The Circuit — Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Monza is the Temple of Speed for a reason: it is the lowest-downforce, highest-average-speed circuit on the calendar, a chain of long full-throttle straights stitched together by a handful of heavy chicanes. Cars run skinny wings, top speeds are the highest of the year and the lap averages north of 250 km/h. Understand the lap and you understand why the betting here behaves differently to anywhere else.
The lap, corner by corner
Off the long pit straight the cars arrive at the Rettifilo, the Turn 1–2 chicane — the heaviest braking on the lap, from roughly 340 km/h down to second gear, and the single biggest overtaking spot. It is a right-left flick over aggressive kerbs that punishes anyone who tries to force it on lap one. Then Curva Grande, a long fast right taken near flat, leading to the Variante della Roggia, a tight left-right chicane and the second-best passing chance — late braking and a good exit here sets up a run to the Lesmos. Lesmo 1 and 2 are quick, blind, off-camber rights where the car needs front-end commitment and any cornering downforce it can find. The back straight under the old banking runs to the Variante Ascari, a fast left-right-left complex that is the lap's signature — get the entry wrong and you lose time all the way down the next straight. Finally the long, long Curva Parabolica, now named for Michele Alboreto: a 180-degree right you enter fast and unwind on the exit, because exit speed dictates everything down the main straight and into the DRS.
DRS, braking, tyres and where it's won
Monza runs two DRS zones — the long main straight (detection just after the Parabolica exit) and the run from Curva Grande towards the Roggia — and the slipstream effect is so strong that a trailing car gets a tow even without the flap open. That makes overtaking comparatively easy: the grid is far less locked than at Monaco, and prices on the front two rows are softer than the qualifying order suggests. Despite only a handful of corners the lap is brake-heavy — the chicanes demand huge stopping power and stability, and brake cooling is a real engineering compromise against the low-drag bodywork. Tyre stress is comparatively low, lateral loads are modest and degradation is light, which usually points to a one-stop. Weather is the wildcard: September at Monza can deliver heat or sudden thunderstorms off the Alps, and rain transforms a low-downforce car into a handful. The track demands top speed, braking confidence and the discipline not to bin it at the Rettifilo on lap one.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best overtaking spot at Monza?
The Rettifilo, the Turn 1 chicane at the end of the main straight, is the prime overtaking spot — the heaviest braking on the lap after a long DRS-assisted run. The Variante della Roggia is the second-best chance. Because slipstreaming is so strong here, passing is comparatively easy, which keeps the race more open than tighter circuits.
Why are the corners at Monza so hard on brakes?
There are only a few corners, but each one follows a long flat-out straight, so the car has to scrub off enormous speed in a short distance — the Rettifilo alone goes from around 340 km/h to second gear. With skinny low-drag wings there is little aerodynamic help slowing the car, so the brakes do most of the work and cooling becomes a key setup compromise.