an experienced driver and the Aston Martin favored the track, or is the team really back?
Hopefully, we’ll get the answer this weekend at Monza.
Ferrari have potentially the most confusing car this season. When the team and driver can pull it together, it’s an extremely quick, if finicky, car. But when it’s not hooked up, it’s a difficult, squirmy car to drive. Carlos Sainz Jr. can usually tame the car and get it into the midfield, but for a driver like Charles Leclerc, who drives on the limit—meaning his highs are insanely high and his lows are… low—the car is, quite frankly, evil.
If a driver can’t trust the car from race to race, it creates a dysfunctional system. However, that hasn’t stopped Ferrari from occasionally hooking it up and getting some highs this season. The question becomes, will they be able to do it at home?
There is no more important race for Ferrari than Monza. It’s their home race, the place their fans flock to, and their most won race. There’s no doubt high-level Ferrari personnel will be attending. If the curse hits Max, Ferrari have to be in a place to capitalize.
If the car is anything like last week, that won’t be possible. But if Ferrari manage to hook it up… there’s a chance.
Some small things to leave you with:
As seen above, Ferrari has a special suit for Monza and it looks like they’re going to be selling me burgers. Look I don’t hate it—the retro color blocking is nice—but the color scheme is.. very McDonalds.
AlphaTauri has announced they’re shifting to a more Red Bull-like car design, as well as that, “In the future we will get everything that is permitted by the regulations from Red Bull Racing…” So get ready for the next-gen version of the “pink Mercedes”
Speaking of AT, Liam Lawson will be driving for AlphaTauri until Daniel Ricciardo is fully recovered—that means Monza definitely and maybe all the way through Qatar. There’s danger there too, though. The rookie FP rules say that drivers who drive more than three F1 races are no longer considered “rookies” so, if Liam drives too many races, he won’t be eligible for those rookie free practices.
Max Verstappen was given his newly made Hungarian GP trophy, after Lando broke it during the podium ceremony. Lando and Max were both present, and Lando was definitely, definitely not allowed to touch it. It was a cute little get together for the two of them, though, and it’s nice of them to make Max a whole new trophy.
Good links:
BEHIND THE SCENES: 48 hours in the life of AlphaTauri super-sub Liam Lawson at Zandvoort - Lawrence Barretto, Formula 1
A moment-by-moment look into Liam Lawson’s very strange, very dramatic weekend.
Mercedes’ explanation of Dutch GP ‘catastrophe’ - Valentin Khorounzhiy, The Race
Tl;dr: they made terrible strategy decisions. They misjudged how long the rain would last—they predicted it would lessen in two minutes when it only got harder.
Aston Martin reserve Drugovich set for FP1 outing at Italian GP - Formula 1
Drugovich!!!! He’ll be taking one of Aston Martin’s rookie FPs, subbing in for Lance Stroll. It’ll be great to see him on track again.
Gary Anderson: McLaren’s eye-catching rear wing detail - Gary Anderson, The Race
I love interesting tech things. Mclaren are bringing a new rear wing after their Spa disaster and they trialed it during the free practices. We might see it this weekend!
Williams admits it got Albon's strategy "wrong" twice in F1 Dutch GP - Adam Cooper, Motorsport.com
Someday Williams will learn that saying “fuck it, we ball” and asking Alex to drive around on ancient tires isn’t always going to work. Unfortunately, they didn’t learn that before the Dutch GP.
Why does Perez’s deficit to Verstappen mushroom in the wet? - The Race
The big thing is that he was managing the inter in expectation of more rain. The even bigger thing is that Perez has never been exceptional in the wet, while it’s one of Max’s greatest talents.
Gasly hails ‘massive motivation boost’ for overhauled Alpine after ‘insane’ run to P3 at Zandvoort - Formula 1
Will this boost the floundering Alpine’s spirits? Is this a sign of things to come? Who knows, but Ocon and Gasly have both gotten a P3 this season, which is pretty solid.
The hints of Lawson’s F1 skill that will encourage Red Bull - Edd Straw and Scott Mitchell-Malm, The Race
A steady Dutch GP was already a great result for Lawson. Now, it’s time for him to step up to the plate in Monza.
The last European race on the calendar is upon us! I’m excited to see what Monza will bring us, and how the Tifosi show out for the race. What are you most excited for? Let me know!
Geez, I really want to see Drugovich go head to head with Stroll in a Monza FP...just to see where Stroll really stands. If Aston's upgrades are as soon as they appeared to be in Zandvoort, then I think the pressure is only mounting for Stroll