For over a century, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza has been synonymous with incredible racing speeds. The fabled home of the Italian Grand Prix is the fastest track on the Formula 1 calendar and holds a number of special records.

 

 

In 1922, Monza was built in just 110 days by 3,500 workers. It became the world’s third permanent race track — after Brooklands and Indianapolis — with a road circuit and a high-speed loop on a banked oval. The over-riding characteristic of the Monza course was its flat-out nature. And despite the subsequent elimination of the banking (for safety) and the construction of chicanes to reduce speeds, the Italian track is still known as The Temple of Speed.

 

 

Monza has been a mainstay on the Formula 1 calendar since 1950, only missing one race when the Italian Grand Prix was held at Imola in 1980. Therefore it is a perfect barometer of the rising speeds of Formula 1 and an insight into the technological advancements of the sport.

 

 

In 1950, Juan Manuel Fangio set a pole position lap that was clocked at an average of 191.231km/h (118.825mph). With the introduction of the banked ‘speed ring’ averages soared. In the year before the Formula 1 engine formula was reduced to 1.5-litres, Phil Hill’s pole position time in 1960 was set at an average of 223.048km/h (138.595mph).

 

 

That remained the fastest pole time until the engine formula was doubled to 3-litres in 1966. Thereafter the speeds around Monza started to rise considerably. The peak was 1971. This was an extraordinary Italian Grand Prix. Chris Amon’s pole lap pace was 251.213km/h (156.096mph) while the race itself has gone into legend.

 

 

It stood as the fastest Italian Grand Prix for 32 years. The contest was a slipstreaming epic with multiple overtakes on every lap. At the finish line just 0.61 seconds covered the first five cars with Peter Gethin’s BRM winning the closest-ever Grand Prix, just 0.01s ahead of Ronnie Peterson’s March. The race’s average speed was 242.620km/h (150.756mph)…

 

 

The introduction of chicanes at the Rettifilo, Roggia and Ascari sections for 1972 lowered average speeds significantly. But over the course of the following decade, turbocharged engines came to the fore and with 1,000bhp under a driver’s right foot — Monza’s long straights allowed the turbos to show off their power. Amon’s 1971 pre-chicane pole time was finally beaten in 1990 while a peak of 257.209km/h (159.821mph) was reached by Alain Prost’s Williams powered by a Renault 3.5-litre V10.

 

 

Further modifications were made to La Pista Magica in 2000 when we arrived at the current configuration we use today. But with the introduction of the Drag Reduction System (DRS), terminal velocity increased. As it stands, the fastest pole speed ever recorded in Formula 1 history was achieved at Monza in 2020 with a 264.362km/h (164.266mph) average.

 

 

As the pace in F1 continues to rise, it might not be too long until that record is broken once more.