Racing around Mugello began in the 1920s on public roads through the Apennine mountains. The starting village was Scarperia, near the current permanent circuit, with the route climbing north on the SP503 through multiple villages to Firenzuola, then west and south via the SR65 through the Futa Pass — a section also used by the Mille Miglia — before returning to Scarperia. At 66.2 km (41.1 mi) per lap, it was among the longer road racing venues in Europe.
Giuseppe Campari won the Mugello Grand Prix in 1920 and 1921. Emilio Materassi won in 1925, 1926, and 1928. The Mugello Grand Prix was revived in 1955 and ran from 1964 to 1969 as a Targa Florio-format event counting towards the World Sportscar Championship in 1965, 1966, and 1967. The final World Championship round, in 1967, was won by Udo Schütz and Gerhard Mitter in a Porsche 910. The 1970 race was won by Arturo Merzario, but a fatal accident during a private test in Firenzuola — when Spartaco Dini's Alfa Romeo GTA struck spectators on open roads — ended the public road circuit's use. The roads were open to the public outside of race day and qualifying, making such incidents possible in the existing format.
The present closed circuit was constructed in 1973 and opened in 1974, situated approximately 5 km east of the easternmost point of the original road course. Since its acquisition by Ferrari in 1988, Mugello has been used extensively for Formula One testing by the Ferrari team and, on occasion, by other teams under test agreements.
The circuit was used for the in-season Formula One test during the 2012 season, attended by all teams except HRT. Sebastian Vettel commented that it was an "incredible circuit with a lot of high-speed corners" and noted its absence from the F1 calendar. Mugello hosted its first and, to date, only Formula One World Championship race on 13 September 2020: the Tuscan Grand Prix, the ninth race of the COVID-restructured 2020 season and the 1000th Formula One Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari. The official lap record is 1:18.833, set by Lewis Hamilton during that race. Hamilton also set an unofficial qualifying all-time track record of 1:15.144 at the same event.
At the 2021 Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier was killed following a crash at Arrabbiata 2 during his final qualifying lap. The 19-year-old Swiss rider fell and was struck by the bikes of Jeremy Alcoba and Ayumu Sasaki; Dupasquier was airlifted to Careggi hospital in Florence and died the following day after emergency thoracic surgery.
Mugello's Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix is regarded as one of the most passionate events on the MotoGP calendar, supported by an enormous tifosi contingent and concentrated particularly around the Valentino Rossi era. The circuit's layout — featuring the long Rettifilo straight into the demanding San Donato first corner, the flowing Poggio Secco section, and the high-speed Arrabbiata curves — rewards chassis balance and corner exit drive as much as raw engine power. The San Marino Motorcycle Grand Prix was held at Mugello in 1982, 1984, 1991, and 1993 before the Italian Grand Prix became the permanent fixture.
The circuit holds multiple environmental and quality management certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 20121, and the FIM/FIA 3-star Environmental Accreditation. A 2021 report ranked it the most sustainable racetrack in the world.
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters held annual events at Mugello in 2007 and 2008. The Superbike World Championship visited in 1991, 1992, and 1994. The World Sportscar Championship appeared at Mugello from 1965 to 1967 and returned for events between 1975 and 1985. The FIA World Endurance Championship held a 4 Hours of Mugello round in 2024. Ferrari hosts its annual Challenge series Finali Mondiali at Mugello on a frequent basis, and the circuit is a regular venue for Italian national championships across car and motorcycle categories.