One of the fastest and most historic tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, or the Temple of Speed as it is lovingly called by many, has been home to the Italian Grand Prix since F1’s inception as a sport. In that time, it has amassed some incredible stories and history. From the race that entrenched Charles Leclerc as Ferrari’s golden boy to the most horrific moment of the Hamilton/Verstappen showdown of 2021, here are stories from Monza that every fan should know.
The win that cemented Leclerc as the ‘Prince of Ferrari’
Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari may as well be synonyms with how intertwined they are. Leclerc’s history as a Ferrari junior made it clear that he was destined to join the team once he graduated to F1. And in 2019 he did, joining after his rookie season at Sauber. But if there was ever one specific moment that solidified him as the heart of the operation, it was his incredible performance during the 2019 Italian Grand Prix—a win that ended Ferrari’s home race drought.
Leclerc arrived at Monza off the back of his maiden win in F1 at the Belgian Grand Prix the week prior, and he continued the momentum by setting a blazing Qualifying time that put him on pole. Naturally, this incredible performance bolstered the hopes of the Tifosi who, after enjoying consistent success in Monza from the mid-90s with Michael Schumacher until 2010 with Fernando Alonso, hadn’t seen Ferrari conquer their home track in nearly a decade.
Yet despite starting from pole, his first race at Monza wasn’t an easy one by any means. Not only did Leclerc have to contend with the expectations of his fans, the reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, were breathing down his neck from P2 and P3 the moment the lights went out.
As soon as the race began, Hamilton began looking for opportunities to make the pass on Leclerc. He might have even gotten by at one point had Leclerc given him an inch more of space approaching the Della Roggia chicane. A lockup eventually cost Hamilton his position on lap 42 of 53, but the battle was not over, because Valtteri Bottas was right there to continue the Mercedes onslaught. Leclerc persevered, however, maintaining a tight grip on the lead until the end.
The Tifosi exploded into applause as he crossed the finish line, partly because their team and their driver had won, but also because this was Ferrari’s return to glory at home, at their Temple of Speed. And along with the champagne celebrations on the podium, they celebrated the crowning of Leclerc as their prince and the beacon of hope for more success to come.
One of Jim Clark’s best drives, and he didn’t even win it
With such a long and illustrious history, Monza has been home to some of the biggest spectacles in racing. One such iconic weekend happened during the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, which saw Jim Clark go through an absolute rollercoaster that left fans on the edge of their seats until the very end.
The weekend started off well enough for the Lotus-Ford driver, who claimed pole ahead of Jack Brabham by just 0.3 seconds. But race day Sunday is where the chaos truly began.
At the time, starting procedures were quite a bit different from what they are today, involving two sets of flags being waved instead of the lights out that we are so used to seeing. Yet on that day in Monza, the start went sideways as Brabham and many others took off at full speed after only the first flags were flown. Clark, however, didn’t do this, and so effectively had a late start that saw him drop all the way to fourth. Nonetheless, he continued on, and within just three laps was back in the lead again.
Then a second disaster struck. On lap 12 the rear tire of Clark’s car was punctured, and by the time he left the pit with a new set of wheels, he was an entire lap down on the front runners. Not one to give up, Clark stepped on it and put the engine of his car to work, picking off drivers ahead of him one by one until, 48 laps later, he was back in the lead.
But on that day misfortune came in threes. Having run out of fuel quicker than expected, his engine cut out on the final lap of the race, forcing him to coast the rest of the way home. It was a disadvantage big enough to allow both Brabham and John Surtees to surpass him before the checkered flag. Clark ultimately finished third overall, but his perseverance through not just one or two, but three massive setbacks made him the star of the show and it is a drive that, to this day, is still considered one of his best ever.
Where the halo saved Lewis Hamilton’s life
2021 may be a season remembered for its questionable finale to the Drivers’ Championship title fight between Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, but by far one of the most harrowing moments of that fight happened much earlier that season, in Monza.
With just three points separating them in the Drivers’ Championship, the two were fighting for any advantage they could get over one another. But calamity struck on lap 26 of 53. Hamilton was peeling out of the pit lane after coming in for fresh rubber, emerging between Lando Norris ahead of him and Verstappen on his tail. Verstappen closed the gap as they sped down the start-finish straight towards the first chicane, but neither of the two made it through the turn unscathed.
Coming wheel to wheel, they collided in a brutal crash that ended with Verstappen’s car literally on top of Hamilton’s. Thanks to the introduction of the halo just three years prior, both drivers were uninjured, but track marks from the Red Bull’s wheels were left on the halo of the Mercedes, showing just how deadly this incident could have been.
“Honestly, I feel very fortunate today,” Hamilton said to the press after the race. “Thank God for the halo, that ultimately, I think, saved me, and saved my neck… I don't think I've ever been hit on the head by a car before and it's quite a shock for me, because I don't know if you've seen the image but my head really is quite far forward. And I've been racing a long, long time, so I'm so, so grateful that I'm still here.”
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