All hail the Temple of Speed

It’s fast. Really, really fast. Formula 1’s fastest recorded lap was set around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in 2025 by Lando Norris, clocking a colossal 257.781km/h. But it isn’t only the 1.1km-long main straight that allows for high speeds - 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle thanks to multiple high-speed corners.

Like Monaco at the other end of the scale, Monza requires a car outside the normal parameters. With only three chicanes and three corners to link the long straights, downforce is sacrificed in favour of drag reduction, with minimal ‘Monza-spec’ rear wings produced and installed.

It isn’t quite so brutally simplistic as it sounds. End-of-straight speed is perhaps less important than the velocity a driver can carry onto the straights: the nature of acceleration in F1 ensures that a car carrying an extra 10km/h (6mph) out of the corners will maintain that advantage down the length of that straight.

A lot of attention is paid to vehicle dynamics and setting the cars up to ride the kerbs at Monza’s chicanes. Crucial seconds can also be found in the circuit’s chicanes by those with more brake stability, as cars slow from around 220mph, so being able to brake later and accelerate quicker can be a performance differential. You’ll also see plenty of kerb riding as drivers look to carry as much speed onto the straights as possible.

There are several overtaking spots around the circuit, including at Parabolica, one of F1’s favourite corners. The long-right-hander can be found at the very end of the circuit and is great for lining up a move down the main straight and into the first chicane. Very often, the fighting will continue through the next two turns, Curva Granda and Variante della Roggia, as slipstreaming keeps the cars close.

McLaren’s record at Monza includes 10 victories, stretching back to Denny Hulme in 1968. In more recent times, Daniel Ricciardo won here with us in 2021, with Lando Norris finishing second.