Monza by the Numbers: Inside F1's Fastest Circuit
Part of the Happy Hour Racing Formula 1 Track Preview series, where we break down the data behind every circuit on the calendar. There is no Grand Prix this weekend, so this one is a between-races feature on the track Formula 1 heads to next.
The Short Version
Formula 1 is off this weekend. The next race is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday, September 6, with lights out at 9:00 AM ET. Monza is the fastest circuit in Formula 1 and the oldest venue still on the calendar, and it holds the record for the quickest lap ever driven in the sport. This is the data guide to why that happens, who tends to win there, and what the new 2026 rules change about the place.
Monza by the numbers
Monza is 5.793 km, or 3.600 miles, and the Italian Grand Prix runs 53 laps for a total of 306.72 km. What makes it different from every other circuit is not the length. It is how little of the lap is spent turning. Monza has only 11 corners, seven right and four left, and drivers are at full throttle for roughly 80 percent of every lap. Cars run 29 gear changes per lap, the lowest count anywhere on the calendar, and top out north of 350 km/h, around 218 mph.
Teams show up at Monza with the skinniest rear wing they will run all year. Everywhere else on the calendar, downforce buys you lap time. Here it costs you, because the straights are long enough that drag matters more than grip. That trade-off is the whole weekend in one sentence.
The fastest lap in Formula 1 history
The Monza lap record is worth understanding, because there are two of them and people mix them up.
The race lap record is 1:20.901, set by Lando Norris in a McLaren during the 2025 Italian Grand Prix. The qualifying record is the bigger one. Max Verstappen went around Monza in 1:18.792 in Q3 in 2025 at an average speed of 264.682 km/h, which is the fastest lap ever recorded in Formula 1 competition. It beat a mark Lewis Hamilton set at the same circuit in 2020. Both of those benchmarks are barely a year old, which tells you how quickly the cars have been getting to this place.
Why they call it the Temple of Speed
The Monza layout is basically three long straights stitched together by chicanes. You come off the pit straight into the Variante del Rettifilo, a hard stop from top speed that eats front tires and brakes. Then Curva Grande, a flat-out right that leads into the Variante della Roggia. The two Lesmo rights come next, then the longest run of the lap down to the Variante Ascari, which is the one corner sequence the drivers actually talk about. It finishes with the Parabolica, renamed Curva Alboreto in 2021, a long right-hander where getting on the throttle early sets up your entire run down the main straight.
There are two DRS zones, one on the pit straight and one on the run to Turn 8. Combine that with slipstreaming on straights that long and you get the thing Monza is famous for, which is packs of cars towing each other and swapping positions into the braking zones. It also produces the opposite problem, where nobody can break clear and the field runs nose to tail in a DRS train.
The place is old. Monza was built in 1922 in 110 days, making it the world's third purpose-built racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis. It has hosted 75 world championship Grands Prix from 1950 through 2025, and the only year the Italian Grand Prix went elsewhere in that span was 1980, when it ran at Imola. September's race will be the 76th.
Who wins at Monza
If you want one name, it is Ferrari. The Scuderia has 20 wins at its home circuit, double McLaren's 10 and well clear of Mercedes on seven. Among drivers, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are tied at five wins each, and Hamilton also holds the most Monza poles of the modern qualifying era with seven.
The recent history is less predictable than the all-time list. Max Verstappen has won three of the last four Italian Grands Prix. Charles Leclerc has two of the last seven for Ferrari. And in 2020 Pierre Gasly won from tenth on the grid for AlphaTauri, which remains the biggest upset the circuit has produced this century.
Monza also owns the closest finish in Formula 1 history. In 1971, before the chicanes were added and slipstreaming decided everything, Peter Gethin beat Ronnie Peterson by 0.010 seconds, with the top five covered by 0.61 seconds.
What 2026 changes here
This year's cars are the first built to Formula 1's new technical rules, and Monza is the sternest test they have faced. The 2026 power units run a near 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical power, which makes energy deployment and recovery a real strategic problem on a track with this little braking. There is simply less opportunity to harvest energy at Monza than almost anywhere else.
The cars also carry active aerodynamics. Drivers switch between a low-drag X-mode on the straights and a higher-downforce Z-mode for braking zones and corners, cycling between the two multiple times a lap. Part of the reason the FIA built the system was the DRS train problem that circuits like Monza produce. Whether it actually fixes that is one of the more interesting questions of the season.
Where the 2026 season stands
Twelve rounds are complete. Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' championship on 242 points with six wins for Mercedes. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are tied on 183, Lando Norris is on 159 after back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, and Charles Leclerc sits fifth on 155. Mercedes leads the constructors' standings with 425 points and eight wins, ahead of Ferrari on 338 and McLaren on 263. You can track all of it on our Formula 1 schedule and standings page.
The Bottom Line
Monza is the one circuit where Formula 1 stops pretending downforce is the answer. Eighty percent full throttle, 11 corners, the fastest lap ever driven, and a hundred years of history in the trees at Curva Grande. Two weeks from now, the 2026 cars get to find out what that feels like.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Monza circuit?
Monza is 5.793 km, or 3.600 miles, per lap. The Italian Grand Prix runs 53 laps for a total race distance of 306.72 km.
What is the lap record at Monza?
The race lap record is 1:20.901, set by Lando Norris in 2025. The outright qualifying record is Max Verstappen's 1:18.792 from 2025, which is the fastest lap in Formula 1 history at an average of 264.682 km/h.
Who has the most wins at Monza?
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the driver record with five wins each. Ferrari leads all constructors with 20 wins at its home circuit.
When is the 2026 Italian Grand Prix?
Sunday, September 6, 2026, with lights out at 9:00 AM ET at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Gear Up for Monza
Monza is Ferrari's home race and the tifosi will be out in force. If you are picking a side for September, here is what is in stock right now:
- Scuderia Ferrari Garage Crew T-Shirt - for the 20-time Monza winners
- McLaren Racing F1 New Era Shadow Beanie - Norris holds the Monza race lap record
- Mercedes AMG Petronas George Russell 1:2 Scale Helmet - for the championship-leading team
- Red Bull Racing Official F1 Hoodie - three Monza wins in the last four years
- Formula 1 Tech Limited Edition Grand Prix Hat
More lids in the F1 hats collection. No pressure, just good gear for a long season.
