10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Italian Grand Prix

Following the action-packed and controversial Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the F1 paddock now heads from one classic track to another for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which is the final European race of the 2014 season.

1. Rich history

The Italian Grand Prix is one of just two races – along with the British Grand Prix, in case you were wondering – to have appeared in every Formula 1 season, meaning this year’s event will be the 65th in the event’s history. 63 of the 64 races have been staged at Monza, with a one-off trip to Imola for the 1980 round.

2. Track changes

Unlike some classic tracks, Monza has changed very little over the years. The old oval, which combined with the road circuit in the early days of F1, sits unused; the current layout passes underneath it on the run to the Ascari Chicane.

Since the sport’s switch to using just the road layout from 1962, chicanes have been added to slow the cars down on the run to the Curve Grande, Lesmo and Parabolica corners. Safety standards have also improved dramatically.

Some of the old sections, including that famous banking, are still in use today on the Monza Rally.

3. Goodbye gravel

The only modification to the track for the 2014 Italian Grand Prix has been the removal of part of the gravel trap at the iconic Parabolica corner, replacing it with a tarmac run-off area. This has been met with mixed reactions, with some liking the improvements to safety and others feeling some of the challenge has been lost.

4. Schumacher and Ferrari, masters of Monza

Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the Italian Grand Prix, having won the event five times – four of which were for home team Ferrari. Nelson Piquet is next up with four victories, while Sebastian Vettel has the best track record of the current 2014 grid with three wins.

Ferrari tops the constructors’ table for most wins with 18 – most recently in 2010 with Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard has failed to take victory in the last three races here, but has made the podium in all of them. McLaren is next up with 10 triumphs, six more than Williams.

Monza remains the fastest track on the F1 calendar. Juan Pablo Montoya holds the record for the highest ever average lap speed, 262.2kph (162.9mph), after setting the record during first qualifying for the 2004 Italian Grand Prix at the wheel of his Williams FW26.

Some are predicting that we will see top speeds of around 360kph (224mph) this weekend. However, that is still a little way off the highest speed every recorded on an F1 race weekend. Back in 2005, Montoya - this time driving for McLaren - registered 372.6kph (231.5mph) during the Italian Grand Prix.

6. Fastest ever race

The 2003 Italian Grand Prix was the shortest ever race to reach full distance, with Schumacher’s winning time being just one hour, 14 minutes and 19.838 seconds. He averaged the highest ever race speed at 247.6kph (153.8mph).

7. The Tifosi

The Monza grandstands are often a sea of red over an Italian Grand Prix weekend, and all because of one team. Of course, I’m talking about Ferrari. The enthusiastic fans of the Maranello-based outfit - known as the Tifosi - are always out in force at Ferrari’s home race. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen look unlikely to challenge for victories this weekend, but they will certainly be well supported.

8. The importance of pole

Despite the long straights and heavy braking zones encouraging overtaking, qualifying and race strategy are often crucial factors for securing a strong result. In fact, the Italian Grand Prix has been won from pole position eight times in the last 10 races. In total, the pole-sitter at Monza has gone on to win 21 times in 64 events.

9. Track stats

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza – as it is officially known – is situated close to the city of Monza in Italy. The 3.6 mile (5.793km) layout includes 11 corners; seven right and four left. The two DRS zones are located on the pit straight and on the run to turn eight. Pirelli will take the hard and medium compound tyres to the 2014 Italian Grand Prix.

As the race is a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar, it has produced some incredible and iconic moments in the sport’s history. The closest ever race finish took place at the 1971 event, with Peter Gethin taking the chequered flag just 0.01 seconds ahead of Ronnie Peterson. The top five were separated by just 0.61 seconds.

At the 1976 Italian Grand Prix, Niki Lauda sensationally returned to the track just six weeks after the fiery Nurburgring crash that almost killed him, battling through the pain to finish fourth. In 1988 Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto took an emotional Ferrari one-two after Ayrton Senna collided with a backmarker with two laps to go, just under one month after the death of Enzo Ferrari.

The Minardis of Pierluigi Martini and Christian Fittipaldi collided as they crossed the finish line in 1993, with the latter’s car being launched into the air and completing a full 360 degree flip. More recently, Vettel took a stunning debut win in treacherous conditions for midfield team Toro Rosso in 2008.

What are your favourite Italian Grand Prix memories? Let us know in the comments.