As a demonstration of pure racing passion, there’s little to match Monza – F1’s very own ‘Temple of Speed’.
One of the original world championship venues and a spiritual home for grand prix racing, its blue riband Italian Grand Prix event attracts thousands of tifosi every year, fervently supporting their beloved Ferrari.
The Scuderia are likely to find it tough going this year, with the almost unstoppable Max Verstappen and Red Bull looking to break a couple of long-standing records.
Ferrari fans will be out in force at Monza
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If the Dutchman wins at Monza, he’ll surpass Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 achievement of 9 consecutive race victories, with the team also looking to break the record of consecutive team wins, currently standing at 14 (Ferrari 1952/’53.)
Verstappen was again superlative last weekend in Zandvoort, but can any team hold a light to Red Bull? McLaren and Mercedes look the most likely challengers, with Aston Martin an outside bet.
Ferrari will be running a special livery in tribute to its Le Mans win this weekend, with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz hoping to secure a podium to give their home fans something to cheer about.
Here’s how to watch all the action at the Italian GP.
How to watch F1: live stream and TV details for 2023 Italian Grand Prix
The Italian GP will follow the classic weekend format: two sessions of practice on Friday, another on Saturday followed by qualifying and the race on Sunday.
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Live TV: All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting with Free Practice 1 on Friday at 12.30pm.
Live stream: For UK viewers, Sky Sports F1 subscribers can watch all the running live on the Sky Go app. Now TV subscribers can also see live coverage of every session via Sky Sports F1 with live timings available through the F1 app.
Highlights: Channel 4 will show highlights of the weekend, with action from qualifying on Saturday night. Italian GP highlights will then be shown on Sunday evening.
F1 live stream and TV schedule
All times in BST
Qualifying Saturday 2 September
Italian Grand Prix Sunday 3 September
Session start time
3pm
2pm
Live coverage Sky Sports, Sky Go, NowTV
2.15pm
12.30pm
Highlights Channel 4
7.50pm
6.30pm
Italian GP circuit and details
Originally built in 1922, Monza is a high-speed parkland blast in northern Italy.
The track held the first world championship Italian GP in 1950, and has kept the event every year bar one in 1980, when it was moved to Imola so Monza could undergo renovation.
With a lap at 80% full throttle, the circuit is the fastest on the F1 calendar. Lewis Hamilton set F1’s fastest ever lap at Monza in 2020 qualifying, running at an average speed of 264km/h (164mph).
Gasly was a surprise winner in 2020
JENNIFER LORENZINI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Ironically for a track which used to be the one at which to slipstream your rivals, Monza is now a difficult circuit to pass at due to the DRS trains that form.
Owing to this, it occasionally throws up freak results, when incidents and safety car restarts shuffle the pack.
At 5.8km in length and with a race length of 53 laps, the track has two DRS zones, on the start/finish straight and in the run up to the Variante Ascari chicane.
With dry running forecast across the weekend, it’s likely we won’t see the pitstop strategy chaos of Zandvoort last week.
