The first Italian Grand Prix took place on 4 September 1921 at a 10.7-mile (17.3 km) circuit near Montichiari. However, the race is more closely associated with the course at Monza, a racing facility just outside Milan, Italy's second largest city. Monza was built in 1922 in time for that year's race and has been the location for most of the races over the years. The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was completed in 1922 and was the third permanent autodrome in the world at that time, after Brooklands in England and Indianapolis in the United States.
The 1928 race at Monza was marked by tragedy when Emilio Materassi in a Talbot lost control and ploughed into an unprotected grandstand, killing himself and 27 spectators. This was the worst accident in motor racing history until the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Italian Grand Prix went on a three-year hiatus, though the alternative non-championship Monza Grand Prix was run in 1929 and 1930. The 1931 race, held in late May, was won by Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari, sharing an Alfa Romeo. Nuvolari won again in a shortened 1932 race.
In 1933, disaster struck again on what became known as the "Black Day of Monza." During the Monza Grand Prix, a Formula Libre race held after the Italian Grand Prix, three top drivers were killed. During the second heat, Giuseppe Campari in a Ferrari-entered Alfa Romeo and Baconin Borzacchini in a Maserati crashed after hitting an oily patch on the south banking. Campari broke his neck and was killed instantly, and Borzacchini died later that day in a Monza hospital. Later, in the final, Count Stanislas Czaykowski in a Bugatti crashed and burned to death after his engine blew up and a fuel line broke. Enzo Ferrari, who had been close to Campari and Borzacchini, was hardened by this tragedy, marking a watershed in racing history.
After the disastrous 1933 race, changes were made to Monza. In 1934, a short version of the Florio Circuit was used. These races saw Mercedes and Auto Union become involved in motor racing, with the German Silver Arrows winning all of them. Rudolf Caracciola won in 1934 and in 1937, when the Italian Grand Prix was held at a street circuit in Livorno. 1938 saw a return to Monza, won by Nuvolari driving a mid-engined Auto Union. The Italian Grand Prix did not return until 1947 due to World War II.
1947 saw the Italian Grand Prix held at a fairgrounds park in Milan's Portello district, won by Carlo Felice Trossi driving an Alfa Romeo. This venue was never used again for racing after Giovanni Bracco crashed into spectators, killing five. 1948 saw the race held in Valentino Park in Turin. The 1949 race returned to Monza, where it stayed for the next 30 years.
Monza's banking had been built over, and only the road circuit was used, with modifications. 1949 saw Alberto Ascari win in his Ferrari. The new Formula One Championship was established in 1950, with Giuseppe Farina winning the race and the first championship in a supercharged Alfa Romeo 158. Ascari won again in 1951 and dominated the 1952 season. Juan Manuel Fangio won in a Maserati in 1953. The 1954 race saw Stirling Moss in a Maserati pass both Fangio's Mercedes and Ascari's Ferrari, though Fangio ultimately won.
After the 1954 running, the circuit was revamped, including the construction of the new Monza banking, called the sopraelevata curves. This course was combined with the road course for the 1955 event, won by Fangio, which was the last race contested by a full-fledged Mercedes factory effort in Formula One until 2010. In 1957, organizers chose to use only the road circuit due to problems with the banking. Moss won again in a Vanwall, and Tony Brooks won the next year's race. Moss won the 1959 event in a Cooper-Climax.
In 1960, the Italian organizers re-included the banking with the road circuit, making Monza faster and favoring the powerful Ferraris. The British teams boycotted the race due to safety concerns about the banking. Phil Hill took victory, which was the last for a front-engined Formula One car. 1961 saw a return to the combined circuit and another tragedy. Wolfgang von Trips collided with Jim Clark near the Parabolica and crashed into a crowd, killing himself and 14 spectators. Hill won the race and the championship.
1962 saw a return to the road circuit only, and the banking was never used again for Formula One. Graham Hill won the race. In 1963, an attempted use of the full circuit was abandoned after practice due to the rough banking. Clark won the race in a Lotus. John Surtees won in 1964, and Jackie Stewart won his first Grand Prix in 1965 for BRM. Ludovico Scarfiotti won in 1966, the last Italian to win the race. 1967 produced a close finish, with Surtees, now driving for Honda, battling Jack Brabham and winning by two-tenths of a second. 1969 saw Stewart win his first of three championships, beating Jochen Rindt by eight-hundredths of a second.
1970 saw Rindt's fatal crash during qualifying. He died because he had not properly secured his seat belts. Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion. Clay Regazzoni won the race. 1971 saw the third close finish in four years, with Peter Gethin beating Ronnie Peterson by one-one hundredth of a second. In 1972, chicanes were added at the end of the pit straight and at the Vialone curve. Emerson Fittipaldi won that race and his first Drivers' Championship. In 1973, Stewart won his third and final Drivers' Championship. 1974 saw further changes, with the Vialone chicane renamed Variante Ascari. Peterson won, and Fittipaldi finished second. In 1975, Regazzoni took victory, followed by Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda, who won his first drivers' title, and Ferrari also won the Constructors' Championship.
1976 saw further changes to Monza's layout, with two chicanes called Variante Rettifilo and another, the Variante della Roggia, installed. Lauda finished fourth, and Peterson won. 1977 saw Mario Andretti win in a Lotus. The 1978 race added another page of tragedy to Monza's history when Peterson suffered severe leg injuries in a multi-car pile-up and died from embolism complications a day later. Andretti won the Drivers' Championship. 1979 saw changes to Monza, with run-off areas added and the track upgraded. Jody Scheckter, now driving for Ferrari, won the race and the Drivers' Championship.
In 1979, it was announced that the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, also known as Imola, would host the Italian Grand Prix for 1980 while Monza underwent a major upgrade. Imola's one-time running of the Italian GP was won by Nelson Piquet. The Italian Grand Prix returned to Monza for 1981 and has stayed there ever since. The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was won by Alain Prost. Prost also won the 1985 event, driving a McLaren. 1988 saw a memorable win for Gerhard Berger in a Ferrari after Ayrton Senna crashed, making it a Ferrari 1–2. This was particularly memorable as Enzo Ferrari had died a month before.
1989 saw Prost win, but Senna took victory the following year. Nigel Mansell won in 1991. Senna won again in 1992. In 1993, Damon Hill went on to take victory after Prost's engine failed. In response to the Imola tragedies in 1994, the second Lesmo curve was slowed down. Other changes were made in 1995 at Curva Grande, Variante della Roggia, and both Lesmo Corners. Michael Schumacher won for Ferrari in 1996. 2000 saw further changes to the circuit, with the Variante Rettifilo made into a two-corner sequence. The race that year started tragically, as an accident during the start resulted in marshal Paolo Gislimberti being struck by a loose wheel and later dying from his injuries. Ferrari won in 2000 and 2002–2004.
After winning the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement. At the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Vettel also won in 2011. The event is due to take place at the Monza Circuit until at least 2031. Both Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have won the Italian Grand Prix five times, and Nelson Piquet has won it four times. Ferrari have won their home Grand Prix 20 times, most recently Charles Leclerc in 2024.
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix saw the fastest ever qualifying lap, set by Max Verstappen in a Red Bull car, and the fastest ever lap during the race, set by Lando Norris in a McLaren car. The Grand Prix also set the record for the duration of the shortest race.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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