Monza Track Map
Click or tap the map to enlarge it.
This map shows the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy, home of the Italian Grand Prix. It shows the main straight, the Variante del Rettifilo, Curva Grande, the Variante della Roggia, the two Lesmo corners, the Variante Ascari and the Parabolica.
The lap is 5.793 kilometres, and the circuit has earned the nickname 'Temple of Speed' because the cars spend a very large part of the lap at full throttle.
History of the track
Monza was built in a royal park north of Milan in 1922 in only a few months. Formula 1 has raced there in almost every season since the championship began in 1950; the exception was 1980, when the Italian Grand Prix was held at Imola. A banked oval was added in 1955 and was used for races until the 1960s, but the banking is no longer part of the Formula 1 circuit, and the rough remains can still be seen from the track.
The Parabolica, once also known as the Curva Alboreto, is a long, fast right-hand corner at the end of the lap and is not banked.
Speed records
Monza is where the fastest laps in Formula 1 history by average speed have been set. Lewis Hamilton's qualifying lap in 2020 averaged about 264 km/h, beating the previous record set by Kimi Räikkönen in 2018. Chicanes were added to slow cars: the Variante del Rettifilo at the end of the main straight, and later the Variante della Roggia and the Variante Ascari.
The park around the track
Monza's track lies inside the Parco di Monza, one of the largest walled parks in Europe, laid out in the early nineteenth century around a royal villa. Cars reach their top speed on the main straight before braking hard for the Variante del Rettifilo, and the long Curva Grande and the Lesmo corners follow. The Parabolica, a long right-hander, leads back to the straight. The combination of power and braking makes engine performance especially important here.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Lap length | 5.793 km |
| Opened | 1922 |
| Italian Grand Prix in F1 since | 1950 (except 1980) |
| Nickname | Temple of Speed |
| Fastest average-speed F1 lap | About 264 km/h (Hamilton, 2020) |
Questions about this map
Where is Monza?
In a park in the town of Monza, north-east of Milan.
Is the banking still used?
Not for Formula 1, but the old banked sections remain.
Why is Monza so fast?
It has long straights and relatively few slow corners.
