Five unforgettable Italian Grand Prix from Niki Lauda’s return to Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen

Follow us on Google Discover

The Italian Grand Prix has been a pillar of Formula 1 since its inaugural season in 1950 and Monza has staged many unforgettable moments, so here are five of its best races.

Just the British Grand Prix can match the history of the Italian Grand Prix as the only races to feature in every Formula 1 calendar to date. But, unlike its British counterpart, the Italian GP has only ever been held away from Monza once with Imola taking up the Grand Prix in 1980.

Refurbishment works at Monza required the 1980 Italian GP to move to Imola. But Monza is Formula 1’s spiritual home in Italy, and the Temple of Speed has yielded many unforgettable moments since Giuseppe Farina won the maiden edition as part of the world championship.

Farina delighted the Tifosi as the Turin native saw a home driver win the 1950 Italian GP for Alfa Romeo in an all-Italian podium lockout. Italian drivers even won the first three races as Alberto Ascari then gifted Ferrari back-to-back Italian Grand Prix victories in 1951 and 1952.

Ferrari being the only Formula 1 team to enter every season of the world championship has even ensured the Scuderia have been involved in numerous unforgettable Italian Grand Prix. So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer looks at F1’s best and most unforgettable trips to Monza.

Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural Formula 1 drivers’ title at the 1950 Italian GP

The inaugural Formula 1 world championship saw the fight for the 1950 drivers’ title go right down to the season finale at the Italian Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio headed to Monza as the championship leader ahead of Luigi Fagioli and Farina after a perfect weekend in France.

Fangio stole the championship lead by winning the 1950 French Grand Prix from pole, whilst also posting the fastest lap. But while the Argentine would also put his Alfa Romeo P1 on the Monza grid and set the fastest lap, his title dreams were done after 34 laps of the Italian GP.

A gearbox issue initially forced Fangio to switch his car for that of teammate Piero Taruffi on Lap 23. But an engine issue forced the Argentine to retire for the second time and watch as Fagiolo and Farina tried to overturn their respective two and four-point deficits for the title.

Farina had led the championship before the French GP, and took full advantage of Fangio’s disappointment to win the Italian GP and the 1950 drivers’ title. Fagioli would end the race in third place, over 95 seconds from his compatriot and teammate, for third in the standings.

F1 saw its closest-ever finish at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix

A side-effect of the increased levels of downforce in the modern Formula 1 world will often see a close finish be regarded as anything up to a few seconds. But the Italian Grand Prix of 1971 saw Formula 1 pen its closest-ever finish with the top two drivers split by 0.1 seconds.

An insane 0.61 seconds even covered the top five drivers as Peter Gethin, Ronnie Peterson, Francois Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley flew out of the Parabolica chasing the first Grand Prix win of their careers. In the end, Gethin got just enough of his BRM ahead.

Back then, cars were not bestowed with large front and rear wings, and truly close finishes were the norm. Monza, with its high-speed nature, was also the perfect playground for F1’s drivers of the time to drag themselves away from the chasing pack using a rival’s slipstream.

With the championship battle already decided, with Jackie Stewart crowned for the second of three occasions, the 1971 Italian GP posed the perfect chance for a new name to cement their status. Engine issues also forced Stewart to retire alongside the two Ferraris by Lap 17.

As the Italian Grand Prix progressed, the leading five drivers dragged their pack clear of the field. Chris Amon, who started from pole position for Matra at Monza, finished the race 32 seconds behind the top five as Gethin took the Briton’s sole win in F1 from 11th on the grid.

Niki Lauda started the 1976 Italian GP just 42 days after his Nurburgring crash

Many believed that Formula 1 had seen the last of Niki Lauda after the Austrian survived his near-fatal crash and fire during the 1976 German Grand Prix. But just 42 days went between his accident at the Nurburgring and Lauda making his improbable F1 return at the Italian GP.

Lauda was relentless in his desire to get back behind the wheel of the defending champions’ Ferrari. He even went on to qualify in fifth place, just 0.74 seconds off pole position, and got fourth spot in the 1976 Italian GP after holding off Jody Scheckter by one-tenth of a second.

Even Ferrari had wondered if Lauda was really ready to return to Formula 1 at the Italian GP having only missed two events after his crash at the Nurburgring. But the Austrian was able to prove to the world that he was ready, and won F1’s drivers’ title again in 1977 then 1984.

Ferrari won the 1988 Italian Grand Prix after the death of Enzo Ferrari

The Ferrari team were still in mourning ahead of the 1988 Italian Grand Prix after the death of Enzo Ferrari. The Scuderia’s founder had passed a month before the race at the age of 90 on August 14, 1988. But a win to honour Enzo appeared unlikely as McLaren were dominating.

McLaren had won each of the previous 11 rounds of the 1988 Formula 1 championship with the MP4/4 driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. The Woking outfit would even win at the final four rounds of that season. But McLaren would miss out on a perfect season at Monza.

A clumsy coming together between Senna and Jean-Louis Schlesser on Lap 49 of 51 trying to lap the Williams racer saw the would-be 1988 champion retire out of the lead of the Italian GP. Prost had even retired from the race owing to an issue with his Honda engine on Lap 34.

McLaren’s misery around Monza marked the perfect present for Ferrari as the Tifosi erupted in celebration. Senna’s retirement gifted the Scuderia a one-two finish to honour Enzo at the 1988 Italian Grand Prix as Gerhard Berger led teammate Michele Alboreto by half a second.

Max Verstappen parked his Red Bull on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes at the 2021 Italian GP

As well as being steeped in history, Monza has made many unforgettable modern memories with standout Italian Grand Prix moments. Lewis Hamilton made one such memory back in 2007 when he locked up diving his McLaren down Kimi Raikkonen’s inside to thwart Ferrari.

Ferrari also saw their future driver, Sebastian Vettel, plus at-the-time pilot, Fernando Alonso, make Italian Grand Prix memories with nearly identical moments in 2011 and 2012. The pair took it in turns to attempt iconic overtakes going around the outside through Curva Grande.

But while Alonso ran into the grass after Vettel pushed the Spaniard wide in 2012, which led to a drive-through penalty, Max Verstappen refused to yield while trying an overly ambitious overtake on title-rival Hamilton through Variante del Rettifilo at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Tensions had already flared between the title rivals in 2021 after Verstappen’s robust driving against Hamilton at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and Spanish Grand Prix, plus their crash in the British GP. Two points even split the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers heading to Monza.

So, when Hamilton peeled out of the pit lane on Lap 26 of 53, Verstappen saw his chance to claim the net lead of the Italian GP. But there was not enough room around the outside into the first chicane for the Dutchman after he let off his brakes and straddled the sausage kerb.

The kerb unsettled Verstappen’s car and sent the Red Bull driver into the side of Hamilton’s Mercedes. Verstappen’s rear-right tyre touching Hamilton’s rear-left even flung his Red Bull onto the Halo of his rival’s Mercedes. The contact even saw both drivers retire in the gravel.