Ghosts of Monza

Posted by Kevin Guthrie Sep 3, 2009

I always look forward to September, because it means the Formula 1 cars return to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. I remember my first visit to the track well. History seems to hang in the air around the grand old autodrome. For any racing fan it is a magical place, from the current tree-lined Grand Prix circuit to the crumbling banking which hasn't been used for decades.

Monza hasn't changed much since it opened in 1922, and that's a good thing in my book. It's still easy to imagine Tazio Nuvolari or Alberto Ascari roaring around the place. Ascari was one of Monza's many high profile victims. It was there in 1955 that the great Italian champion crashed fatally while trying out his friend Eugenio Castellotti's Ferrari sports car. Ascari is still remembered at Monza. The section of track where he crashed is named after him.

I always feel a mixture of euphoria and melancholy at Monza. Euphoria because there is nowhere better to see and hear a Formula 1 car running flat out. The proximity of the trees and the low-roofed grandstands just seem to amplify the noise. Melancholy because Monza's history is littered with tragedy. Giuseppe Campari, Wolfgang von Trips, Bo Pittard and Ronnie Peterson. They are just a few who have paid the ultimate price at the track. Still, would I rather go to Monza than Singapore or Bahrain? That question doesn't even require a moment's thought. Monza is exactly what a Grand Prix circuit should be.