Get ready to behold a sea of Ferrari red at the Italian GP! After an exciting show in Max Verstappen‘s home country, the F1 circus will arrive at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza next weekend. The circuit is Internationally famous for being home to Scuderia Ferrari, F1’s oldest and most successful team. Now, Monza in itself is one of the oldest circuits that are currently operational in the sport, and it is also one of the fastest. Thus, it is famous as the ‘Temple of Speed’.

Ever since it became a public circuit in September 1922, Monza has been an iconic name in the F1 world. Situated towards the north of Milan in Ferrari’s home country of Italy, Monza has hosted Grands Prix regularly since 1949. However, in 1980, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza needed to undergo some repairs and refurbishment as well. Thus, the Italian GP could not be held in Monza that year, and it was shifted to Autodromo Enzo de Ferrari in Imola. A year later, racing resumed at Ferrari’s home ground as the Italian GP was once again held in Monza and the Imola circuit became home to the San Marino GP (now called Emilia Romagna GP).

Having been around in the motorsports world for over a century, Monza has witnessed the making of some great talents. It has also become the center stage for those drivers who love high-speed racing and cunning overtaking maneuvers, as per Marca. Because of its high-speed track, the Monza circuit is very different from the Zandvoort circuit that hosted the Dutch GP last week. But why is Monza popular amongst the countless F1 fans as the ‘Temple of Speed’?

History of Ferrari’s home circuit: the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

Before getting into the details of the moniker that fans have given to the Monza circuit, we have to know about its history. As it is common knowledge now–the Italians are huge fanatics of the racing world and for good reason too! Their country has two of the biggest F1 race tracks that are present on this year’s FIA schedule. And Italy is the birthplace of Ferrari as well.

Now, 7 years before Enzo Ferrari started his team, the Milan Automobile Club wanted to have an F1-grade race track to host the Italian GP. So, the first version of Monza came around after 3,500 builders worked on it between May 1922 and July 1922. While the history of the Monza circuit has descriptions of some tragic and brutal accidents, it has also had to endure the times of World War II as well. Because of the war, racing in Monza stopped until 1948. But the ban went away and the race track gained glory for being one of the best in the business from 1948 onwards.

After enormous revisions and rebuilds, the Monza track currently stands at 5.793 km long, with 11 spectacular turns. But what has given the circuit its name of the ‘Temple of Speed’?

Why is the Autodromo Nazionale Monza famous as the ‘Temple of Speed’?

As one of the world’s oldest purpose-driven race tracks, Monza has its name in the history books because it allows racing with some sheer speed. The asphalt track has about 11 turns that pose new challenges to the racers every time they take part in the Italian GP. Among the (almost a) dozen turns, there are the iconic ones like Ascari and Parabolica. Well, now, you might know the latter one as Alboreto (the name comes from the F1 racer Michele Alboreto who had come 2nd to Alain Prost in the 1985 Championship).

It encompasses a total of 11 turns, among which are some iconic ones, such as Ascari and Parabolica, the latter of which has been renamed Alboreto. Because of the sloping nature of the Italian GP hosting track, there are chances that the racers might push to their maximum level to find victory. As per Marca, the cars on the Autodromo Nazionale Monza can reach a speed of 370 km/h (just for context, you should know that the average speed of an F1 car is 220 km)! That is why the track is famous as the Temple of Speed. But does this high-speed track lead to accidents on the track?

The horrific past of the super-fast Monza circuit

With great speed comes a greater risk of the racers crashing into each other, or with the side walls. Just after the inauguration of the race track, Monza witnessed the passing of Fritz Kuhn (Austro-Daimler) in 1922 during a Free Practice session for the Italian GP. Then, in 1928, Emilio Materassi drove his Talbot straight into the grandstand during the Italian GP, which tragically took the lives of 27 spectators.

A similar incident happened again, much later in 1961, when Wolfgang Von Trips clashed with Jim Clark and his car, resulting in the demise of 13 audience members. Following this tragedy, in 1970, Jochen Rindt was driving around the Parabolica during a Free Practice session when he crashed, which ended with his sudden passing. Till now, the record for the best lap time has been held by Rubens Barrichello as the Brazilian had clocked his time at 1:21.046 at the 2004 Italian GP.

But who knows, that record might be broken this year when Max Verstappen or one of the McLaren racers take to the Monza track next week! Now, the driver winning at such an iconic track as Monza shall also take the crown as one of the most skilled racers of this F1 season – but who do you think will that be? Share your take in the comments below.