Who will lead at Monza in 2023?
Grand Prix Photo
Formula 1 makes a 681-mile trip across Europe this week, trading in the beaches and twisting turns of Zandvoort for motor sport’s renowned ‘Temple of Speed’ at Monza — historic host of the Italian Grand Prix.
Alongside Silverstone, Monte Carlo and Spa-Francorchamps, the Italian circuit is one of only four current F1 venues which featured on the original calendar back in 1950 and has been home to crowds of fervent Ferrari fans for over 70 years. Although the Scuderia is currently among four constructors which possess the performance and pace to challenge for race victories, the incredible atmosphere created by the tifosi could give it a decisive advantage — one that Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes will all be hoping to overcome.
Viewers in the UK will be able to watch every session live on Sky Sports F1, with FP1 marking the start of on-track activity at 12.30pm on Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday at 3pm and the Italian GP on Sunday at 2pm. Channel 4 will also be providing highlights of the weekend on terrestrial television, which race fans can watch for free.
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All times in BST
| Qualifying Saturday 31 August |
Italian GP Sunday 1 September |
|
| Session start time | 3pm | 2pm |
| Live coverage Sky Sports, Sky Go, NowTV |
2.15pm | 12.30pm |
| Highlights Channel 4 |
5.30pm | 5.30pm |
Each minute of every F1 session over the Italian GP weekend will be broadcast live in the UK for paying subscribers.
Live TV: All on-track sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting with the first free practice session of the weekend on Friday at 12.30pm. Subscribers also have access to onboard streams from each of the 20 cars, including radio messages, allowing them to follow a favourite driver on their phone while watching the main feed on TV. The onboard streams are also available on TV, as is a ‘Battle Channel’ offering split-screen coverage of the best fights for position.
Live stream: Sky Sports F1 subscribers in the UK can watch all the running live on the Sky Go app. Now TV subscribers can also see live coverage of every session via the Sky Sports F1 channel. It also offers onboard views of each driver through in-app bonus streams for monthly subscribers. These can be viewed concurrently with the main stream on a separate screen.
Live timings are also available through the F1 app.
Highlights: Channel 4 will show highlights of the weekend, with action from Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s grand prix available on the corresponding day of each event.
Monza has long been a beloved staple of the F1 calendar, not only for its ultra high-speed layout but also due to the electric atmosphere created by the thousands of fans across the race weekend.
Drivers will remain at full throttle for 80% of the lap, making the circuit the fastest on the F1 calendar. In 2020, Lewis Hamilton set the world championship’s fastest ever lap, as around the 3.54-mile circuit — which is constructed of 11 corners and two DRS zones — the Briton ran at an average speed of 264km/h (164mph).
Yet, despite the immense pace, overtaking at Monza can often be tricky due to the DRS trains that can form along the circuit’s long straights and ahead of heavy braking zones. However, the close running can occasionally lead to safety car appearances and shock results.
In 2020, Pierre Gasly secured his first race win from tenth on the grid behind the wheel of an AlphaTauri. The following year, Daniel Ricciardo overcame the overwhelming dominance of Red Bull and Mercedes to claim his first race victory since 2018 and McLaren’s first since 2012.
With such a tight-knit front-running pack and plenty of room to run wheel-to-wheel, another chaos-filled Italian Grand Prix could be on the cards.
The forecast for the 2024 Italian GP is set to be largely dry, with the just a 20% chance of rain coming on both Saturday and Sunday.
Friday will see bright sunshine and highs of 34 degrees celsius for the FP1 and FP2 – drivers will have their work cut out as they put in the practice laps through trying temperatures.
While Saturday will be cloudier, a high of 33 degrees celsius will still be reached, while 32 degrees celsius will be the peak on Sunday.
However, there’s a possibility the chance of rain could increase for race day.
Select a year
Type
Permanent road course
Length
3.599 (Miles)
Change
First and second chicanes redesigned
Fastest Race Lap
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2004), 1m21.046, 159.865 mph, F1, 2004
Fastest Qualifying Lap
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz F1 W11 EQ Performance), 1m18.887, 164.240 mph, F1, 2020
All times in BST
| Friday 30 August | Saturday 31 August | Sunday 1 September | |
| F1 | Free Practice 1 — 12.30pm Free Practice 2 — 4pm |
Free Practice 3 — 11.30am Qualifying — 3pm |
Italian Grand Prix — 2pm |
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