date: 2026-01-01
Monza is the only circuit that coined its own adjective: monzesco — fast, classic, Italian. Opened in 1922, the third-oldest continuously operating race track in the world after Brooklands and Indianapolis. On the F1 calendar almost without interruption since 1950. Home of the Tifosi.
What it is
- 5.793 km, 11 corners
- Lowest downforce level on the F1 calendar — setup with minimal wing angle
- F1 lap record: 1:18.887 — Rubens Barrichello, 2004 (still unbeaten)
- Top speed over 360 km/h on the main straight
- Remnants of the 1930s banked oval still preserved, no longer in race use
The sectors
Sector 1: Start → Variante del Rettifilo → Curva Grande → Variante della Roggia. Main straight with the hardest braking of the year (from 360 down to 80 km/h). Variante del Rettifilo is the chicane where every start is decided. Curva Grande is the elegant right-hander after the first chicane.
Sector 2: Lesmo 1 → Lesmo 2 → Curva del Serraglio → Variante Ascari. Technical middle section. The Lesmos are two consecutive right-handers that reward courage and precision. Variante Ascari is the triple-apex chicane where weekends have been won and lost for decades.
Sector 3: Curva Parabolica → start/finish. The Parabolica is the most famous corner in Italy. A long, unwinding right-hander with full acceleration onto the main straight. Get out of it cleanly and you own the lap.
What it demands
- Low downforce. Rear wing flat, front wing minimal — courage on the straights pays off
- Braking stability at top speed. Decelerating from 360 km/h taxes pads, fluid and stability
- A clean chicane line. Hop the curbs at Rettifilo or Roggia and you lose seconds
The ABXK take
Monza is a pilgrimage circuit. Anyone who has once stood in the Curva Grande on an F1 weekend — the Tifosi singing, the sound of the classic V8s and V10s echoing from the pit-lane speakers, a Ducati demo run thundering past in the break — understands why this place is Italian motorsport identity.
Trackdays are bookable, but rare and expensive. Drive it once and you drive it in the summer Milan heat with low downforce — a school of its own.
On the 2026 calendar with the F1 Italian GP as a must-attend date.