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"We feel the need, the need for speed."

If the famous Top Gun line ends up being used in Brad Pitt’s upcoming Formula 1 movie, Apex – directed by Top Gun’s Joseph Kosinski - then it will have been said of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, famously known as the Temple of Speed.

Having been on the Formula 1 calendar every year bar one since the very first season in 1950, Monza is home to more history and tradition than most tracks, but is rivalled by none for out-and-out speed and ferocity. The circuit provides plenty of natural energy from the famous Italian crowd, but it is certainly helped by the amount of carbs we take on over the weekend as we indulge in the world’s finest pizza and pasta. Not to mention all the espresso.

We asked countryman Andrea Stella to put down his cup of coffee to give us an overview of what we can expect in Italy, before also getting the thoughts of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Given we’ll be hanging out nearby to Milan, arguably the fashion capital of the world, we’ve also got some tips on how to dress to impress. This is in addition to a circuit guide, a recap of the last F1 Grand Prix and an overview of the local area.

Critical info

Round	15
Where	Autodromo Nazionale Monza
When	1 - 3 September
Lights out	15:00 local
Follow	The website and the McLaren App for LIVE commentary and team radio

"Italy, we're back! It felt good to be back racing last weekend at the Dutch GP. We may not have finished where we wanted to, but we had a competitive car and scored some points. I’ve had time to go through everything with the engineers, and we now look ahead to Monza.

"Monza has been a good track for us in the past, so it's a special place for me. The weather may make it another interesting weekend for everyone, but we'll be giving it our all once again."

"I'm really excited to be racing in Monza in an F1 car. It's a fast track, which is fun, but there are some trickier parts. The team have been working hard to keep improving the car, and it feels good going into a race weekend knowing you have a car with so much potential.

"Last weekend showed we’re competitive despite the challenges we faced. We’ll be taking our learnings into this weekend, and hopefully make the final European race of the year a memorable one."

The Temple of Speed

An incredible 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle, which should give you an indication of just how fast this circuit is. It isn’t as simple as the fastest car wins, though - far from it. There are plenty of qualities that go into winning at Monza – an accolade we enjoyed as recently as 2021.

Braking, for example, is key at the Italian Grand Prix given the high speeds generated down the track’s long straights. Cars approach the first corner at around 220mph, needing to slow down to around 53mph for the chicane, meaning there is plenty of time to be gained by braking late. 

Low downforce is undoubtedly the way to go in Monza, although those with more power available to them can get away with running a little more downforce, which would provide them with an advantage at corners such as Parabolica and Lesmos.

As you can expect, the circuit comes with several overtaking opportunities, with cars able to battle from Parabolica through to Vari-ante del Rettifilo, where a move is possible under braking. From here, cars can continue to stay close thanks to the effect of the slipstream, ahead of another similarly heavy braking zone at the Variante della Roggia.

Last time out

Lando and Oscar recovered from a tricky start to the Dutch Grand Prix to secure our third double-points finish from the last four races.

Both had enjoyed impressive qualifying performances, with Lando lining up behind Max Verstappen on the front row and Oscar a few spots back in P8. However, they lost several places in the opening laps due to heavy rainfall, with Lando falling to 12th and Oscar 16th. Despite the setback, they salvaged some points for the team, fighting back up through to order to finish seventh and ninth in one of the most thrilling races of the season so far.

Setting the scene

The location of the Autodromo Internazionale di Monza is one of Formula 1’s most unique and idyllic. Set in the heart of the Parco di Monza, Europe’s largest walled park, the track weaves through enchanting woodlands and greenery.

It’s also less than 19km north of Milan, the country’s wealthiest and most stylish city, full of high-end shops, culinary excellence and stunning architecture, including the Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral. It’s easy to get to Milan from Monza by train or car and you can see plenty in a day, so it’s well worth the extra effort.

As for the food, that speaks for itself: pizza, pasta, cured meats and gelato are among the many, many highlights you’ll be wanting to try on your trip to Italy.

How will the Alternative Tyre Allocation work?

In a bid to improve sustainability, at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix our weekend’s tyre allocation cut from 13 to 11, with three mandatory tyres provided for qualifying.

Hard tyres will be used in Q1, Mediums in Q2 and Softs in Q3. Unless it is a wet session, in which case teams will have a free choice of tyre. If the trials are successful and this change is implement across all 23 races, it could see a total saving of 3,680 tyres across the grid.

"We come back from the Dutch GP with both cars scoring points, which could have been more as we missed a couple of opportunities in the race. However, we are encouraged by having confirmed once again that we have a competitive car.

"The Italian GP in Monza, which recalls some good memories for our team, marks the last of the European races. The last few grands prix saw us gain a nice number of points following our upgrades to the MCL60, so we hope to continue on this trajectory. We will also be running the Alternative Tyre Allocation in qualifying. As always, we are determined and will keep working hard to fight for points at the top."

Set your alarms 

Free Practice 1	07:30 ET / 12:30 BST / 21:30 AET
Free Practice 2	11:00 ET / 16:00 BST / 01:00 AET
Free Practice 3	06:30 ET / 11:30 BST / 20:30 AET
Qualifying	10:00 ET / 15:00 BST / 00:00 AET
Race	09:00 ET / 14:00 BST / 23:00 AET

Stat pack

• Apart from in 1980, when the race was held in Imola, Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix every year since the Formula 1 World Championship began in 1950

• McLaren have won the Italian Grand Prix 11 times

• Denny Hulme (1968), Niki Lauda (1984), Alain Prost (1985, 1989), Ayrton Senna (1990, 1992), David Coulthard (1997),  Juan Pablo Montoya (2005), Fernando Alonso (2007), Lewis Hamilton (2012) and Daniel Ricciardo (2021) have all won in Monza for McLaren

• Our most recent F1 victory came at Monza when Daniel Ricciardo and Lando led a McLaren one-two in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix

• Carlos Sainz only just missed out on a win in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, finishing just 0.415s of first place 

• Lando has never failed to finish in the points whilst racing in Italy in F1 machinery – scoring a top 10 finish in every race at Monza, Mugello and Imola

• The 2003 Italian Grand Prix was the shortest F1 race to reach full distance, lasting only 74 minutes

The fit: Alla moda

Following on from a relaxing summer in the sun and ahead of our trip to a town just north of Milan, Lando was feeling inspired, grabbing a pen and some paper and doodling out an all-new range. The creative teams at Castore and New Era then helped to turn this into an all-new fit, making his visions a reality and perfecting the styles, which went live today.

Features t-shirts, hoodies and caps, this is the look you need as we switch from summer to autumn.

SHOP HERE 

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